Mary Seacole

Discover the inspiring life of Mary Seacole with this KS1 History Planning Pack. Best known for her nursing during the Crimean War and setting up the British Hotel, Mary Seacole battled racism and prejudice to achieve extraordinary things, yet her story was forgotten for over 100 years.

Through seven engaging lessons, children will:

• Create timelines and fact files of her life

• Explore how she helped patients during a cholera outbreak in Kingston

• Write in role as Mary Seacole to reflect on her experiences of racism and resilience

• Learn how she set up the British Hotel after being refused by Florence Nightingale

• Design a banknote to celebrate her legacy

Each lesson includes a slideshow, detailed plan, differentiated activities and high-quality printable resources...everything you need to bring this remarkable Black woman’s story to life in your classroom.

Looking for more resources featuring inspiring black women? Then use this Ruby Bridges lesson to introduce your KS1 class to the amazingly brave six-year-old girl, who paved the way for the desegregation of schools in 1960s America.

A Knowledge Organiser is available to support the learning in this Mary Seacole KS1 scheme. It is included in the Complete Series download or can be purchased individually.

Who was she?

In the first lesson in this series, children will explore the life of Mary Seacole, learning how her childhood in Kingston with a Jamaican nurse mother and Scottish soldier father shaped her passion for nursing. They’ll find out how she used her medical skills to treat patients during Kingston’s cholera epidemic and how, after being turned away by the War Office, she travelled to Crimea to care for sick and wounded soldiers. There, she became affectionately known as ‘Mother Seacole’.

Through this lesson, children will create their own fact files or work collaboratively to research her remarkable achievements, helping them understand why she is remembered as a courageous and determined figure in history.

View Lesson 1

Timelines

This lesson builds on previous learning by starting with a lively game of True or False to refresh children’s knowledge of Mary Seacole’s life. The main focus of the teaching input is understanding chronological order, giving pupils the chance to practise sequencing key events from her remarkable story on a timeline.

Children will then work with event cards to create a timeline of Mary Seacole’s life, or they can bring history to life through drama by acting out the stages of her journey. These hands-on activities help children develop a clear sense of chronology while deepening their understanding of her achievements.

View Lesson 2

Racism

Children begin by discussing what the term racism means in this lesson, recognising it as the unfair treatment of someone because of their skin colour or background. They will then learn how Mary Seacole faced racism during her lifetime and be encouraged to consider how she may have felt when experiencing such unfair treatment.

To deepen their understanding, children will then take part in reflective activities. They can write in role as Mary Seacole, responding to a speech that contained racist remarks, or design a powerful SAY NO TO RACISM poster to share a positive message.

View Lesson 3

Cholera

In this lesson, children will discover what cholera is and how an outbreak in Kingston in 1851 claimed many lives. They’ll explore how Mary Seacole became renowned for her bravery and skill in treating patients, using remedies such as mustard plasters and mercury chloride.

To bring history to life, children will then take on the role of Mary Seacole by creating a nurse’s guide to spotting symptoms and treating cholera, or they can compare her remedies with modern-day treatments. To conclude, they will reflect on the fact that cholera still affects people around the world today and consider what Mary Seacole might do if she were alive now.

View Lesson 4

Journey to Crimea

Children will begin this lesson by watching a video that explains how, after learning British soldiers in Crimea were suffering from cholera, Mary Seacole travelled to the War Office in London to ask if she could join Florence Nightingale in Scutari.

Through drama, children will explore how Mary may have felt when her offer of help was rejected by both the War Office and the Crimean Fund. They will then discover how she used her own money to buy passage aboard the Hollander with her friend Thomas Day, showing determination to reach Crimea and support the soldiers.

To reflect on her courage and resilience, children can then write a diary in role as Mary Seacole, capturing her thoughts and emotions during the different stages of her journey.

View Lesson 5

The Crimean War

Children will learn about the conditions Mary Seacole found when she finally arrived in Crimea and how she set up the British Hotel to support sick and injured soldiers. They will explore why she became affectionately known as ‘Mother Seacole’ and reflect on the comfort and care she provided.

To bring the history to life, children can then take on a range of creative writing tasks. In role as Mary Seacole, they can design a persuasive advert encouraging soldiers to visit the British Hotel, or they can step into the shoes of an injured soldier rescued by Seacole, writing a heartfelt postcard home about their experience. The lesson concludes with a comparison of the achievements of both Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale.

View Lesson 6

Celebrating her Achievements

In the final lesson of this KS1 Mary Seacole series, children will discover what happened when Mary Seacole returned to England after the Crimean War, unable to sell the British Hotel and left in poverty. They will learn how a fundraising event helped her at the time, but how her remarkable story was forgotten for more than 100 years after her death.

Children will then explore how her legacy was revived, from Caribbean nurses championing her story to the unveiling of a statue in her honour in 2016. Using this as inspiration, they will design a new banknote that celebrates Mary Seacole’s memory, reflecting on why she deserves to be remembered.

The lesson concludes with an opportunity for children to reflect on everything they have learned about Mary Seacole across the unit, consolidating their understanding of her achievements and lasting impact.

View Lesson 7

This Year 2 History Knowledge Organiser has been created to complement our History 'Significant Individuals' strand. It is designed to support your children’s understanding of key vocabulary linked to this scheme of work. Enquiry questions have been included to encourage your children to think like a historian within this topic.

View Knowledge Organiser