LOCAL HISTORY HUB FOR ACADEMY TRUSTS

About
Why Work With Us?
Free To Join
A Collaborative Approach
Upcoming Events
Local History Day
Get Involved

Local History Hub is a growing, teacher-led initiative with national ambition. We are building a national network of school-led hubs that connect educators, heritage partners, and communities to explore and celebrate the history of place.

As a grassroots start-up in its pilot phase, we are already working in Blackburn, Cardiff, Cheshire West & Chester, Derby, and Liverpool. Alongside local authorities, we are now building tailored partnerships with academy trusts who want to enrich their curriculum, strengthen collaboration across schools, and provide meaningful professional development opportunities for staff.

We believe academy trusts have a vital role to play in embedding place-based history across multiple schools, supporting curriculum depth, and helping pupils connect more deeply with their communities.

Why Work With Us?

Local History Hub offers a practical, scalable model for bringing local history into classrooms and communities, built around the needs of real teachers and pupils.

By working with us, academy trusts can:

  • Enrich the curriculum with engaging, place-based content that supports cultural capital and knowledge-rich learning

  • Provide trust-wide CPD through teacher working parties that give all staff access to collaboration and professional learning

  • Develop leadership opportunities by nominating Hub Leads, giving teachers the chance to step into strategic roles

  • Strengthen community links across your schools and local heritage organisations

  • Promote identity, belonging, and pride in place as part of your trust’s ethos and values

  • Align with Ofsted priorities on curriculum breadth, community cohesion, and cultural capital

Our hubs are led by teachers, shaped through working parties, and supported nationally. We do not impose a one-size-fits-all model, we support hubs to develop approaches that reflect local context, trust priorities, and community needs.

Free To Join

There is no cost for academy trusts to join Local History Hub or nominate hub leads. We are a teacher-led, grassroots start-up committed to making local history accessible to every school.

A Collaborative Approach

At the heart of Local History Hub is collaboration. Our hubs bring together teachers and heritage professionals, creating opportunities for schools to engage with museums, archives, and community organisations that they might not otherwise access.

For academy trusts, this means:

  • Teachers who may not have specialist heritage knowledge gain direct support and insight from professionals in the field

  • Heritage partners have a clear route into schools, ensuring their expertise and resources reach classrooms where they can make the most impact

  • Schools across a trust benefit from shared partnerships, without each school having to build connections separately

We recognise that MATs operate across diverse communities. Our model allows hubs to adapt to local contexts while still linking into a national network of heritage partners, giving your schools both local depth and national reach. Through our national partnerships with organisations such as the Association of Jewish Refugees, The Black Curriculum, and Kids in Museums, your schools will also connect into a wider network of trusted heritage partners.

Upcoming Events

This autumn we are hosting a series of short online information sessions for Multi-Academy Trusts, Local Authorities, and heritage organisations.

These sessions will:

  • Explain how Local History Hub works in practice

  • Show the benefits for trusts, including curriculum enrichment, CPD, and leadership opportunities

  • Outline simple steps to get started, with Local History Day 2027 as an early milestone

Sign up here → [link to signup form]

Each year, Local History Hub coordinates Local History Day, a national celebration of place-based learning. It gives schools the chance to showcase local stories, strengthen community links, and highlight the value of history in the curriculum.

For academy trusts, Local History Day is an opportunity to:

  • Connect schools across your trust through a shared theme and celebration

  • Raise the profile of your trust’s work in the community and across the national network

  • Showcase pupil outcomes and engagement in a way that resonates with parents, governors, and Ofsted

Local History Day Dates

  • 2026: Wednesday 22nd April

  • 2027: Wednesday 21st April

Trusts joining Local History Hub now will be well-placed to use Local History Day 2027 as a first milestone project, giving staff and pupils a shared sense of belonging across the trust.

Local History Day

Joining Local History Hub as a Multi-Academy Trust is free and straightforward.

  • Step 1: Share a short message with your schools, we’ll provide the wording.

  • Step 2: Nominate a Schools Hub Lead and, if possible, a Community Hub Lead.

  • Step 3: Connect them with us, and we’ll take it from there.

Local History Hub will provide ongoing support, resources, and training, while your nominated leads coordinate collaboration across schools in your trust.

Download the Academy Trust Welcome Pack (PDF)
Contact us at enquiries@localhistoryhub.org.uk

Together, we can strengthen curriculum, empower teachers, and build a deeper sense of belonging across your schools.

Get Involved