How far did the toppling of the Colston statue in 2020 impact upon primary history subject-leaders’ curriculum decision-making in North-West England?

Abstract

This is a qualitative research study which investigates the curriculum decision-making of four primary school history subject-leaders in the North-West of England. A grounded theory approach was utilised. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the subject-leaders and an audit of their schools’ history curriculum completed. The curriculum was altered in response to the Colston statue toppling in three schools, the subject-leaders faced several challenges. Further research is needed to discover more about the role of primary history subject-leaders and the agency they can achieve as curriculum-makers. It is also argued that Black British history should be included in the History National Curriculum for England.