Schools are dropping history lessons as a result of greater flexibility given to them under the roll-out of Scotland's new curriculum, teachers warned yesterday.

The Scottish Association of Teachers of History said some local authorities had already "subsumed" history into the teaching of social subjects - or even dropped it altogether for some year groups - and the introduction of the Curriculum for Excellence could make matters worse.

The organisation went on to call for the publication of clear national guidelines on the quality and quantity of history teaching expected in schools.

Part of this would be the establishment of a "Scottish backdrop" - a series of essential topics taught to all pupils between P1 and S3 to ensure more systematic coverage of Scottish history with a British, European and global context.

Duncan Toms, president of the Scottish Association of Teachers of History, said the organisation had welcomed the Scottish Government's decision to set up a working group following public concern over the future of Scottish history but he added: "If this is to be achieved, adequate teaching time and subject expertise is needed but some schools have already subsumed history within the teaching of integrated social subjects or even dropped it altogether.

"This situation could get worse because the Curriculum for Excellence allows schools and local authorities considerable flexibility in delivering the curriculum and some will be tempted to use or abuse it as an opportunity to amalgamate or drop subjects for staffing and timetabling purposes."

Mr Toms said he was already aware of one school that had interpreted the new curriculum in such a way as to propose that pupils drop a social subject at the end of S1.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: "We have made very clear our intention to make history relevant to children today and that is why this administration is committed to ambitious curriculum reform.

"We want schoolchildren to develop an understanding of how Scotland has developed as a nation, resulting in an appreciation of their local and national heritage within the global community. By making history relevant to children today, we can create a better understanding of how Scotland came to be, where it is now and the part the nation could play in shaping the future."