Schools minister Robin Walker has committed to creating a history curriculum in which diversity is taught in a “meaningful, rather than tokenistic” way.
When around a third of school-age children are from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds that’s good news - and surely just the start. No doubt like many schools, at CORE Education Trust we are already on a journey of change to bring greater diversity and relevance to our teaching of history.
For other schools though, this may be something they are just thinking about to bring more balance to their history provision. Making these changes can be hard but it is vital we get it right. This is what we have done, how we put it in place and why it matters.
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Diversity in your history curriculum: listening to student voice
Our work to modify our history curriculum started last year in response to the appalling death of George Floyd and the scenes that sparked Black Lives Matter.
The incident inspired huge discussions in society and we were no different with our students - 72 per cent of whom are from BAME backgrounds and 48 per cent of which have a home language that is not English - making it clear they wanted to see action from us.
Discussion with our students on what they felt we could do better uncovered the fact they felt disconnected from the stories they were taught in history, as they believed they ignored their heritage and failed to represent a narrative they recognised from their own communities.
Setting ambition at the top
Staff heard this loud and clear but was redrafting our history curriculum during a pandemic really the best course of action?
We decided that if we were going to build on the energy the protests had created and deliver real change then we had to act there and then - whatever the wider circumstances.
Prompted by this call to action, our historians began having conversations about representation in our own curriculum.
They formed a history curriculum community to take these discussions forward; and from this, grew our faculty of education, a research-led advisory board that continues to guide all areas of our curriculum development (not just history), including how we address diversity and inclusivity.
Together, these two forums gathered input from other trusts, reviewed material from specialist groups such as the Historical Association and analysed recommendations from Ofsted’s history review, to develop a departmental passport that provides the framework for all historical study across the Trust.
From this work, it became apparent that if we were to deliver a more nuanced study of the past, we needed to focus on four key areas:
1. Finding the stories that matter
Heads of department are now encouraged to seek out new narratives from the curriculum and to be curious in finding those that bring greater meaning to our students and their heritage.
One example, when Year 7 students study the origins of the hominid species to understand the evolution, migrations and settlement patterns across the globe to illustrate our interconnectedness, giving more attention to sub-Saharan “Cheddar Man” helps project the past through a new lens.
Another, when Key Stage 3 students study the Roman Conquest, placing greater emphasis on the story of an imperial army comprised of soldiers from across the Mediterranean, the Levant and North Africa gives students a different perspective.
2. Look at history from all angles
For example, when teaching the exploration of Sir Francis Drake to Year 11s, we encourage staff to acknowledge his courage in sailing across the Atlantic and the hardships he faced, but also to examine why he went there and what he did, which includes his responsibility for forcefully kidnapping, enslaving and murdering the local indigenous populations.
In doing this we not only provide students with the skills to interpret events from history through different points of view but demonstrate we as a trust are delivering a more inclusive and open-ended curriculum.
3. Finding inspiring role models
Yes, it’s important to honour the victims of the many atrocities in our past, but also to celebrate the fortitude, resilience and resistance put up by indigenous peoples and those who were oppressed from across the colonies.
An example of this is to guide Year 9 students, investigating the impact of imperialism and the slave trade, to explore how the enslaved peoples of the Caribbean committed acts of insurgence and resurgence against their colonial masters.
4. Training and support
Subject knowledge is prized at CORE but one of the early challenges we encountered was how to ensure a rich, challenging and diverse syllabus in a discipline as broad as history.
Expecting all staff to have expertise in every period and topic was a tall order.
Creating a community of specialists - that now meet regularly each half term, with its own digital channel dedicated to sharing journals, essays, ideas and resources - has provided a valued forum for professional dialogue and a supportive peer group from which staff can draw knowledge and confidence.
To augment this, we have built departmental time into our CPD cycle - building on research that supports the success of collaborative planning; and have offered our historians (and other disciplines) specific training on best curriculum design, so that sequencing and delivery of content is robust in helping students to master the knowledge and skills they need.
And importantly, it captures the range and diversity we are seeking.
The start of something bigger
I have described this as a journey - and we’re far from the end.
Yet as Robin Walker has acknowledged, we must celebrate that which brings us together whilst also empowering our children with knowledge of both the good, and the bad, of their shared past - so that they have an opportunity to move forward with respect, and as one.
Adrian Packer is CEO of CORE Education Trust, comprised of four schools in Birmingham
