The Windrush Generation

Bring the story of the Windrush Generation to life in your KS2 classroom with this complete History scheme of work. Through six carefully planned lessons, children will explore why people travelled from the Caribbean to Britain, the challenges they faced and the huge contributions they made to British society.

Packed with detailed lesson plans, slides, activities, and resources, this KS2 Windrush History scheme encourages pupils to think critically, build empathy and understand the lasting impact of migration on modern Britain.

Ideal for Black History Month or wider curriculum learning, this resource saves you time while helping children connect with real stories that shaped the nation.

Windrush History

In the first lesson of this series, children will discover the historic 1948 voyage of the HMT Empire Windrush, exploring who its passengers were and why they chose to make the journey to Britain. Through stories and discussion, they will gain insight into the hopes and challenges faced by those on board.

To put their learning into action, pupils will then take on the role of advertisers, creating a persuasive poster that encourages people to migrate to Britain in 1948. This creative challenge builds historical understanding while developing persuasive writing skills in a fun, purposeful way.

View Lesson 1

The People of Windrush

In this lesson, children will explore the experiences of those who travelled on the HMT Empire Windrush and consider how it may have felt to leave their home country behind. Using landing cards based on real passengers, including Windrush campaigner Sam Beaver King, pupils will step into the shoes of a traveller and respond to interview questions in role.

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Windrush Generation Today

This lesson looks at the Windrush generation and where they are today. The included lesson slides discuss the Windrush scandal of 2012-2018 and how this affected the Commonwealth migrants that were involved.

The class are then challenged to research and present information on a famous person that is/was part of the Windrush generation or has a close connection to someone who was.

This lesson comes fully resourced with a lesson plan, differentiated activities, PDF lesson slides and printable resources.

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Impact

Challenge your class to use their learning about Windrush and the people involved to discuss the impacts that this key event in British history had on our culture. What might it have been like if Windrush never happened?

Define the word expectations with your class and discuss what people may have expected from the new Commonwealth migrants. What might they have been excited about? What may they have been worried about?

Download everything you need to teach this lesson, including a detailed lesson plan, PDF lesson slides and any printable resources to support the children in their independent activity.

View Lesson 4

Windrush Celebrations

In this final lesson your class will look at the different ways that the Windrush generation is celebrated in Britain. From Windrush Day in June to Notting Hill Carnival, the children can discuss and describe the different ways they think we can celebrate this important part of British history and culture.

Your class are challenged to plan out a Windrush Day event for your class or school, thinking carefully about how and why they are observing the day. They will need to write a letter to your headteacher to convince them to put on the event, laying out the reasons why the Windrush Day should be celebrated.

This lesson download comes with everything you need, including PDF lesson plan, slides and printable resources.

View Lesson 5