Year 1 History: What to Teach (England)

Your Teacher Information Pack for Year 1 History: every national curriculum statement, the tests and dates that matter, and trusted links. Tick what you're teaching and send it straight into the lesson plan maker.

The KS1 programme of study for this subject covers the whole key stage; schools decide what to teach in which year.

Current. The government response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review (Nov 2025) says a revised national curriculum will be published by spring 2027 for first teaching from September 2028.

What to teach

Below is the official programme of study for Year 1 History: the statutory statements first, then any non-statutory notes and guidance, which schools don't have to follow.

Key stage 1 4 statutory statements

Introduction to Key stage 1 (official text)

Pupils should develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time. They should know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods. They should use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms. They should ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events. They should understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past and identify different ways in which it is represented.

In planning to ensure the progression described above through teaching about the people, events and changes outlined below, teachers are often introducing pupils to historical periods that they will study more fully at key stages 2 and 3.

Pupils should be taught about:

Key stage 1 Statutory

Pupils should be taught about:

• changes within living memory – where appropriate, these should be used to reveal aspects of change in national life
• events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally [for example, the Great Fire of London, the first aeroplane flight or events commemorated through festivals or anniversaries]
• the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements, some should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods [for example, Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong, William Caxton and Tim Berners-Lee, Pieter Bruegel the Elder and LS Lowry, Rosa Parks and Emily Davison, Mary Seacole and/or Florence Nightingale and Edith Cavell]
• significant historical events, people and places in their own locality

Read this on GOV.UK

Assessments and key dates

There are no national tests or checks in Year 1. Your school will use its own assessments.

Official documents

• National curriculum: history programmes of study (GOV.UK)

Trusted free resources

• Oak National Academy – Free, full lesson sequences for KS1 (government-funded).
• BBC Bitesize – Short videos and quizzes by key stage and subject.

Links only: we don't copy their content and we aren't connected to these organisations.

More packs

Other subjects in Year 1: English, Maths, Science, Art and Design, Computing, Design and Technology, Geography, Music, PE.

Find another TIP · National curriculum overview

Questions teachers ask