Published: 3 October 2025
Liz Pemberton is the award-winning director of The Black Nursery Manager Ltd. Her mission is to transform early childhood education by embedding inclusive, anti-racist principles into practice, policy, and pedagogy.
Black History Month in the UK is marked in October and has been a staple in the calendar since 1987. Created by analyst and activist Akyaaba Addai-Sebo who used to work for the council in London, he thought it was an important way to acknowledge and celebrate the many ways that Black communities across the diaspora have contributed to the rich tapestry of the UK.
Each year, Black History Month has a theme and this year it is about ‘Power and Pride’ and how we honour heritage, celebrate resilience and look ahead to progress and unity.
In Early Years, this is especially relevant and important as we know that right from the very start of a child’s life the experiences that they have are shaped not just by their families’ unique cultures and heritage but also by the other people that they interact with outside of their families - including the people in their nurseries.
Throughout October, I have written a series of articles which encourages us to all be a part of Black History Month celebrations both at nursery and in our homes as we think about the stories children hear, the music they dance to, the food that they share and the ways they see themselves reflected and celebrated.
We all come from families where stories are shared about who we are and what makes us special and unique. We hear stories throughout our lives, and these connect us with other people through culture, heritage and histories. These things are wonderful but equally it is also powerful when we can share stories about our culture, histories and heritages with others who share different stories about themselves too.
The richness of Black family life and traditions are vast and varied in the UK because there are so many different places around the world that our heritages are rooted. These stories are important to know and quite often they are shared intergenerationally by grandparents, culturally through celebrations such as carnival and in everyday practices like the care routines shared between children and their families.
For example, a culturally specific care practice that I share with my two year old is one that is embedded in our bathtime routine. Every day at bathtime, he puts his hand into our shared tub of shea butter and rubs it on his hands to warm it up and melt it before rubbing it on his face and body once he has come out of the bath and been dried. He understands that this is an essential part of his routine, but also that it is something that we, his mommy and daddy do too to keep our skin soft moisturised and as he describes it “shiny”. He finds such a sense of joy in this and because we have been doing this since birth, he is confident in carrying out this routine without prompt because he knows it’s something that happens every day and why it is essential.
Every weekend, we spend time with our extended family including grandparents, aunties and cousins which is an important time to bond, build relationships outside of the home and hear stories. The vibe in my parents’ house has differences to that of our household but there are also lots of similarities which help my son build connections linked to the smells of foods that are being cooked and a range of photographs which he finds fascinating. Specifically, photos from my childhood, our wedding days, the hospital on his birthday, and images of our late-grandparents.
Read more about the food, culture and connection here.
There is a particular photograph that both me and my parents have a copy of in our respective households which show me at Handsworth Carnival as a child holding a Jamaican flag and my son never tires of hearing the story attached to it when his grandad tells him, in a very animated fashion, about the sound systems that pumped out the heavy bass of reggae that I used to love dancing to. My son finds it hilarious when my dad re-enacts the moments by turning on his favourite Sugar Minott songs and dances with one leg in the air and then rocking forward and back whilst moving his waist and waving his hands up and down. Without fail and my son always jumps up and starts dancing too and always says “What did mommy do? How did mommy dance?” - that’s usually my cue to jump up too. (More on that in next week’s article on moving in power - dance, music and joyful expression!)
These instances provide opportunities for my mom and dad to share stories with him from the past and present which help my son to weave the significant narratives into his own sense of self, identity and culture as a British born child of Caribbean heritage with roots in Jamaica, St Kitts and Antigua.
These traditions not only build pride and belonging for Black children, but they offer opportunities for all children to learn about heritage, culture and how these differ across other households. When we encourage children during their earliest years to feel a sense of pride in themselves and bring those traditions into the nursery environment it is reaffirming and joyful.
Read about: Black hair, identity and pride
For more content from Liz, visit theblacknurserymanager.com and
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