This year, things will be slightly different. It is proposed to collaborate with local Teaching School Hubs, universities and the Gloucestershire Research School to offer a series of six events, held in situ at various venues or virtually, throughout the academic year. Not only are a number of fantastic guest speakers booked already, but a day at a local Field Studies Centre, Bishops Wood, has also been reserved to facilitate some outdoor training. After all, geography is all about what is happening in the real world and teaching and learning go beyond the four walls of the classroom!
For our first Primary Geography Subject Leader Network meeting this morning, held virtually, we had well over 20 schools on board; many regulars, but several newbies too. We were joined by three experts in their chosen fields, namely Emma Meredith from My Environment My Future (MEMF), Brendan Conway of Notre Dame School and Graeme Schofield from Oak National Academy. I have heard all of them speak on several occasions, so I knew we would be suitably informed and inspired.
After formally welcoming everyone, introducing key individuals, providing a few housekeeping reminders, I projected the aims and outline for today’s session.
Then, it was time for my infamous ‘educational round-up‘. Given the limited time that I had, I concentrated on links to current lively conversations within the realm of education, and especially geography, as well as the latest news from the leading subject associations, namely the Geographical Association (GA) and Royal Geographical Society (RGS-IBG). The following items were referenced:
Mark Enser‘s ‘Concepts in the geography curriculum‘ series:
Part One: What Do We Mean by a Geographical Concept? (https://substack.com/home/post/p-214877926)
Part Two: How do we build a curriculum with concepts in mind? (https://substack.com/home/post/p-215035516)
Part Three: Concepts in the classroom (https://substack.com/home/post/p-215643708)
Part Four: The challenges to overcome (https://substack.com/home/post/p-215805038)
Alistair Hamill‘s ‘Probably the first truly knowledge-rich GIS curriculum in the world?‘ series:
Part 1: The GIS curriculum (https://substack.com/home/post/p-216336246)
Part 2: The curriculum intent (https://substack.com/home/post/p-216343720)
Part 3: Lofty goals and teachable details (https://substack.com/home/post/p-216462050)
Part 4: Overcoming the GIS implementation friction (https://alistairhamill.substack.com/p/probably-the-first-truly-knowledge-bfe)
Geographical Association (GA) 2026-2031 Strategy (https://geography.org.uk/introducing-the-geographical-association-2026-31-strategy/)
Teachwire: ‘Geography national curriculum – What does the new draft mean for you?’ by Steve Brace, Chief Executive of the Geographical Association (GA) (https://www.teachwire.net/news/geography-national-curriculum/)
Primary Geography Quality Mark (PGQM) (https://geography.org.uk/events-cpd/quality-marks/the-primary-geography-quality-mark-pgqm/pgqm-awardees-and-news-articles/)
Geographical Association (GA) Annual Conference and Exhibition (https://portal.geography.org.uk/event/view/E000242)
‘Geography in the news’ (https://geography.org.uk/un-votes-to-adopt-new-world-map-to-reflect-africas-true-size/ and https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/04/un-vote-world-map-mercator-equal-earth-africa)
Flood Action Week (12th to 16th October 2026) (https://geography.org.uk/resources/flood-action-week/ and https://geography.org.uk/environment-agency-resources/)
Geographical Association (GA) blog (https://ga-blog.org/ and https://ga-blog.org/subscribe-to-the-ga-blog)
I was the only Asian woman studying geography in my year group (https://geography.org.uk/blogs/i-was-the-only-asian-woman-studying-geography-in-my-year-group/)
When AI makes a place: what happens to geography? (https://geography.org.uk/blogs/when-ai-makes-a-place-what-happens-to-geography/)
How we work – a free film and geography teaching resource (https://geography.org.uk/blogs/how-we-work-a-free-film-and-geography-teaching-resource/)
Beyond looking – lowering barriers in geography fieldwork for visually impaired students (https://geography.org.uk/blogs/beyond-looking-lowering-barriers-in-geography-fieldwork-for-visually-impaired-students/)
GeogPod, Geographical Association (GA) podcast (https://geography.org.uk/resources/geogpod-the-gas-podcast/)
GeogPod: A celebration of 100 episodes (https://geography.org.uk/resources/geogpod-the-gas-podcast/)
Primary Geography journal (https://portal.geography.org.uk/journal/index/pg)
Article: Looking back and looking forward: using old, new and AI-generated images by Richard Greenwood (https://mcusercontent.com/c26acee5fdcc2267c7b9d1e21/files/5fb96481-7f2e-c2d5-7d13-d2e2207bdfcc/_PG_SPR_2026_GREENWOOD2026012713255032345.pdf)
The Everyday Guide to Primary Geography: Story (https://portal.geography.org.uk/shop/view/P020515)
Go All In – National Year of Reading 2026 (https://goallin.org.uk/)
Recommended resources:
Primary Geography CPD Pack: Developing Geography by Paula Owens (https://portal.geography.org.uk/shop/view/P020739)
Metal pin badges (https://portal.geography.org.uk/shop/index?category=P)
Online Teaching Resources: Fieldwork: What can I smell here? (https://geography.org.uk/resources/fieldwork-what-can-i-smell-here/)
GeogLive! 34: Effective subject leadership (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1gTYTMMoMs&t=559s)
Teaching climate change in primary schools CPD course (https://portal.geography.org.uk/event/view/E000237)
Sustainability and climate change lesson idea links (shared folder)
Royal Geographical Society (RGS-IBG) school membership (https://www.rgs.org/school-member-sign-up)
Royal Geographical Society (RGS-IBG) Young Geographer of the Year competition (https://www.rgs.org/schools/competitions/young-geographer-of-the-year)
Frederick Soddy Trust Award (https://www.rgs.org/exploration/grants/teaching-grants/frederick-soddy-schools-award)
My Substack (https://substack.com/@eduemma and https://eduemma.substack.com/p/emmas-educational-round-up?r=1yj0xh)
(Latest newsletters:
https://eduemma.substack.com/p/emmas-educational-round-up-393
https://eduemma.substack.com/p/emmas-educational-round-up-4af?r=1yj0xh
https://eduemma.substack.com/p/emmas-educational-round-up-c0b?r=1yj0xh
https://eduemma.substack.com/p/emmas-educational-round-up-6d4?r=1yj0xh)
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.
The main part of the meeting was divided into two sections, each focusing on a ‘golden thread‘: green skills, with input from myself and Emma Meredith from My Environment My Future (MEMF), and digital/computer mapping and GIS, delivered by experts Brendan Conway of Notre Dame School and Graeme Schofield from Oak National Academy.
I began by reminding individuals about Steve Brace (Chief Executive of the Geographical Association [GA])’s comments at the geography southwest Annual Conference and Exhibition last June relating to the new National Curriculum update. I had also spoken to Steve in August so was able to relay the latest news. My input addressed the following, referring to the Geographical Association (GA)‘s booklet on ‘Geography and green skills‘ (https://geography.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Geography-and-Green-Skills.pdf): the need for green skills; what green skills are; green skills in the geography curriculum and exemplifying green skills through geography.
I then handed over to Emma Meredith, who concentrated on ‘making green skills and careers visible in primary geography‘. Emma explored green careers and the built environment, elaborated further on green skills, contemplated the key people involved at each stage and looked at Reading as a case study. She shared details of My Environment My Future’s award-winning resources and annual competition relevant to Key Stage 2 pupils (http://www.memf.careers/). There are certainly some superb materials to access and exciting initiatives for teachers and pupils to engage with, which are all FREE!
Afterwards, I briefly explored future opportunities and challenges before we had a short comfort break.
Next up were Brendan Conway and Graeme Schofield, and what a duo they were! First, Brendan provided a little background to GIS (I did not realise that it had been around for so long); what it is, why it is important, how it can become ‘part of the furniture’, why teach ‘with’ and ‘about’ it, how it works and how it can help us teach geography.
Graeme’s approach centred upon ‘embedding digital maps, aerial imagery and GIS in the primary geography curriculum‘. He spoke about the story of Oak, its partners and what is on offer, before looking at embedding GIS in the curriculum. Graeme then showcased examples of GIS lessons at Key Stage 2 (https://www.thenational.academy/teachers/programmes/geography-primary/units). Delegates were given much food for thought, alongside access to plenty of ready-to-use lesson plans and resources.
Brendan then picked up, showcasing some further examples and recommending a number of websites and free apps, including his own, Navigatio.earth and Geo Mapper 2D Plus (https://navigatio.earth/ and https://navigatio.earth/map/).
The meeting concluded with a time for reflection. Participants were requested to complete a short online form, not only to provide feedback to myself, but also to consider their most valuable takeaway from the morning and aspects that they still regard as being rather challenging and would appreciate exploring in future meetings.
Some of their ‘concluding comments‘ (summing up the meeting in five words or a sentence or two) can be viewed below:
Inspired, mind blown and full of ideas for school improvement plan!
Informative and useful.
Very insightful, useful and inspiring!
Very helpful, really enjoyed the variety of guest speakers.
Interesting resources that I wouldn’t know about before this.
Relevant. Inspiring. Accessible. Practical. Helpful.
Very useful and practical.
Lots of inspiration for GIS and sustainability.
Lots of useful information. Thank you!
Very useful and beneficial, I have learnt many practical things I can take into my lessons!
It was amazingly useful. So helpful to have so much information (both general updates from Emma, and more specific topics). I feel very inspired!
Digital maps, aerial imagery, GIS.
Green skills and careers, MEMF, GIS.
Absolutely brilliant session as always with loads of key takeaways!
Opened my eyes to the future of geography teaching and learning.
Fantastic information again. Always provides a lot to take back to school and implement into our curriculum.
It’s been very helpful and reminded me of some training I did about GIS about 4 years ago.
Good for cross-curricular links.
Really useful to link up the big picture curriculum thinking with practical GIS resources.
Informative, useful, relevant.
Thanks so much to all speakers. So many useful ideas/information. My brain is spinning with it all, but in a good way!
Thanks, as usual really useful.
Very useful information from everyone. Thank you. I’ve now signed up to MEMF. I think this will be great for our KS2 children. Also loved the GIS and lots of ideas on how to adapt our curriculum so that all year groups can use it. Thank you, everyone. Have a good day!
Thank you all. This has been really useful.
Superb session, as always! Thank you!
Thank you, great informative, useful session, as before.
Thank you. Really useful.
Thank you – a very useful meeting.
Thank you! I find these meetings really helpful.
Thank you very much!
Thank you, it’s been really useful.
Brilliant, thank you so much everyone, really useful!
Thank you – really helpful today!
Thank you for the opportunity, I really enjoyed the meeting and have been scribbling GIS stuff down to use in future resources.
Many thanks for everything you did to make this morning’s session run so smoothly!
Once again, it appears to have been a worthwhile way to spend an autumnal morning. I look forward to hearing about, and seeing evidence of, your endeavours between now and our next virtual/in situ Primary Geography Subject Leader Network (PGSLN) meeting during the morning of Wednesday 25th November 2026 when we will be joined by Dr Rebecca Kitchen, Head of Professional Development at the Geographical Association (GA).
Hope Term 1 progresses well.