Facing History and Ourselves CIO
Facing History and Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate. We provide educators with professional development, academic resources and proven student-centred strategies that focus on cultivating engaged and informed citizens, ensuring the realisation of a more compassionate and inclusive society.
Through rigorous historical analysis combined with the study of human behaviour, Facing History’s approach heightens students’ understanding of racism and religious intolerance.
Our work gives teachers the tools and confidence they need to lead deep classroom discussions on difficult subjects like inequality, race and social justice, and to integrate current events with historic case studies to bring history and literature to life. We have training and materials that are relevant for history, English, religious studies, citizenship, politics, PSHE and more.
- Online and (when allowed) in-person training in our approach and the use of our resources
- Full teaching units aligned to specific aspects of the curriculum
- Teaching ideas (usually one or two lessons) to support a wider scheme of work
- Current Events responses - to support teachers with having conversations about potentially challenging events with students
- Teaching strategies and approaches to creating an inclusive classroom community where meaningful conversation and learning can take place even when addressing potentially challenging topics
We strongly encourage teachers to participate in our Professional Development opportunities to
develop an understanding of the approach that underpins the published resources.
External evaluation shows that pupils who study in a Facing History classroom are more likely to have respect and understanding for the rights of others whose views differ from their own and an increased capacity to make a difference in society. Young people who study Facing History have increased awareness of the power and danger of prejudice and discrimination, and how they can stand up to challenge it, as well as make choices that actively contribute to a more inclusive society. They are also more likely to be motivated to learn and read.
“Those taking GCSE Citizenship were mostly our lower achieving students, but they managed to outperform the higher achieving students. It is not something I’ve managed to achieve using any other resources or techniques so far.” – Facing History RS and Citizenship teacher