Windrush Day

Resource type: Event

Price band: Free

Key stage: KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4, KS5, EYFS

Region(s): All of UK

Windrush Day is celebrated on the 22^nd June, the day that the HMT Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks in 1948. On board were over 800 passengers from the Caribbean who came to help rebuild Britain after WWII, working in the transport system, factories and the newly-created NHS.

Windrush Day has been celebrated since 2018. It provides an opportunity to both celebrate the contribution made by the Windrush Generation and their descendants to British society and culture and to reflect on the difficulties and hardships many of them have faced.

Cost: Free

About Windrush Day: Windrush Day was first celebrated in 2018. It honours the contribution made by the Windrush Generation and the hardships that many of them have endured.

Further resources:

Download four free A River of Stories anthologies containing stories and poems from each of the countries of the Commonwealth, along with teaching notes and activities from the National Literacy Trust.
You can read interviews with Patrice Lawrence and Benjamin Zephaniah talking about their books Granny Came on the Empire Windrush and Windrush Child on the Book Trust website.
See suggested books to help celebrate Windrush Day from CLPE, Best Books for Schools and LoveReading4Kids.
Explore the Inclusive Books for Children website to find recommendations of inclusive books for children aged 0-9 from an expert review team.
Explore primary and secondary teaching resources from The Linking Network and Windrush network, including interviews with Windrush elders sharing their stories with pupils in Bradford schools.
Download free teaching resources for pupils aged 7-11, 11-14 and 14-16 from the Windrush Monument to explore the Windrush story and its significance.
The Greenwich Maritime Museum has a range of resources for primary and secondary schools, including recorded conversations between primary children and Windrush elders and information about some of the other ships that transported Caribbean people to the UK.
Watch a film adapted from Floella Benjamin’s book Coming to England on BBC iplayer.
Writing Realities from the Writing for Pleasure Centre provides a framework and examples of practice to help teachers encourage all young people to celebrate and reflect their own realities in their writing.
Encourage primary-aged children to tell their story with the ‘Step Inside Your Story’ creative literacy resources from the British Library, including advice and tips from some of the top names in children’s books.
The Whose Stories? podcasts explore issues of diversity and representation in children’s books with award-winning writers, illustrators and changemakers from the world of children’s literature.
Beyond the Secret Garden is a series of articles in online magazine Books for Keeps that looks at the representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic voices in British children’s literature.