(Title Image: Glyndwr University)
- Cross-party backing for two petitions calling for improvements to the breadth of study and diversity in the Welsh history curriculum.
- Education Minister acknowledges “strength of feeling” about the issue.
- Schools will have flexibility in how history is taught in a local, national and international context.
P-05-992 “We call on the Welsh Government to create a common body of knowledge about Welsh history that all pupils will learn”
Submitted by Elfyd Wyn Jones
Signatures: 7,927
P-05-1000 “Make it compulsory for Black and POC UK histories to be taught in the Welsh education curriculum”
Submitted by Angharad Owen
Signatures: 34,736
History is about more than facts and glorification
Chair of the Petitions Committee, Janet Finch-Saunders MS (Con, Aberconwy), said calls for specific subjects to be included in the new curriculum have become a regular feature in recent years, while the Welsh Government wants the curriculum to be “purpose-led” rather than setting out in detail what is or isn’t taught.
Another running theme (in both petitions to an extent) was a need for appropriate resources to be available to teachers
“….(the second petition) is focused is on ensuring sufficient coverage is given to teaching about the legacy of these aspects of our history in our schools, including the role Wales played and the impact on black and minority ethnic people in Wales. The petitioner has acknowledged that teaching these issues can be daunting for teachers….Therefore, the petition argues that additional resources and support are required to equip teachers with the information and confidence to address these subjects appropriately with their students.”
– Chair of the Petitions Committee, Janet Finch-Saunders MS
Suzy Davies MS (Con, South Wales West) not only noted the petitioners’ aims but supported them. She suggesting some controversial historical figures in Wales, like Edward I, could be presented in a wider context – not as a psychopathic villain but a case study of expectations of leadership during the early middle ages and the relationship to people in power today.
Plaid Cymru – who tabled a debate similar to this earlier in the year – supported the aims. Sian Gwenllian MS (Plaid, Arfon) thought the importance of diversity in Wales deserves the same cross-curricular focus in the new curriculum as healthy relationships.
Delyth Jewell MS (Plaid, South Wales East) argued that a common corpus of key moments and events would properly root Wales in its past and help halt the erosion of university-level study of Welsh history and Celtic languages.
Jenny Rathbone MS (Lab, Cardiff Central) thought history should be re-evaluated in light of contemporary problems, like the Windrush scandal and romanticisation of the British Empire in state honours and even God Save the Queen.
Signature numbers a sign of the strength of feeling
Education Minister, Kirsty Williams (Lib Dem, Brecon & Radnor), said the sheer number of signatures was a sign of the strength of feeling about history teaching in Wales.
As she’s said several times previously, the concept of “cynefin” in the new curriculum will mean students will have a Welsh sense of place and belonging. In the summer, Prof. Charlotte Williams was appointed to lead a review of BAME history in the curriculum.
In terms of teaching resources, the curriculum will grant individual schools a great deal of flexibility:
“Schools will be supported to engage with heritage professionals, museums and galleries, as well as community and cultural leaders when designing their curriculum….So, within the parameters set out in the guidance, teachers will have the flexibility to tailor the content of lessons to allow learners to explore their ‘cynefin’. We believe that that is the best way forward for them to understand how their local identities, landscapes and histories connect with those on a national and international stage.”
– Education Minister, Kirsty Williams
Petitions are usually noted (“We have paid attention to it”) unanimously, but there was a contested vote this time. For whatever reason, the Deputy Economy Minister, Lee Waters (Lab, Llanelli), abstained and found himself alongside the expected company.
