Curriculum for Cohesion
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Media presentation at Institute of Education

On 20 March 2013 Curriculum for Cohesion held a briefing for invited journalists at the Institute of Education to discuss the UK government’s draft History curriculum with a panel drawn from Curriculum for Cohesion’s team and others with an interest in the History Curriculum, shown in the photograph below.

From left to right in the photograph:

1. The Rt Hon Jack Straw, MP for Blackburn and Co-chair, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Islamophobia. 2. Dr Matthew Wilkinson, Director, Curriculum for Cohesion. 3. Dr Seán Lang, Senior Lecturer in History, Anglia Ruskin University. 4. Mr Eric Ollerenshaw OBE, MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood. Member, APPGs for Education and on Islamophobia. Former History teacher.
5. Professor Chris Husbands. Director, Institute of Education, University of London. Professor Husbands chaired the event. 6. Mr. Mohammed Amin, Vice Chairman, Conservative Muslim Forum. Chair of Donors, Curriculum for Cohesion. 7. Michael Fordham, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. Head of History at Cottenham Village College. 8. Dr Katharine Burn, Senior Lecturer in History Education, Institute of Education.

We supplied the journalists with a media pack  which contains:

  1. The full text of Curriculum for Cohesion’s response to the Department for Education’s draft History curriculum specification.
  2. Appendix 1 – The text of the DfE’s draft History specification to which we have responded.
  3. Appendix 2 – Brief biographies of the speakers on the panel.
  4. Appendix 3 – A one page description of Curriculum for Cohesion.

Video

The full video of the event can be watched below. As the event was over 90 minutes long, to help you decide whether to watch the full video have selected some highlights below which can be accessed by clicking the indicated links.

  1. Jack Straw considers the purpose of teaching History in schools. Click here
  2. Mohammed Amin on growing up as an ethnic minority and explaining that we are our history. Click here
  3. Matthew Wilkinson on the purpose of teaching history in schools in the 21’st century. Click here
  4. Katherine Burns challenges the ages at which children are supposed to cover certain parts of History.  Click here
  5. Mohammed Amin confesses to not being a History specialist, and then goes on to describe the published draft as “bonkers.” Click here
  6. Eric Ollerenshaw explains why the published draft is not bonkers. Click here
  7. Seán Lang gives his view on whether the draft curriculum is teachable and learnable, and the age appropriateness of the contents. Click here
  8. Michael Fordham discusses the freedom that academies have over the curriculum and whether some might decide not to teach the National Curriculum for History if the current draft is enacted. Click here
  9. Katherine Burn explains a recent poll of History teachers indicating how few intend to follow the published draft. Click here
  10. Chris Cook from the Financial Times comments on the negative and limited portrayal of Roman Catholics in the published draft. Click here
  11. Matthew Wilkinson points out the complete omission of Muslims from the published draft. Click here
  12. Matthew Wilkinson summarises what Curriculum for Cohesion is about. Click here

The full video can be watched below.

Curriculum for Cohesion Media Roundtable Event at the Institute of Education – 20/03/2013 from Curriculum for Cohesion on Vimeo.

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