A busy couple of weeks ahead for me, engaging with over 60 schools, either virtually or in situ, as part of the first round of Primary Geography Subject Leader Network (PGSLN) meetings this academic year. Due to Sandra Parker’s growing commitments at GLOSSI (Gloucestershire’s School Improvement Service), the baton for oversight of primary geography has now been handed to the hugely knowledgeable and approachable Dr Tessa Browning. Once again, the virtual offering had a guest appearance from Mark Enser, former HMI and National Lead for Geography at Ofsted and now offering independent support to schools.
After a formal welcome and introductions (we had many familiar faces and a few new Geography Subject Leaders joining us), I shared the aims and agenda for the morning.
Then, it was time for the usual ‘educational round-up‘. I took the same stance as I did in our previous meeting since it worked well, ensuring a reduction in the number of slides within my overall presentation and making the content more accessible. I concentrated on Ofsted and Department for Education (DfE) updates, as well as items shared by the leading subject associations, namely the Geographical Association (GA) and the Royal Geographical Society (RGS-IBG). These included the following:
Ofsted
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-the-way-ofsted-inspects-education
https://teachreal.wordpress.com/2025/09/10/ofsteds-new-inspection-toolkit-clarity-or-confusion/
Department for Education (DfE)
School accountability reform:
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/new-school-accountability-regime-attainment-checks-and-profiles/
Writing Framework 2025:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-writing-framework
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-writing-framework/writing-framework-summary
https://www.teachwire.net/news/writing-framework/
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7M08ruJCAKuKPHVPMcWbmP?si=FoNZXWe6TkK2-_vSMvFQxw
https://www.leadingenglish.co.uk/free-english-resource
Geographical Association (GA)
Curriculum making: https://geography.org.uk/curriculum-support/support-guidance-curriculum-planning/curriculum-making/
National Festival of Fieldwork: https://geography.org.uk/national-fieldwork/
Blog post report: https://create2inspire.co.uk/2025/06/10/what-a-fantastic-fieldwork-week-at-north-nibley-c-of-e-primary-school-gloucestershire/
Recommended resources:
https://portal.geography.org.uk/shop/view/P9781899086409
https://geography.org.uk/online-teaching-resources/
https://geography.org.uk/resources/investigating-longitude-latitude-and-daylight-at-key-stage-1-2/
Research Report: High-quality geography fieldwork for all: https://portal.geography.org.uk/shop/view/P9781899086406
Geography in the news: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cy98grgwwz3t
GA Blog: https://ga-blog.org/ and https://ga-blog.org/subscribe-to-the-ga-blog/
GeogPod: https://geography.org.uk/resources/geogpod-the-gas-podcast/
GlosGeog: peter.vujakovic@canterbury.ac.uk and emma.espley@gmail.com
Royal Geographical Society (RGS-IBG)
Ticket to Antarctica: https://tickettoantarctica.com/
Young Geographer of the Year competition: https://www.rgs.org/schools/competitions/young-geographer-of-the-year/2025-competition
I introduced new delegates to my Substack e-newsletter, which provides a weekly/fortnightly insight into developments within the realm of education (https://substack.com/@eduemma and https://eduemma.substack.com/p/emmas-educational-round-up?r=1yj0xh). It is FREE to subscribe to at present and the feedback from those that have engaged with it has been very positive to date. I went through this week’s edition (https://eduemma.substack.com/p/emmas-educational-round-up-01c ) and signposted attendees to previous ones this academic year (https://eduemma.substack.com/p/emmas-educational-round-up-15e and https://eduemma.substack.com/p/emmas-educational-round-up-f85). I suggested that they go through all these to view my recent recommendations of websites, resources, books, podcasts, apps, TV programmes/movie clips, as well as CPD events, competitions and opportunities for pupils. Many realised what they were missing out on in-between meetings and decided to subscribe immediately!
I paused for ten minutes to allow individuals to bookmark and explore websites and resources that were most relevant to them, their cohort and school at their leisure. I tried to make sure that there was something for everyone. Delegates could also ask any questions that they had by either unmuting themselves or popping a comment into the chat feed.
Afterwards, I initiated the following activity, which certainly set the chat feed buzzing!
The main part of the meeting was divided into two sections; the first delivered by myself in order to consider how climate change and sustainability can be easily and effectively integrated into the curriculum from EYFS to Year 6, followed by Mark’s session, which focused on avoiding confusion and challenging misconceptions within primary geography.
I referred to the recent Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) and the comments and detailed responses that this had subsequently generated from both the Geographical Association (GA) and Royal Geographical Society (RGS-IBG) (https://geography.org.uk/gas-response-to-the-review-of-curriculum-and-assessment/ and https://geography.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Geographical-Association-Response-to-Review-of-Curriculum-and-Assessment-Nov24.pdf ; https://www.rgs.org/about-us/our-work/latest-news/society-response-to-the-curriculum-and-assessment-review and https://www.rgs.org/about-us/what-is-geography/consultations/curriculum-and-assessment-review). In all instances, there were a large number of references to climate change and sustainability. In addition, the Geographical Association (GA) has worked with the Council for Subject Associations, UCL’s Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education, and other partners, to develop the following statement that highlights geography’s distinctive contribution to climate change and sustainability education in the publication, The key contributions of subjects to climate change and nature education: a curriculum policy proposal (https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10212236/).
I spent a few minutes defining and explaining the term ‘curriculum making‘, before contemplating the power of a well-chosen artefact. We then tackled the below activity, something I did at an in situ event many years ago that was enjoyed by all. I put forward a few suggestions here and gained a couple of new ideas in the process too.
I also looked at curriculum making through enquiry, reiterating Margaret Robert’s thoughts, of course, before instigating the following activity:
This helped to emphasise to delegates the many opportunities that currently exist for integrating climate change and sustainability into the curriculum, and there are likely to be more given the comments and responses to the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) from the leading bodies and notable individuals.
There is much talk about the Climate Action Plan in schools and MATs at present, so I highlighted how geography might contribute to this, sharing some fantastic resources that the Geographical Association (GA) has released (https://geography.org.uk/resources/climate-action-plan-for-geography-subject-leaders/ and https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fgeography.org.uk%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F09%2FClimate-Change-Action-Plan-download.docx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK ), along with ideas from GeogLive! 28: Leadership for sustainability (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Flh4rE2MljA) and a fieldwork activity suitable for Key Stage 2 pupils (https://geography.org.uk/resources/climate-change-and-sustainability-ks2/).
Following a short comfort break, I handed over to Mark for the next hour to enlighten us about avoiding confusion and challenging misconceptions in primary geography. He looked at curriculum planning, teaching and subject knowledge in turn. Within each section, he explored various statements, asking the following questions:
- Why is this believed?
- Why is it a misconception?
- How can we change this?
Mark paused to take any questions from the audience before we moved on. The open discussion and additions to the chat feed were fruitful.
The meeting concluded with a time for reflection. Teachers were asked to think about three aims that they would like to fulfil in their role as a Geography Subject Leader this academic year to aid them with finalising their action plans, before completing an online evaluation form to identify the key takeaways and their immediate next steps, as well as providing vital feedback for me (what they enjoyed the most; what they enjoyed the least; what items they would like included in our next meeting/s).
Some of their ‘concluding comments‘ (summing up the meeting in five words or a sentence or two) can be viewed below:
Very informative and up-to-date information.
Interesting and informative.
Great ideas to keep up-to-date with geography.
Extremely informative for new-to-geography leader.
Informative; interesting; food for thought.
Plenty to look at as a leader, especially embedding sustainability across the whole school and fieldwork.
Helpful; concise; resourceful; actionable and practical solutions.
Pertinent; instructive; valuable; accessible; wide range of resources.
Informative.
Gave me lots of ideas surrounding sustainability and misconceptions that are in the school.
Informative updates and interesting to think about why those misconceptions happen.
Unfortunately, I missed a substantial amount of the meeting; only joined at 11.00 am.
Useful; interesting; thought-provoking.
Helpful; resourceful; informative; interactive; ideas.
Informative, enlightening, thought-provoking and helpful.
Useful; concise; interesting.
Very informative. Numerous helpful links and suggestions that I can refer back to.
Really motivating. Thank you. A huge amount of information and ideas.
Very informative meeting with lots of resources, links and ideas to take back to school. These networks always get me enthused.
A very informative course giving food for thought for our next year ahead.
Informative; inspiring.
Thank you very much for another brilliant PGSLN meeting this morning. I always leave them feeling inspired and motivated.
Another fantastic network. Thank you so much for all the information. Lots to take back to school.
Thank you so much! A super helpful morning!
Thank you, Emma. This has been so helpful.
A really helpful and interesting session, Emma, as always. Thank you.
Thank you, Emma. Really helpful.
Thank you for another great meeting, Emma.
Thank you – really helpful again.
Thank you for your help today.
Thanks, Emma, really useful as always!
Thanks, Emma, it has been very informative!
The misconceptions that staff might have were interesting and will be shared – just in case!
Once again, it appears to have been a very worthwhile way to spend an autumnal Friday morning. I look forward to hearing about, and seeing evidence of, your endeavours between now and our next virtual Primary Geography Subject Leader Network (PGSLN) meeting on Friday 6th February 2026. Further details will follow in mid-December/early January.
Hope Term 1 and 2 continue to be rewarding and enjoyable amongst all the busyness.