Teaching with Tes

I'm Omena Osivwemu and I was one of the panellists for the Reflective Practice on Diversity primary session during the Lit In Colour Teacher Conference, in partnership with Tes and Penguin Books UK.

Transforming the curriculum to be more diverse and better reflect our increasingly multicultural society is a gradual and continuous learning journey. This was certainly true for me, and so as I share my path in Key Stage 1- 2 so far, I hope to offer actionable steps that you can also take.

Teaching more diverse content to my classes has been an ongoing process as I've gained greater experience and status in the profession. Initially as a trainee and newly qualified teacher, I began building my personal book collection for my class, including a range of texts by Black and brown authors with diverse characters. Some of these I read to my class at the end of the day, such as Black and British by David Olusoga. Some I used as reference books to teach about significant historical figures linked to topics: namely Katherine Johnson during Earth and Space or Mary Seacole in history. Or to plan units, like an art unit based on Vashti Harrison’s illustrations and Alma Woodsey Thomas’ use of colour - Harrison’s Little Leaders/ Legends/ Dreamers series is wonderful for this. Children were free to read other books in class and explore them based on their interests, from Caribbean poetry, Cocoa Boy and Cocoa Girl magazines, to Marvel’s Black Panther comic books.

In small ways I would enhance the curriculum with workshops that brought the learning to life and exposed children to new cultural experiences; such as Indian dancing and music workshops, and cooking activities, West African drumming, art and dance lessons. Much of which came from my own knowledge and heritage, but also tapped into local communities wherever I was teaching. Community knowledges are rich and abundant everywhere and could be utilised as a resource by schools.

I became acutely aware of the necessity to teach a culturally and geo-socially relevant curriculum when teaching internationally in Spain. As a Humanities Lead, while mapping the school’s curriculum against the English National Curriculum (as it's a British curriculum school), I adapted areas of history and geography to relate to Catalan and Spanish histories (including colonialism), the local environment and local priorities.

On greater analysis, the Primary National Curriculum offers some scope for more diverse, decolonial units. But, currently, it's up to teachers to seek and plan these. For instance, when introducing the KS2 history unit on Ancient Benin to my former school up north, it was little known and resources were scarce. Since then, it has become more commonly taught and so greater resources are available. Again my first point of call was to find texts as reference points to plan the unit, enhanced by my own family's traditional Nigerian attire, artworks, sculptures, jewellery etc. This is also something I believe teachers can do - bring more of themselves and their cultural backgrounds, and that of the children, to the classroom - especially those from the global majority.

In the last two years, I've taught more texts by authors of colour - like Hidden Figures, Freedom Bird, The Undefeated in English - as the scheme my current school uses has made a concerted effort to present a diverse offering. However, experience and post-grad research has heightened my awareness of the cultural sensitivity required, particularly when teaching painful Black histories to learners of that heritage. At times, pre-planned tasks do not account for how the material can impact learners (and educators) who share these histories. So I avoid tasks that are unnecessarily unnerving and insensitive, like asking Caribbean heritage children to write a diary as an enslaved child, for example.

Now, continuing as a Geography Lead, I'm seeking ways to thread critical and decolonial thinking into geography. For instance, highlighting a broader range of case studies, such as the Pakistan floods of 2022 in the KS2 unit on Water.

In summary, these are actions I'd suggest if you're embarking on the journey of curriculum transformation, no matter your position in the profession:

· Draw on books as there are so many out there, with many wonderful illustrations, untold stories and accessible for children.

· Bring in parents and community members to lead workshops or share knowledge.

· Design the curriculum with the communities that the schools serves in mind. (This will require continued adaptation as demographics change.)

· You and your learners also have a wealth of social, cultural, even historical knowledge - tap into it.

· Start small and stay critical: continuously evaluate how the learning is received - is it a beneficial learning experience?

Let’s connect on Instagram: @afro_brit.bookclub or on Twitter @BritAfro

If you're looking for additional resources to help celebrate Black History Month find them in the Tes Black History Month hub .