ITE Session: Multi-Ethnic Britain
Session Leader’s Notes
Introduction
This two and a half hour ITE session relates to teaching about the multiethnic nature of Britain
through time, and is suitable for student teachers/trainees preparing to teach History or
Citizenship at KS2-4
The session aims to:
 Offer opportunities to work towards the standards for QTS;
 Work within the National Strategy frameworks;
 Support the recommendations of the ‘Macpherson Report’ (HMSO 1999): the inquiry
into the death of Stephen Lawrence, which called upon educators to challenge racism
and develop anti racist approaches to teaching and learning;
 Introduce subject knowledge and key issues relating to the multiethnic nature of Britain
over time.
Student teachers/trainees follow an activity intended for a KS3 classroom, and work with the
material produced for young people. They are given the opportunity to consider the activities
offered, develop and extend their own subject knowledge and can discuss the issues arising
from the session.
Dr. Dean Smart
Faculty of Education,
University of the West of England,
Bristol
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ITE Session: Multi-Ethnic Britain
Session Leaders Notes
Dr. Dean Smart, Faculty of Education,
University of the West of England, Bristol
Focus
 To consider the nature of multiethnic Britain over a long historical time frame
 To provide opportunities for trainee teachers to develop their subject knowledge,
consider approaches to teaching about ethnic diversity and multicultural histories, and
to consider inclusive approaches to History and Citizenship education
About This Session
This two and a half hour ITE session relates to the multiethnic nature of Britain through time, and
is suitable for student teachers/trainees preparing to teach History or Citizenship at KS3-4
History unit.
The session aims to:
 Introduce subject knowledge and key issues relating to the multiethnic nature of Britain
over time- and therefore support teaching and learning related to ethnic diversity
within Britain;
 Offer opportunities to work towards the standards for QTS;
 Work within the National Strategy frameworks;
 Support the recommendations of the ‘Macpherson Report,’ (HMSO 1999) the inquiry
into the death of Stephen Lawrence, which called upon educators to challenge racism
and develop anti-racist approaches to teaching and learning.
Student teachers/trainees follow a scheme of work intended for a KS3/4 classroom, and work
with the material produced for young people. They are given the opportunity to consider the
activities offered, develop and extend their own subject knowledge and can discuss the issues
arising from the session.
Prior Learning
Some students may mistakenly think that immigration into Britain is only a twentieth century
phenomena, whereas there has been a constant movement into and out of Britain through time.
It is also possible that negativity towards migrants and asylum seekers will have been fostered,
even amongst members of the ethnic minority communities, by biased and incorrect press
reportage and politicised positioning in the media.
Other students, for example those that are better read, attend community Saturday or evening
schools, may have a very developed awareness of the history of particular communities in
Britain- or an overview of multiethnic and ‘Black’ British history.
Research by the author of this material shows that current mainstream History textbooks
generally represent relatively little ethnic diversity when telling the story of British History and
ethnic minorities largely in connection with a limited range of historical themes at KS3 and 4,
for example Empire and slave trade narratives only at KS3. Some Citizenship textbooks give
a little coverage to ethnic diversity over time but more often are shallow in their coverage of
this issue, and concentrate largely on diversity in modern Britain. As a result teachers and
pupils are unlikely to have problematised the narratives with which they are presented. For
many teachers and pupils there will be a heavy emphasis on ‘White’ British, and within that
‘White’ Southern English, History.
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This picture of a homogeneous, mono-ethnic Britain/England is, of course not entirely true,
although the twentieth century did see significant numbers of incomers from the British Empire,
the New Commonwealth and elsewhere, moistly recently from the European Union.
Addressing Multiethnic Histories
Britain has been a multiethnic group of islands for many centuries. Archaeological evidence
shows that there were African and Mediterranean, Western and Northern European traders,
travellers and soldiers and their families in Britain during the Roman occupation. Other
evidence demonstrates that British history has been a constant story of incomers, of immigration
and emigration. This session introduces trainees to this story in overview.
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Teaching Activities: Session Leader’s Notes
Activity One: ‘Starter’ Activity
This short activity is based on establishing what people know about the multiethnic nature of
modern Britain. It is based on the 2001 Census figures, and people’s estimation of how the UK
population is formed in terms of ethnicity. Participants should be given the Population sheet
and should ‘best guess’ the percentage for each category.
You should keep the answers hidden only revealing them when you have discussed with
participants what their answers were- and what this might tell you about their preconceptions
about the nature of the British population, and what informs their opinions.
It is my experience that people wildly over-estimated the percentage of ethnic minority origin
citizens in the UK, often because of the way that newspapers present issues of immigration,
economic migration/guest and seasonal workers and race/ethnicity. Often key groups are
over- or under-estimated in the calculations of individuals depending on where in the UK they
live, and their experience of urban and rural living- for example those from some urban areas
may have experienced life in multiethnic communities and others will have lived in largely
mono-cultural and homogeneous groups.
As with many activities the discussion is key, and should be sensitively and carefully handled.
For this reason ensure that you think through the population figures carefully and anticipate the
reactions of your group and the way the discussion is likely to develop.
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Starter Activity Answer
Instructions
1. Take the blank version of the starter activity and distribute them, one grid per
person/group (there are two on an A4 sheet to make them more economical to copy!)
2. As individuals, or small groups, write in what you think is the ethnic mix, in terms of % of
modern Britain.
3. Most respondents get their estimate wildly wrong- thinking there are a lot more people
from ethnic minorities in the UK than the reality, and getting the distributions wrong also!
Discuss why this is the case and any emergent issues.
Answer:
Ethnic Origins of the British Population: 2001
Ethnic group
(ethnic groups as defined by Office of National Statistics, UK Government)
% of
England
% of
Wales
White British
86.99
95.99
White Other
2.66
1.28
Asian
4.57
0.88
Mixed
1.31
0.61
White Irish
1.27
0.61
Black Caribbean
1.14
0.09
Black African
0.97
0.13
Chinese
0.45
0.22
Other
0.44
0.18
Source: 2001 Census Online Table KS06
OR….. If it helps to work in numbers of people rather than the more abstract % of population
there are roughly 60 million Britons- of which 50 million are English and 3 million are Welsh:
Office of National Statistics: The mid-2004 population of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom is
estimated as follows:
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Activity Material
Starter Activity Task
Ethnic Origins of the British Population: 2001
Ethnic Groups in the UK
% of England
% of Wales
(ethnic groups as defined by Office of National Statistics, UK
Government)
White
Ethnic Minority
Asian
Caribbean
Chinese
Mixed
Other
White

Starter Activity Task
Ethnic Origins of the British Population: 2001
Ethnic Groups in the UK
% of England
(ethnic groups as defined by Office of National Statistics, UK
Government)
White
Ethnic Minority
Asian
Caribbean
Chinese
Mixed
Other
White
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% of Wales
Activity Two: Sequencing Activity
Session Leaders Notes
This activity is designed to challenge participants to think about how much they know about
ethnicity in Britain over a long time period.
Participants need to:
 Work in groups
 Be given a timeline, which runs from 0 BC to Now, and a set of sorting cards
 Discuss and agree any decisions about placing the cards on the timeline in the correct
places
The cards show different ethnic groups and each should be placed on the timeline carefully.
Groups must be able to justify why they placed a particular card at the point they have
chosen (some will struggle to give a coherent reason or specific date).
More than one version of the timeline is provided to give you a choice- enlarging the sheet
onto A3 with a photocopier is a good idea!
A Note on Dates
The timeline has the centuries listed in a lighter font to help pupils recognition of which centuries
date fall within and to support their understanding of chronology. If you feel that you would
like to remove this text- please do so!
Some teachers prefer to add CE (Common Era) or BCE (Before Common Era) after year
numbers so that it is clear that respect for other systems/religions is indicated rather than using
the Christian 2007 AD – thus 2007 CE.
This is because the numbers used for years commonly used in the Americas, Australasia,
Western Europe and the UK are based on the development of the medieval Julian and more
recent Gregorian calendar years – a form of the Christian calendar. BC and AD are often
written after a date, representing Before Christ (BC) and Anno Domini (AD), meaning ‘In the
year of our Lord’ (years since the birth of Jesus).
Asian, Jewish and Islamic calendars use different year numbering systems, for example- the Islamic calendar gives a date of 1428 H or AH instead of 2007 (The letters H or AH
after a date indicate the initials of the Latin Anno Hegirae: in the year of the Hijra.)
- the Jewish calendar has years which begin in the Western European Autumn 3761 years
ahead of the Western date (thus Autumn 2007 is the Jewish year 5768.
For more information see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_era
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_calendars
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Activity Two Sorting Cards Timeline ANSWERS:
(In same order as card set):
Late 11th
century
onwards:
Jewish
merchants and
money lenders
16th century:
Dutch
Protestants
5th century A.D.:
Post-1066:
2nd century A.D.
Norman
Knights, their
men and
followers
The African
Legion of the
Roman Army
1562 onwards,
1685 onwards:
1880s, 1903-6:
Jewish refugees
fleeing
Russian/Polish
pogroms
19th century:
Huguenot
refugees from
France
17th century:
Anglo-Saxons
Dutch drainage
and canal
engineers
19th century:
1933-1939:
German
economic
migrants
16th century
onwards:
Lascars
(Muslim
seamen)
16th century
onwards:
Africans: sailors,
servants and the
enslaved
1790s:
Irish
Navies digging
canals and
building
railways
1939-1945:
French refugees
during ‘The
Terror’
Jewish refugees
fleeing Nazi
Germany
Polish exiles
during the
Second World
War
Passengers on
the s.s. Empire
Windrush from
the Caribbean
1939-1945:
8th century A.D.:
1840s onwards,
1950s &1960s:
1914-1918:
Empire and
Commonwealth
Forces during
the Second
World War
Vikings
16th century:
1948:
Chinese settlers
Empire Forces
during the Great
War
1972:
1990s:
1996:
Romani
Asians expelled
by the Dictator
Idi Amin in
Uganda
Evacuees from
Montserrat
1994:
1991:
Refuges and
Asylum seekers
from
Bosnia and
Kosovo
1950s and
1960s:
Refuges and
Asylum seekers
from
Rwanda
Refuges and
Asylum seekers
from Somalia
Workers from
India and
Pakistan
Migrant workers
from within the
European Union
Late 20th
century:
…..and continuously….the Scots, the Irish, the Welsh- the people the Isle
of Man and the Channel Islands- and English migrants
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Activity Two Sorting Cards Timeline ANSWERS:
(Cards in chronological order)
2nd century A.D.
5th century A.D.:
8th century A.D.:
Post-1066:
The African
Legion of the
Roman Army
Anglo-Saxons
Vikings
Late 11th
century
onwards:
16th century
onwards:
1562 onwards,
1685 onwards:
Norman
Knights, their
men and
followers
16th century:
Africans: sailors,
servants and the
enslaved
Huguenot
refugees from
France
16th century
onwards:
17th century:
1790s:
Dutch drainage
and canal
engineers
French refugees
during ‘The
Terror’
1840s,
1950s & 1960s:
1880s, 1903-6:
Jewish
merchants and
money lenders
16th century:
Romani
19th century:
Lascars
(Muslim
seamen)
19th century:
Dutch
Protestants
Irish
Navies digging
canals and
building
railways
1914-1918:
German
economic
migrants
Chinese
Settlers
Jewish refugees
fleeing
Russian/Polish
pogroms
1933-1939:
1939-1945:
1939-1945:
Empire Forces
during the Great
War
Jewish refugees
fleeing Nazi
Germany
Polish exiles
during the
Second World
War
Empire and
Commonwealth
Forces during
World War Two
1948:
1950s and
1960s:
1972:
1990s:
Asians expelled
by the Dictator
Idi Amin in
Uganda
Refuges and
Asylum seekers
from
Bosnia and
Kosovo
1996:
Late 20th
century:
Passengers on
the s.s. Empire
Windrush from
the Caribbean
1991:
Refuges and
Asylum seekers
from Somalia
Workers from
the
CommonwealthIndia, Pakistan,
the Caribbean
1994:
Refuges and
Asylum seekers
from
Rwanda
Evacuees from
Montserrat
Migrant workers
from within the
European Union
…..and continuously….the Scots, the Irish, the Welsh- the people the Isle
of Man and the Channel Islands- and English migrants
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Activity Two Materials: Sorting Cards for Timeline 
Jewish
merchants and
money lenders
Norman
Knights, their
men and
followers
The African
Legion of the
Roman Army
Dutch
Protestants
Huguenot
refugees from
France
Africans:
sailors, servants
and the
enslaved
Anglo-Saxons
Dutch drainage
and canal
engineers
Jewish refugees
fleeing
Russia/Polish
pogroms
Irish
Navies digging
canals and
building
railways
German
economic
migrants
Jewish refugees
fleeing Nazi
Germany
Polish exiles
during the
Second World
War
Passengers on
the s.s.
Windrush from
the Caribbean
Empire and
Commonwealth
Forces during
World War Two
Vikings
Chinese
Settlers
Empire Forces
during the Great
War
Romani
Asians expelled
by the Dictator
Idi Amin in
Uganda
Refuges and
Asylum seekers
from
Bosnia and
Kosovo
Evacuees from
Montserrat
Refuges and
Asylum seekers
from
Rwanda
Refuges and
Asylum seekers
from Somalia
Workers from
the
CommonwealthIndia, Pakistan,
the Caribbean
Migrant workers
from within the
European Union
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Lascars
(Asian and
Muslim seamen)
French refugees
during ‘The
Terror’
Activity Two: Timeline (Version A)
0
1000
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
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Activity Two: Timeline (Version B)
0
100
1st
century CE
1000
2nd
century CE
1100
11th
century CE
200
3rd
century CE
1200
12th
century CE
300
4th
century CE
1300
13th
century CE
400
5th
century CE
1400
14th
century CE
500
6th
century CE
1500
15th
century CE
12
600
7th
century CE
1600
16th
century CE
700
8th
century CE
1700
17th
century CE
800
900
9th
century CE
1800
18th
century CE
1000
10th
century CE
1900
19th
century CE
2000
20th
century CE
Activity Two: Timeline (Version C)
0
100
1st
century CE
200
2nd
century CE
300
3rd
century CE
400
4th
century CE
500
5th
century CE
600
6th
century CE
700
7th
century CE
800
8th
century CE
900
9th
century CE
1000
10th
century CE
Dark Ages, 5th – 10th centuries
Anglo-Saxons / Anglo-Celtic Britain 5th Century - 1066
Roman Occupation
43 – 410
1000
1100
11th
century CE
1200
12th
century CE
1300
13th
century CE
1400
14th
century CE
1500
15th
century CE
1600
16th
century CE
1700
17th
century CE
1800
18th
century CE
1900
19th
century CE
20th
century CE
Georgians 1714 - 1837
Normans / Middle Ages / Plantaganets 1066- 1485
Tudors 1485 - 1603
Stuarts 1603 - 1714
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2000
Victorians
1837-1901
Activity Three: Research Activity
Session Leaders Notes
This activity is planned as a way of extending and consolidating subject knowledge and of
sharing information. Participants will research one or more of the groups listed during the
sorting activity and collaborate to make a large wall display showing the multiethnic nature of
Britain throughout history.
I recommend that participants are given ‘Success Criteria’ for this exercise and a time limit.
Ideally criteria will be phrased in a positive way. See if you can think of ways to reword some
of the negative statements in the example below
To be successful in this activity you must…
 Work individually/in collaborative groups (?)
 Use XXXX amount of wall space
 Not just use things copied out from books
 Use no more than XXXX amount of materials/colours/media/fonts
 Mention no less than XXXX number of different groups of incomers
 Stimulate, amuse and educate your intended audience
 Provide a clear sense of chronology, and include a timeline, which runs from ‘0 BCE to
Now’
You can decide how prescriptive you wish to be and what will encourage or stifle a creative
response!
Differentiating this exercise
This is a very open ended display task and in a classroom there would be a risk that not all
pupils would engage with the task and settle into research, extrapolation and synthesis
activities.
For all young people to respond to the challenges present in this activity consider:
Whether having a simply worded, clear written instruction sheet might add clarity- this mightinclude the success criteria, the time limit and a very clear statement of how you will be
assessing group and individual contributions.
You could differentiate byHaving different versions of the task sheet, some of which have clear step by step instructions,
perhaps with questions related to specific sources
Providing some simple source and stimulus materials for certain pupils, whilst others are
provided with more generalised reference sources, and the most able are allowed to choose
whether they wish to use provided materials or seek their own and apply critical judgements
about their value, utility and reliability.
You could brief other adults and parents/carers about the research task to help them support
the research activity and ask for guided support and encouragement.
You could provide a bank of images and visual stimulus materials for learners who like to
engage with such stimulus, and to support the production of an attractive and visually
engaging finish ‘product’.
You could create your stimulus materials using a variety of media, for example
printed/photocopied sheets, text books and online materials CD ROMs of stimulus materials
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which pupils could take away, downloadable files on the school/department website including
sound/MP3 or podcast files, video files and so on.
You might allow some pupils who are comfortable working in multimedia to create elements of
their display in a variety of media.
For example on the next two pages I have provided a sample instruction sheet at two different
levels of ‘scaffolding’. You could adapt the days/deadlines to your own circumstances.
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Materials: Activity Three, Research Task (Version 1)
Multi-ethnic Britain Display: Success Criteria
Target:
We are going to produce an attractive, interesting and informative wall display which tells the
story of Britain’s multiethnic past. This should be completed within a time limit and be ready for
us to evaluate during Friday’s lesson.
Success Criteria
To be successful in this activity you must Take part in the whole class discussion when we discuss the overall plan for the wall
display
 Work in pairs on the specific section of the timeline that you are given
 Complete your assigned task by the deadline
 Design interesting, attractive and informative materials to place in the wall space that
you have been given
 Produce original text
 Mount your work using the two different backing colours provided
 Use Comic Sans Font size 14 for main text and size 20 for title
Sources:
You can use
- the book box
- the folder of sources and photocopies
- reliable internet sources
- materials which you track down, for example from libraries and other places
Timing:
TWO LESSONS AND ONE HOMEWORK
You have one classroom based lesson for planning and researching, draft copy writing and
editing.
There will be a book box and folders of research materials available.
You have one lesson in the ICT room for internet research and typing.
I will be in the ICT room on Tuesday and Wednesday during the second half of lunchtime and
after school to help anyone who is working on this task. The helpers in Homework Club have
also been given information about this work and how they can help.
The display will be put up on Thursday after school- volunteer helpers
welcome!
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Materials: Activity Three, Research Task (Version 2)
Multi-ethnic Britain Display: Success Criteria
What Are We Doing Today?
We will do the research to produce a wall display about the people who came into Britain
over the last two thousand years. The aim is to create something which looks good and is
interesting and accurate.
We have two lessons and one homework to get the work done:
The first lesson is in our classroom
The second lesson is in the ICT room
What Are We Looking For?
To be successful in this activity you must Join in when we talk about the overall plan for the wall display
 Work with a partner on your display section
 Make sure that your work fits in the space available
 Stick to the presentation rules we agreed when we planned together
 Finish by the end of school on Thursday and give in the work so it can be put on the
wall
 Use your own words and be interesting and accurate
 Include one or more pictures if you wish
 Join in when we judge the quality of the work on Friday, and say what you liked
about the overall display, and what you would change about your work.
Where Do I Get Help?
I will be in the ICT room on Tuesday and Wednesday at Lunchtime (after 1 O’clock) and from
3.40-4.30
The Homework Club helpers also know about this task and can help.
I will put up the display on Thursday after schoolif you want to help please ask the people at home if you can stay so they know where
you will be/what time you will get home!
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