Register for the Picture News Black History Month Live Assembly (with special guest, Swarzy!) here. Get the free Picture News Black History Month teaching resource here. October is Black History Month. This blog explores the meaning behind the month and this year’s theme, and offers meaningful ways you can embed Black history in school beyond the month of October. Keep reading to register for our free Live Assembly (open to all schools!) and receive the Picture News Black History Month teaching resource. What is Black History Month? Black History Month takes place throughout October in the UK. It’s a time that encourages simultaneous celebration and reflection, focused on Black people’s experiences and contributions to society. What is the 2025 Black History Month theme? The 2025 theme for Black History Month is ‘Standing Firm in Power and Pride’. The theme celebrates the resilience and strength Black people around the world have shown, whilst highlighting the positive ways in which society has been shaped by Black people’s contributions and actions. The theme of the month also honours and celebrates anniversaries connected with the Black community, drawing attention to the impact activists and pioneers have had. Cherron Inko-Tariah MBE shares on Blackhistorymonth.org: “The theme for Black History Month UK 2025 is “Standing Firm in Power and Pride,” a powerful tribute to the resilience, strength, and unwavering commitment to progress that defines the Black community across the globe. This year, the theme highlights the profound contributions made by Black people be they leaders, activists, or pioneers who have shaped history, while also looking towards a future of continued empowerment, unity, and growth.” How can schools get involved in Black History Month 2025? Assemblies Include Black history within your assembly themes. You may wish to focus on particular individuals who inspire, someone who has made a significant impact to an industry, or initiatives happening to celebrate Black history. Encourage pupil participation within your assemblies. Can pupils collate their own ideas for the theme of your assembly? Can some present or plan? Turning your Black history assemblies into a collective effort is an effective way to stir excitement and enthusiasm, whilst also encouraging children to learn and think about Black history more deeply. You may also wish to invite guest speakers into school to share their experiences, backgrounds, ambitions and achievements, to inspire the children and help them learn from others’ stories. While it’s great to host Black history themed assemblies in October, remember to go beyond this month. Assemblies exploring Black history are important all year round! Pupil-led projects exploring ‘Power and Pride’ Reflecting on the theme of ‘Standing Firm in Pride and Power’, children could complete tasks in groups or independently, focusing on Black people who have demonstrated ‘Power and Pride’, and then share their work with peers. Newspaper reports Your pupils may wish to write newspaper articles, reporting the different ways their community is celebrating Black History Month in 2025. They may like to produce an opinion piece on the impact they believe a focus on ‘Pride and Power’ could have, or an inspiring piece on how we can honour Black history further at school and home. Host a community celebration Involve all members of your school community to celebrate and raise awareness of Black History Month. Think about who you will invite and what style of celebration you’d like to host. E.g., party, fair etc. Encourage the children to help you with the planning and hosting of the event, to support them in becoming empowered with an increased understanding of the meaning behind what you are doing. Create school artwork Pupils might like to express their thoughts on and knowledge of Black History Month through art and creativity. A variety of mediums – poetry, paintings, drama, songs, collages – can be influenced by and celebrate ‘Standing Firm in Power and Pride’. Display their creations in a communal area of school, for all to see and proudly share with others! Make a communal display On the topic of displays, you may wish to collate the work created throughout school to celebrate Black history to feature on a display. Choose a communal area in school for teachers, pupils, parents and visitors to see. Can the children help you create the display, and have a say on what’s included? Will you feature information on Black History Month, descriptions of the theme this year, and showcase the children’s work? How about speech bubbles to reflect the children’s thoughts and ideas about Black History Month? Consider regularly updating your display with fresh content and display different pieces of work. Keep reading to learn how we’re celebrating Black History Month here at Picture News. We’d love for you to get involved! Black History Month Primary School Live Assembly It’s back by popular demand! This October, we’re hosting another Black History Month Live Assembly! Be part of another huge school audience – join Katie and special guest, BBC presenter Swarzy Macaly, to explore this year’s theme, ‘Standing Firm in Power and Pride’. Friday 3rd October 2025 9:15 - 9:45am Online assembly on Zoom There will be time for lots of interaction between schools and Swarzy, as we celebrate and reflect on the meaning of the 2025 theme together. The assembly is suitable for children in KS1 and KS2, their teachers, TAs and SLT. Open to all! Register for the Picture News Black History Month Live Assembly (with special guest, Swarzy!) here. Black History Month Teaching Resource To support your Black History Month celebrations, we’ve produced an additional free teaching resource, available to all schools. Perfect for assemblies or classroom discussions, the resource explores this year’s theme, the purpose of Black History Month, and inspires schools to get involved! Get the free Black History Month teaching resource here. //b667e803ea5399501dccf24f2b415eee.cdn.bubble.io/f1758902136816x154504232009245000/richtext_content.jpeg
