October Round-Up: Pupil Voice, New Projects and Growing Connections
October has been a productive month for Local History Hub, with new projects launched, partnerships developing and Hub Leads bringing schools and heritage organisations together across the country.
Alongside our growing network, much of the month's work focused on exploring how local history can support curriculum learning, identity and belonging, and how we can better understand the experiences of children and young people.
Place & Belonging: A National Pupil Voice Survey
One of October's main developments was the launch of Place & Belonging, our new National Pupil Voice Survey.
Open to children and young people aged 7–18, the survey explores how pupils feel about where they live, their connections to local history and heritage, and their sense of belonging.
The survey is free for schools and colleges, with participating settings able to request their own results to help inform curriculum planning and wider school development.
Over time, we hope the findings will help build a clearer national picture of young people's relationships with place, identity and local heritage.
Helping Shape a New Local History Charter
October also saw the announcement of our plans to explore a new voluntary Local History Charter for schools.
The proposed Charter will explore how schools can make a visible commitment to local history, place, identity and belonging, while recognising the different contexts in which schools operate.
Rather than creating additional curriculum requirements, the aim is to develop something practical, accessible and shaped by teachers themselves.
We invited educators and heritage professionals to contribute through an initial survey and upcoming focus group, helping inform what the Charter might look like.
A New Pro Bono Consultancy Pilot
We also launched applications for our School and Heritage Consultancy Pilot.
Running from 2026 to 2028, this fully pro bono programme will support two primary schools and two heritage organisations to explore how local history, curriculum development and stronger partnerships can benefit children and communities.
Support will include consultation, curriculum planning, professional development and opportunities to evaluate the impact of place-based learning.
The pilot will also help us understand how Local History Hub might offer more tailored support alongside our existing free hub network.
Local History in the Classroom: Halloween and Folklore
With Halloween approaching, we shared a new classroom resource exploring how ghost stories and local folklore can support historical enquiry.
From investigating the origins of local legends to exploring what supernatural stories reveal about communities, the resource offered practical ideas for connecting history with English, geography and creative learning.
It was also a reminder that meaningful local history does not always require a museum visit or a major project. Sometimes the stories children already know provide a valuable starting point for asking historical questions.
Hub Meetings Across the Network
October was also a busy month for our local hubs, with meetings taking place across different regions.
Schools and heritage partners came together in Stroud, West Northumberland, South Tyneside, Cheshire West & Chester, North Tyneside, Blackburn and York.
These gatherings provided opportunities for teachers, museums, archives and community organisations to share local knowledge, explore curriculum connections and begin identifying practical opportunities for collaboration.
As more hubs begin meeting regularly, the emphasis is increasingly on turning initial conversations into sustained relationships that can support schools throughout the academic year.
Looking Ahead
As we move into November, our focus remains on supporting Hub Leads, developing our new projects and strengthening the connections between schools and heritage organisations.
We are particularly looking forward to gathering feedback on the Local History Charter, encouraging more schools to participate in the pupil voice survey and beginning the next stages of our consultancy pilot.
Across all these projects, the underlying aim remains the same: helping children develop a stronger understanding of the places they live, the histories that have shaped them and the communities to which they belong.
Thank you to all the teachers, heritage professionals, volunteers and partners who contributed to Local History Hub's work throughout October.
