In its 2004/05 Annual Report for History, the QCA recognised the importance of Black British History within the school curriculum. The need for new resources in this area was also supported by research produced by Northamptonshire Black History Project and the University of Northampton in 2005. A copy of the research report can be downloaded from this website.

One of the main aims of the Shaping the Future project was to respond to that need by developing educational resource packs linked to the National Curriculum. The packs were developed with specialist teachers and are a gateway of resources, allowing teachers to develop their own activities in relation to the national curriculum at a range of levels.

The first title, Walter Tull: Sport, War and Challenging Adversity, was officially launched in December 2007 at Northampton Town Football Club. This title contains three packs for the history curriculum at Key Stages 1and 3 and a cross curricular scheme with emphasis on Citizenship for Key Stage 2.

The second title is a Key Stage 3 pack, From Slavery to Emancipation, and aims to tie in directly with 2007 bicentennial anniversary of the Parliamentary Abolition Act. This pack is available as a FREE download from this site.

Representations of Empire is a resource that uses museum objects to develop learning. The pack has significant links with the Victorian period and how views of the world were formed through museums and the objects displayed. Using a thematic approach the pack challenges some of the ideas of Empire and encourages students to question their world then and now.

In Living Memory uses NBHAs vast oral archive to create a pack that uses actual experiences to study topics such as settling and arriving; housing and employment; social life; racism and anti-racism.

A long term view of over 800 years of local history is provided in Northamptonshire in a Global Context. This pack provides teachers with a mapping of resources and a general overview of the county's black history. A book entitled Sharing our Past has been written by NBHA members and supports this pack.

All packs have been developed in consultation with a group of local teachers who act as steering group and provide expertise for the project.

For more details go to Educational Resources