Another GlosGeog event before the end of Term 2, but this time aimed at teachers. We were very lucky to be able to secure Dr Rebecca Kitchen, Head of Professional Development at the Geographical Association (GA), to update us about Ofsted’s EIF and the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR), contemplating what it means for geography. Becky had delivered an in situ session for GlosGeog earlier this year relating to the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR), which was really well-received. It was lovely to have her back; we decided to opt for a virtual offering to accommodate various requests to participate from further afield and due to the busyness of school at this point in the year. On board today were representatives from more than 17 primary and secondary schools from across the UK and beyond, with another 11 accessing the materials at a later date.
Following the usual formal welcome, introductions and housekeeping, I handed over to Becky to lead the CPD session. She began by outlining the aims for the session, namely to highlight the key messages for geographers around the new Ofsted framework and what the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) means for geography teachers.
In the first half, Becky referred to the recently published Standards in school geography, 1991 to 2023: A research report written by John Hopkin, identifying some of the key changes in standards over time (https://geography.org.uk/standards-in-school-geography-1991-2023/). She then looked at the main changes in terms of Ofsted, including its report card system and the six areas of focus, e.g. curriculum and teaching; achievement; attendance and behaviour; personal development and well-being; leadership and governance; inclusion. Becky zoomed in on each of these aspects in turn, emphasising the impact on geography. Linking to leadership and governance, she projected a slide showcasing ten ways in which the Geographical Association (GA) supports professional learning, several of which are FREE to access.
Becky’s slide, ‘What does this mean for leaders?‘, was particularly enlightening, echoing many points raised by Mark Enser in his eloquent and informative posts on Substack and LinkedIn (https://substack.com/@markenser1 and https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-enser-20a01673/); triangulation is less obvious, but even more vital; leadership is under greater focus; evidence is professional conversations; no deep dives, but the framing of geography is important.
To encourage a degree of reflection, Becky set us an individual activity, again inspired by Mark Enser’s recent contributions online. Firstly, we were asked to RAG rate the below questions (yes = green; maybe = amber; no = red). Afterwards, we had to choose one of those that we had rated green and another that we had colour-coded red and think about what we might say for each. Becky then invited delegates to share any thoughts/comments via the chat feed or by unmuting their microphones.
Becky also talked about the Geography Quality Marks at both primary and secondary level (https://geography.org.uk/events-cpd/quality-marks/); a valuable process that is well worth exploring if you have not done so already.
After a short comfort break, Becky concentrated on the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR). She explained about the whole process, drew our attention to the Curriculum and Assessment Review: final report (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-final-report) and shared a clear curriculum review reforms timeline. It appears that we still have a while to wait before the reforms will be actioned.
Becky had produced a superb handout with the key takeaways from the CAR for geography teachers. We were then directed towards Padlet and asked to contemplate a few questions.
Delegates were very keen to post their thoughts and this stimulated much open discussion too.
Next, Becky considered from the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) to the curriculum with the help of a flow diagram. It is certainly quite a complex landscape to navigate!
Becky’ second handout, entitled ‘Curriculum Review: Next steps for geography teachers‘, had many valuable recommendations. We were provided with a Padlet link and requested to respond to the following questions:
What support would you like from the GA to help you implement the recommendations from the CAR?
Why would you find this support useful?
What impact would it have?
Becky concluded by urging everyone to become a Geographical Association (GA) member if they were not one already and directed us towards a number of useful publications to invest in. She was even very generous and gave us a 20% discount code to use in the Geographical Association (GA)’s online shop!
Participants were asked to complete an online evaluation form in the final couple of minutes, which they all did very efficiently.
A number of delegates’ ‘concluding comments‘ can be viewed below:
A very clear and informative breakdown of the Ofsted and curriculum updates.
Great to hear some up-to-date information.
Informative and helpful, especially as I am not a SLT member and, therefore, unaware of a lot of the new Ofsted framework, etc.
Very useful, especially Padlet questions.
A robust review and suggestions of what is likely to come into play with the CAR and new Ofsted framework and how we can best prepare ourselves.
Future-looking – helped me to visualise where the curriculum is going.
Very informative, geography-specific summary of the new Ofsted EIF and CAR, which is incredibly useful for geography leads.
Very informative.
Informative, relevant, reassuring and exciting!
Engaging; informative; reassuring.
Very helpful guidance for the few years’ work ahead …
Really insightful and lots of useful points to springboard from. Really appreciate the hard work going on behind the scenes. Thank you.
Really useful. Will now join GA.
A very informative and thought-provoking insight into the GA’s take on the changes that need to take place in KS3, 4 and 5 curriculum.
Thank you so much for the very informative and thought-provoking content.
That was really helpful. Thanks so much, Becky, and to Emma for arranging.
Thank you so much for today.
Thank you really insightful and practical. Really appreciate it.
That was so informative and clear – thank you so much, Becky and Emma.
Thank you so much for today.
Thank you, super helpful!
Thank you so much for today, especially making this session available online as I’m based in Norwich!
Thank-you, very helpful!
Thank you so much for this, it truly was useful and it felt good to be part of a network of support. I have now fully signed up to the GA! Very much looking forward to the event in June.
A hugely productive way to spend a Thursday morning, it seems. Now, time to digest all that Becky relayed and revisit various points either inserted into the chat feed or raised during the open discussions.