Post war migration to Britain

Post-War Migration to Britain | Years 5/6

Explore Windrush, Irish migration and the people who helped shape modern Britain through engaging source enquiry, discussion and practical activities.

Why did people migrate to Britain after the Second World War? This lesson explores work, opportunity, family connections and hopes for a new life. Pupils consider migrants’ contributions alongside the challenges of discrimination, housing difficulties and separation from family.

Children work as historians, separating observation from inference, comparing viewpoints and using evidence to explain historical significance. They discover why Empire Windrush became an important symbol—and why one ship cannot tell the whole story.

What’s included?

Editable 19-slide teaching PowerPoint with I do, We do, You do modelling.
Editable 9-slide pupil resource PowerPoint with printable activities.
Source enquiry using arrival reconstructions, a constructed Caribbean migrant’s account, a classroom recruitment notice and an Irish migration reconstruction.
Key historical vocabulary.
Contributions and challenges sorting cards.
Final enquiry planner to support evidence-based explanations.
Discussion prompts, an assessment hinge question and printable exit tickets.
Model explanations and suggested exit-ticket answers.
Develop historical enquiry, thoughtful discussion and supported conclusions through a significant topic with lasting relevance. Suitable as a standalone lesson or as the concluding lesson in a wider journeys unit.