BRITAIN’S largest education union – the National Education Union (NEU) has said it wants to learn from Wales how best to incorporate Black and other minority histories into the national curriculum.
In October 2021, the Welsh government became the first of the UK nations to make the teaching of Black, Asian, and other minority ethnic histories and experiences mandatory in the school curriculum.
In England, there is no such mandate despite calls for it from various quarters and increasing pressures to do so.
The NEU voted during the Annual Conference (11-14 April 2022, at Bournemouth) to pass a motion on creating a more inclusive and diverse curriculum in English schools.
Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary, NEU commented, “an important debate was held at the conference about national curriculum and inclusion of not just some of the aspects of the black history, but to include all the perspectives in the whole curriculum. The curriculum must look to the future, but to do this, it must speak accurately about the past in relation to Black British history and Britain’s colonial past.”
“The Union will work with the key partners such as the Runnymede Trust and educational experts, to collaborate on proposals for the history curriculum review, and on the wider curriculum approach, we need to see to give Black children a sense of belonging, self-esteem and respect in every school. The NEU is determined to help generate a more inclusive curriculum which empowers young people to think critically and empathetically”, she added.
Samuel Makinde, a member of NEU said: “It’s 2022 and we need to change. The reason why we need to change is that the world has changed, and the world is moving on. We need to start to include things that will make other people really feel part of this culture. By not including it, we are excluding them, and by excluding them from our classroom means, we are not authentic.” Members of NEU voted to work with exam boards so more inclusive resources to be developed and used in the schools.
The Annual Conference of the National Education Union will end today (14 April 2022).
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