It is important for young people to learn that culture, history, art, and music are not just created by historical figures, famous people, or those living in other places.
Culture is created in everyday life by all of us in our various communities, whether in our families, our schools, our neighbourhoods, or in ethnic, occupational, or other kinds of groups.
At Harper Bell Seventh-day Adventist Primary School we are proud of our culture and heritage. Harper Bell pupils come from all four corners of the globe, with many having family roots in Africa or the Caribbean. We are proud to be British. We are proud that many of our families travelled to Britain and Birmingham from all over the world. This is something that we want to celebrate through our curriculum.
Our humanities curriculum meets all of the requirements of the National Curriculum, while being tailored to include real-world experiences that connect pupils to their communities—in ways that capture students' attention, enrich their learning experience, and improve essential reading, research, communications, and writing skills.
By learning about their cultural heritage, pupils discover the rich and often diverse traditions around them and make valuable connections to history, place, and environment. Our humanities curriculum helps our pupils understand culture by connecting to their communities—and by interacting with their own relatives and musicians, storytellers, artisans, and experts in both their cultural heritage and local history.
Harper Bell Seventh-day Adventist pupils visit places of historical or local significance while learning about family, school, and local traditions.
Making heritage studies a key part of our curriculum:
- enhances performance in interdisciplinary learning, team participation, and presentation skills;
- involves students with their families, the community around them, and increases civic awareness;
- builds self-esteem and pride in self, community, and cultural heritage;
- provides an opportunity for students to contribute to their community in meaningful ways;
- fosters awareness and tolerance of cultural diversity;
- encourages the interpretation, synthesis, and evaluation of various kinds of cultural information;
- promotes school-community partnership opportunities that value each student's life and experiences.
Our Humanities Curriculum:
- Celebrates the varied and rich culture and heritage of our children;
- Teaches our children to be equally proud of their family's cultural heritage as they of their British identity;
- Provides our pupils with opportunities to make a tangible difference to their community by working in partnership with local organisations, charities and people;
- Meets all of the requirements of the National Curriculum.
Black history IS British History. It's time people stopped missing the 'tricky bits' out.
