Category: What you can borrow

In 2022 the Schools Library Services launched ‘This is Our History‘, our local history project, generously funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. In 2025 we launched the follow up, ‘Everybody’s History‘,also made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

A Journey to England

Based on the real life account of a merchant sailor from Barbados in the 1950s. At this time, West India Quay was still a busy trading port, with goods like sugar, rum and bananas being shipped in from the Caribbean.

The sensory story gives a hands-on experience of serving on a busy merchant vessel!

Down on the Docks

Set in West India Quay, this sensory story is set over one day in the life of a dock worker unloading the boats arriving from the Caribbean, including an introduction to dockers’ slang!

Friday in the Jewish East End. 1933

This artefacts box and sensory story follows a Jewish family living in the Aldgate area of Tower Hamlets – the heart of the Jewish East End at the time. Explore the shops and market on Hessel Street, visit the vapour baths before Shabbat and finally take a trip to the newly opened Troxy cinema!

The Ragged Schools

This sensory story and artefacts box follows the day of a child at one of the ragged schools in East London. Explore the lessons, the need for hygiene, lunch and playtime.

The set also explores the work of Clara Grant and includes an example of a farthing bundle and a replica of the ‘farthing arch’.

The East End Suffragettes

This story box looks back on the life of a suffragette, exploring items from the time – a suffragette penny, sash and rosette, and even a drum from their marching band!

The box also explores the changing roles of women in work and at the home and the protests that the suffragettes took part in.

The Battle of Cable Street

This interactive sensory and artefacts box explores the sights, sounds and smells from the day of the battle. Starting with the Blackshirts’ acts of vandalism, trace the actions of the protestors as they took on the police in and around Aldgate to stop the fascists’ march. You can use the canvas sheet to make your own protest banner to add to the box!

This is Our History

This is Our History – the original project from 2022 covered the following five themes:

• The Matchgirls’ Strike of 1888
• The Blitz and the Bombing of the East End
• East London Bengalis
• Somali East End
• London Docklands

We created a suitcase of artefacts and an accompanying booklet to support teaching and learning, teacher activities on related global learning, and an extra allocation of up to thirty books on and around the theme on each of these topics for teachers to borrow.

For additional information about the project and resources – contact  schoolslibraryservices@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Created as part of the Our Global History series in partnersip with the Aldgate and Allhallows foundation.

We’ve created an online resource to accompany the artefacts boxes available to loan. 

Available as a padlet.

The resource box covers the history of the Empire and the EIC starting in the Tudor period, the transatlantic slave trade and the activities and legacy of the British Empire and EIC in India.

The Empire & East India Company artefacts box can be ordered via our request form, subject to availablity.

Created as part of the Our Global History series in partnersip with the Aldgate and Allhallows foundation.

We’ve created an online resource to accompany the artefacts boxes available to loan. 

Available as a padlet.

The resource box covers the background to the journey of the Windrush and the arrivals’ lives in post-war Britain, including emloyment, home life and cultural legacy.

The Windrush artefacts box can be ordered via our request form, subject to availablity.

Created as part of the Our Global History series in partnersip with the Aldgate and Allhallows foundation.

We’ve created an online resource to accompany the artefacts boxes available to loan. Available as a padlet.

The resource box covers the founding of Islam, trade and the silk road, clothing, art, calligraphy, shadow puppet theatre, science, medicine, the expansion of the empire and warfare.

The Islamic Golden Age artefacts box can be ordered via our request form, subject to availablity.

Created as part of the Our Global History series in partnersip with the Aldgate and Allhallows foundation.

We’ve created an online resource to accompany the artefacts boxes available to loan. Available as a padlet.

The Shang Dynasty was a Bronze age civilization, and the earliest Chinese civilization that we have archaeological evidence for. The resource box covers their religion, bronze-working, clothes and silk-working, money, jade-working, warfare, music, science, farming and games.

The Shang Dynasty artefacts box can be ordered via our request form, subject to availablity.

Tracks Through Poplar Educational Resource

This project created an educational programme for primary school children in Poplar featuring the Trust’s 150-year-old steam locomotive No 70 ‘Poplar’, one of the oldest operational in the UK.

Built in 1872 by the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway, No 70 was the first of the class constructed and like others of the type was named after areas served by the railway. Global Learning London (GLL) and the Schools Library Services worked with children in the area to co-create an immersive National Curriculum based programme, resulting in Resource Boxes for schools.

The project culminated in 2022 with a procession by the children in conjunction with an event featuring locomotive ‘Poplar’ –  the engine visiting London for the schoolchildren and local community to enjoy.

Resource boxes to borrow

The resource boxes will be available to schools nationally through Schools Library Services and are  include materials relating to historic themes such as commuting the 1870s, East End hop picking “holidays” in Kent, and the development of light railways (the K&ESR was the first and the Docklands Light Railway is the latest).

Pupils studying science and geography will look at sources of energy, changing environmental considerations, and the impact of railway development worldwide; while railway themed stories, poems, music and drawing will help develop English, music and arts skills.

Online resource

This resource is designed to explore the importance of our railways, East London history and to celebrate the history and significance of steam engines, through key curriculum areas and Global Citizenship themes.

Each chapter is focussed on a particular theme and contains a mixed media of resources and tools to develop understanding and skills with Key Stage 2 pupils. Most activities are adaptable for other ages, and many involve cross curricular learning. You will find digital materials on the Padlet, linked in each chapter.

Each chapter stands alone, or you can piece together the sections you want to form a longer learning journey for pupils.

You can access the Tracks Through Poplar Educational Resource by clicking here.