Campaigners calling for a more inclusive education system say that not enough hours are spent on the teaching of Black and Ethnic-Minority history in schools.

Data has shown that just 1 in 10 GCSE history pupils in the UK study modules which mention Black peoples' contribution to the nation. A campaign has been pushing for mandatory inclusion of Black history in all schools, to provide educational resources on the subject for teachers.

'The Black Curriculum', founded by writer and author, Lavinya Stennett, in 2019, has been pushing for a review of the National Curriculum. “Teaching Black history, in a consistent and nuanced way is a solution to institutional racism, allowing us to come to terms with a history that has informed our current society,” she said.

"At the Black Curriculum, we've been pushing for Black history to be embedded in the National Curriculum,” she went on. “Teachers should learn about Black history and be able to teach it confidently from the use of language to actual content within it."

In 2022, the Welsh Government formally rolled out their Black History Curriculum, which they claimed would make their children and young people "more informed citizens". Two years into the new changes, St Pauls' Church School in Cardiff is running a lesson on Black Welshmen and women who have helped shape their modern nation.

Gemma Maiorano is the school's Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Lead. She said: "It's had an impact on everything that we look at, the authors that we look at, the artists that we look at, the different experiences and visitors that we have into school."

"And it's made the world a much bigger place again for the children and it gives them lots of different opportunities for them to see themselves and see opportunities for themselves for the future." There are also criticisms that when Black History is opted to be taught in schools, it is only through the narrow perspective of triumph over adversity.

Children's author Malorie Blackman has been calling for schools to teach Black history all year round (and not just during Black History Month).

She said: "For some people, they don't want anything taught that makes them uncomfortable. If you're talking about the history of Britain, then that history includes Black people and people of Colour.

“My ancestors' history did not start with slavery - Black people have been in this country since Roman times, if not before." Blackman's books have played a key role in changing people's perspectives and adding diversity to children's literature over the past 30 years, exploring race and identity issues.

She is best known for her young adults' series ‘Noughts and Crosses’, which has also been turned into a BBC drama and the author also wants to see Black history taught in a way that should tell "the whole truth" of the British Empire and isn't just about "cherry-picking the best bits". Informing students of Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade, followed by outlawing it - or the civil rights movement in the United States.

The overall impact of colonialism and the British Empire is often overlooked and restricted to within higher education settings. Many of those who actively teach Black history feel telling stories of how Black people have lived in the UK for many centuries, and not just as part of migration movements in the 20th century, can help diffuse racial tensions.

Lavinya, from The Black Curriculum said: "We don't have enough Black history on the curriculum, and the things that we do learn in Black history are limited to slavery and maybe some American Black history, which is not reflective of the society that we have here.

"What we're really trying to do is build wider narratives - looking at people who travelled from other parts of the world before colonisation to the parts of history that are more contemporary and current, like Grenfell, that are part of our story, our national story, because again, there's history within that." The Department for Education has made no specific commitment to making the teaching of Black or other Ethnic Minority histories mandatory in schools.

However, they did say they are conducting a review of the current curriculum. A spokesperson said: "The government recently launched an independent curriculum and assessment review as part of our work to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child, at every stage.

“The review is bringing together leading education experts, leaders and staff, to consider how to ensure young people can access a broad, balanced and cutting-edge curriculum that reflects the issues and diversities of our society.” Schools in England are not currently required to teach any Black history, but the curriculum in Wales changed in 2022 to include diverse experiences of people belonging to ethnic minorities.

The Department for Education did not provide a response to Malorie Blackman's comments but says the current curriculum in England gives teachers the freedom and flexibility to include Black voices and experiences. The Scottish government says its curriculum provides opportunities to teach Black history all year round, if teachers want to.

Malorie (pic) said that if other parts of the UK followed Wales in adding Black history to the curriculum it would help address racism, and also make it easier for people to call out racism when they see it. "Hopefully, we can get past this nonsense of people saying you should go back to where you came from and so forth, which I still get when I mention this subject," she said.

"Let's talk about the full history, embrace it warts and all, so that we can learn from it."