Schools to be encouraged to teach Cornish

Schools in Cornwall are set to be encouraged to give lessons with more of a Cornish flavour to help children learn more about the Duchy. A new Curriculum Kernwek is being drawn up by Cornwall Council to help teachers have more Cornish influences in the classroom.

The document, which is currently in the process of being consulted on, will guide schools so that they can continue to teach the required National Curriculum but add a local Cornish flavour to the lessons for children. The Cornish curriculum is not aiming to add new lessons but help shape those which are currently taught in Cornish schools.

Curriculum Kernwek will not only encourage schools to look at Cornwall's past in influencing lessons but also to look to the future and what is happening in Cornwall here and now. The document suggests that schools should not only look at the influence of Cornish people in Cornwall but also around the world.

Details about the project were shared with Cornwall councillors at a meeting of the council's children and families overview and scrutiny committee this morning.

The consultation document states: "Curriculum Kernewek helps pupils to understand and celebrate the distinctive quality of living and learning in Cornwall in the twenty-first century, to identify their own sense of being Cornish, to enable them to understand and to challenge the 'anglicisation' of Cornwall and the Cornish and to therefore feel a heightened sense of belonging to their local community and the Duchy. It also helps to foster in pupils an understanding of Cornwall's history as an outward-looking and international Cornwall, promoting global citizenship and a concern for sustainable development."

Graeme Plunkett, senior education effectiveness officer at Cornwall Council, has been leading on the project. He said that whilst schools in Cornwall do use elements of the local area in lessons it was usually only in certain areas.

He said that whilst children in the St Austell area, for example, might learn about the China Clay industry and the impact it had on the local environment, economy and its history they might not explore further than that.

Mr Plunkett said: "It doesn't give them a thorough overview of what it means to be Cornish in 2023, growing up in Cornwall and Cornwall's place in the world. We want a more thorough curriculum that leaves children knowing more and remembering more over time and consolidating that understanding."

Councillors heard that Curriculum Kernewek was designed to give teachers ideas of how they could incorporate aspects of Cornwall, its heritage, culture and current issues into lessons being delivered as part of the national curriculum.

Mr Plunkett said: "What we have done is create a document that shows the existing English national curriculum and where they suggest content that could be used to deliver the knowledge required. We have looked at alternative Kernewek content examples that can be used in place of the English content."

He added: "This is not a curriculum for nationalism or independence, it is a curriculum for Cornwall. It needs to not be a nostalgic curriculum about the past, a Poldark curriculum, it needs to be forward-looking.

"Why should children learn about Stonehenge where there are menhirs and stone circles on their doorstep? Why do they learn about the Amazon rainforest when they can learn about the rainforest here?"

The document suggests that schools could teach the Cornish language and be encouraged to help children develop an awareness of Kernewek and its links with English and foreign languages. Children would also be encouraged to appreciate their local dialect.

Councillors warmly welcomed the document with Michael Bunney saying it was "absolutely brilliant". They asked to continue to be informed about the project and for feedback from the consultation to be shared with them.

Council officers said that whilst they welcomed the comments from councillors they reminded them that the project was being delivered "on a shoestring" and that there was very little funding available.