ofsted geography research paper

• Oct 7, 2023
• 19 min read

A Summary of Ofsted's Geography Subject Report: Getting Our Bearings

Ofsted released their subject report for Geography on 19th September 2023. The report, which can be accessed here , uses the research review released in 2021 to investigate the effectiveness of geography curricula across England's schools. I would recommend reading both reports in full.

The report paints a mainly positive picture of geography, and certainly an improved picture since the previous report which was released in 2011.

For those wonderful people who would like to support my work, for the price of a coffee, you can download a PDF and editable word document of this summary, along with a visual summary, from my Gumroad site.

If not, I hope this summary is helpful (you can find the link to download the visual at the bottom of the page).

Main Findings

There have been many recent improvements to most schools' geography curricula. The improvements relate to the specification of content, progression over time, and the ambition of the content.

In primary schools, children generally have a strong concept of geography. Pupils have distinct geography sessions rather than blended topic lessons, even if cross-curricular approaches are used.

In secondary schools, the KS3 curriculum can often be more ambitious than the KS4 curriculum due to the way in which exam specifications can narrow curriculum content. In both KS4 and KS5, the exam specifications can limit the scope of the curriculum.

The National Curriculum is used as the starting point for all geography curricula in the schools from the study. However, some schools disregard the 'aims' section which means the content selection is sometimes less considered in terms of developing wider geographical concepts such as place, space and interconnection.

In many schools, topics can still sit in isolation to each other. Leaders have considered within topics but have made fewer decisions about how knowledge taught in one topic would be used in other topics.

Although the EYFS now has much more geographical content, especially vocabulary, the provision in Year 1 can sometimes mean children are only repeating content, rather than being taught new content.

In terms of SEND provision, in almost all schools, all pupils work towards the same curriculum goals. It is now far less common for SEND pupils to be given differentiated curriculum goals which limit their learning; however, for a small number of pupils, such provision would be appropriate.

There is a positive correlation between the amount of curriculum time and pupil achievement.

In some primary schools, curriculum rationale was unclear: in some schools, content is influenced by content in other subjects such as English and history.

Using enquiry questions with pupils is most effective when the enquiry questions are used to structure teaching sequences.

Retrieval practice is used more effectively when it prompts pupils to remember knowledge which will be used and developed later in the lesson.

Identifying the component knowledge of each scheme of learning supports more accurate assessment.

Summative assessment is used well in most secondary schools; in primary, teachers are often asked to make judgements but these are not always underpinned by accurate or valid assessments.

The concept of ' place ' is often poorly planned in the curriculum. This is often a result of teaching too many places at a superficial level. This often leads to teaching a 'single story' about a place, which can cause misconceptions. Alternatively, it can lead to pupils learning disconnected facts.

In almost all schools, fieldwork is underdeveloped. Often, it is confused with field trips, resulting in children not being taught the knowledge for the processes of fieldwork. Commonly, there is a lack of intentional progression of the procedural knowledge of fieldwork too.

Disciplinary knowledge is often a weaker area of the geography curriculum in both primary and secondary settings.

Pupils are sometimes given too much information and insufficient time to process and apply it.

Subject knowledge is usually good in both primary and secondary sectors.

Many lessons at secondary are taught by non-specialists for whom support can often be ineffective. Non-specialists can be supported by providing centralised resources and guidance from subject leads. Time for such guidance is often limited.

In all phases, teachers very rarely receive subject-specific CPD.

The two main barriers to high-quality geography lessons: time and staffing.

Recommendations

Consider how pupils will build on knowledge across a range of topics.

At KS4 and KS5, consider how to sequence content of exam specifications in a way that helps pupils develop a stronger understanding over time.

Ensure that pupils learn about place in an appropriately nuanced and complex way. This might mean revisiting the same places throughout the curriculum but exploring them through different lenses.

Plan procedural knowledge into the curriculum in the same was as substantive knowledge is planned for.

Teach pupils about fieldwork and its components: to collect, present and analyse data, and how to reach and evaluate conclusions based on the data.

Identify potential misconceptions and plan how to identify and address them.

Ensure pupils have the opportunity to apply what they have been taught as well as ensuring what has been taught has been learned securely.

Consider the necessary prior knowledge pupils should have to access the content of their lessons.

Ensure summative judgements are based on sound evidence.

Plan assessments that pupils know both component knowledge and how to apply it.

Subject and School Systems

Time given to geography should match the ambitions for the curriculum.

Support subject leads to have a deeper understanding of the curriculum concepts of geography (as identified in the research review) and how these can be used to shape a school's curriculum.

Support non-specialists with their pedagogy - especially their explanations of complex geographical ideas and their ability to identify misconceptions.

Other Organisations

Provide subject-specific CPD for areas such as GIS, fieldwork and teaching procedural knowledge.

Ensure primary ITE trainees have enough time to learn about common misconceptions.

The Geography Curriculum

Scope and ambition.

Some schools seem unaware of not fully meeting the scope of the National Curriculum. Where this is the case it is most usually because the school does not cover a region in a European country or a specific region of the UK (KS2 requirement)

Schools vary in their depth of coverage. Some topics are only given scant curriculum time and pupils consequently do not achieve the aims of the National Curriculum.

Pupils can develop secure knowledge by encountering knowledge and concepts at different points of the curriculum.

Time is one of the biggest limiting factors; there is huge variation in curriculum time across the primary sector ranging from 18 hours to 72 hours per year. A lack of sufficient time often leaves to curriculum goals not being achieved.

Importantly, increasing curriculum time does not necessarily equal improved quality: it is important to use this time to develop depth and breadth of knowledge.

Many schools go beyond the scope of the NC, especially for place knowledge. It is important, however, to consider which places pupils learn about at KS3 and which aspects they learn about so as not to cause unnecessary repetitions of content.

Schools are often ambitious about the vocabulary they wish their pupils to learn. In the strongest settings, schools consider how such terms are introduced and how they are revisited over time to deepen pupils' understanding.

Content Selection

All schools in the sample used the NC to decide what to teach.

Schools usually use the NC outcomes as a way to select titles for topics, but they rarely use the aims of the national curriculum or guidance from subject associations when selecting specific content to be taught.

When there is no geographical rationale for which content is selected, the curriculum can lack coherence. A particular area to consider is when content is chosen based on what pupils are learning about in other subjects such as history or English.

It is important to consider how the content from each unit of learning links together and be careful not to teach children isolated facts which are disconnected from their geographical schema.

Some schools select content based on pupils' interests or backgrounds.

In almost all schools, leaders use geography to create windows to different worlds, taking children beyond their existing experiences and interests.

For some content, such as climate change or migration, it is important to teach the geographical content rather than encouraging pupils to behave in certain ways or hold certain beliefs. The geographical content should help the pupils make up their own minds because they can understand the concepts more ably,.

A clear rationale behind content selection, especially place selection, leads to stronger curriculum thinking.

A common issue in the primary curriculum is lacking intentionality about the regions of the UK, European countries and North or South America; sometimes whole countries or continents are taught, rather than a focused region.

Some teaching about places results in narrow learning where pupils explore only a 'single story' about a place. This can result in misconceptions and stereotypes not being addressed. Revisiting the same location across KS2, but looking at it through different lenses, can help pupils to gain a deeper and richer understanding of the places they study.

Some schools have not considered the body of content they intend pupils to learn about fieldwork; sometimes, fieldwork is confused with field trips. Rather than seeing fieldwork as an activity to be done, schools should consider what content needs to be taught so that pupils understand and achieve respective fluency in how geographers work.

Geographical Concepts

Very few schools have considered the role of geographical concepts in their curriculum. Some schools have the subject-specific concepts (such as place, space and scale) in their curriculum, but leaders have not considered progression within them.

Focus more generally appears to be given to the component knowledge leaders intend their pupils to learn. The stronger curriculum thinking of how this knowledge is built upon leads pupils to attain a deeper appreciation of the subject.

It is important not to reduce concepts to vocabulary lists.

Sequencing within individual topics is a strength in most schools, demonstrating how knowledge is built over time.

Pupils rarely have the opportunity to build on what they have learned in previously taught units or to apply their knowledge in later units.

Very few schools take a cross-curricular approach to teaching geography.

Although most lessons are called 'geography', most sequencing decisions are strongly influenced by cross-curricular considerations.

When these links are well-planned, they were useful; however, most appear to be limited to superficial connections.

Disciplinary Knowledge

Very few schools have considered the role of disciplinary knowledge in the curriculum.

In many schools, pupils could not describe what it means to 'do geography'. They lack the knowledge of how geographical knowledge is created, revised and changed.

There is a link between the strength of considerations about disciplinary knowledge and the quality of teaching.

In the sample schools, geographical models (e.g. theories) were not used.

Some schools use an enquiry approach to structuring their curriculum. Sometimes, overarching questions are used to link together lessons. When pupils are taught the stages of geographical enquiry, this can enhance the impact of this approach.

However, it was common in the sample schools for an enquiry approach to be poorly implemented. Often, the enquiry questions appeared to be an afterthought rather than as an approach to organise and sequence content.

The Use of Fieldwork

The pandemic is often cited as a reason why schools are behind with implementing fieldwork.

Fieldwork is often conflated with field trips: this leads to pupils not being taught how to observe, measure, record and present geographical information about the places they have studied.

Schools should consider the progression in fieldwork in terms of how pupils are getting better at it over time.

Fieldwork is most effective when it is built into the curriculum.

Fieldwork is also taught effectively if pupils are taught in class how to carry out elements of it; they do not always have to go outside of school or the school grounds. Furthermore, pupils can be given data so they can focus on a particular aspect of fieldwork.

The standard of curriculum considerations and ensuring sufficient time to teach it largely determine the quality of the curriculum.

Locational knowledge is the strongest area of the curriculum in most schools. However, some pupils struggle to use the correct language when discussing a place's location.

It is common for place knowledge to be a weakness. Pupils can often struggle to provide more than lists of disconnected facts and answer questions on the places they have studied.

Place knowledge can often lack nuance: pupils can describe places too simplistically, often presenting unaddressed misconceptions.

Procedural knowledge is varied across the sector.

Misconceptions

Pupils often learn misconceptions about geography which creates two main problems.

Firstly, these misconceptions affect the way pupils see the world. For example, some have the misconception that an entire continent is a country in which everyone is 'poor'.

Secondly, misconceptions make it more difficult to learn new things.

Occasionally, misconceptions are passed on to pupils from teachers. This can be caused by either an issue with subject knowledge, or the teacher not being aware of how their words might be interpreted.

Misconceptions occur across bodies of knowledge, ranging from procedural to attitudinal.

Formative assessment is used effectively in stronger settings to identify misconceptions; lessons are then adapted to address them.

There is a frustration in the sector as many teachers find it difficult to know the type of misconceptions which are likely in geography. This is especially so for ECTs who lack the experience of teaching specific content.

In the most effective settings, leaders make teachers aware of likely misconceptions and schemes of work have been planned to tackle them directly,

Schools use a variety of teaching methods but there are strong commonalities across the sector.

Most lessons follow the format of teacher input supported by visual resources or data; followed by explanation and questioning; followed by a pupil task based on the exposition.

In the schools with the strongest practice, the pupil tasks are geographical in nature, such as answering geographical questions. In less effective practice, the tasks usually focus more on creating something like a story or diary entry. This often results in the geography being 'lost'.

In some schools, there is an ineffective balance between pupils being introduced to new information and then doing something with this information. This includes pupils needing to research content to find out about a place themselves, or on the other extreme, pupils being given lots of information but having insufficient time to act upon it.

Teachers mainly feel confident about teaching geography, often because of effective support by their subject leads who regularly provide detailed teaching notes to help teachers with explanations.

Where there are weaknesses in explanations, this is likely because teachers struggle to identify the component knowledge pupils need to understand what is being explained.

Retrieval and recall is often used effectively to activate prior knowledge so that pupils build upon what they already know.

The most effective retrieval practice is when recalled content is then referred to in the lesson.

Structuring the geography curriculum around enquiry questions can be very effective provided that pupils are taught the processes of geographical enquiry; it is far less effective if pupils need to find things out for themselves.

Assessment and Feedback

Summative assessment is rare in geography. When it is used, it can often be imprecise due to the criteria on which teachers need to make judgements.

Summative judgements are often based on pupils' work in books; this is often heavily supported and thus does not accurately show what pupils can do.

Formative assessment is much more widely used. Teachers constantly check knowledge and understanding throughout lessons.

There are sometimes mismatches between how leaders think geography is being assessed and what this actually looks like. For example, some teachers base their assessment on volunteered answers, rather than whole-class quizzing.

Quizzes can be effective but their effectiveness as assessment tools depends on the clarity of leaders' curriculum intentions.

Careful task consideration can support effective assessment. A mixture of short tasks to check component knowledge, and longer tasks to check how this knowledge is applied.

Most schools are strong at adapting curriculum plans based on their assessments.

Pupils rarely receive subject-specific feedback; most feedback relates to presentation or literacy.

Verbal feedback is the most common form of feedback given.

Sometimes incorrect answers are praised or not corrected.

It can be very effective to give pupils examples of high-quality model answers against which pupils can compare their own answers and make subsequent corrections. This does depend on pupils having sufficient subject knowledge to understand the gap and how to close it.

Where feedback is stronger, pupils are more confident about what makes a good geographical answer and what it means to get better at geography.

Schools vary in how much curriculum time is given to geography. Whilst the quality of the curriculum often corresponds with the time dedicated to it, especially at the extremes of time spent, more curriculum time does not always result in a high-quality curriculum. It is important to plan how this time should be used effectively.

When teaching geography using a cross-curricular approach, leaders can sometimes overestimate how much geographical content is being taught; often, historical content dominates.

Geography is most commonly taught as a distinct subject.

Most subject leaders feel they have sufficient resources to teach the curriculum; however, many are not aware of the other types of resources which are available and could be used to help pupils learn geography.

None of the schools in the study used textbooks. Many teachers report that they spend a lot of time finding resources.

Digital technology can be used to help pupils learn geography e.g. GIS systems which allow layers of information to be placed on maps.

Digital technology is less effective when it is used for research and pupils are not taught, and do not know, how to find out about a place.

Most leaders are positive about supporting fieldwork to take place. However, much of what is described as fieldwork is actually a field trip.

There is often little practical support for fieldwork despite leaders' good intentions. Teachers often require help to plan fieldwork effectively.

Leaders often fail to provide sufficient curriculum time for pupils to learn about, and learn from, the fieldwork they carry out.

Professional Development

Very few primary schools have access to a subject specialist.

Most schools provide very little subject-specific CPD. Most time is spent on providing administrative information rather than on developing subject knowledge.

Trust-wide subject networks can be helpful in supporting teachers.

More generic CPD on teaching approaches is often considered helpful in supporting teachers to teach geography effectively.

Very few schools and teachers are members of geography subject associations, despite many who are members of such bodies finding them very useful or curriculum development.

The KS3 National Curriculum largely determines the scope of schools' curriculums in KS3 with exam specifications dictating the content of KS4 and KS5 curriculums.

Most schools organise the curriculum through half-termly blocks named after an aspect of the subject e.g. the Middle East.

Stronger curriculum thinking involves considering both the NC content and its aims. This helps schools develop a clearer ambition for what is to be studied. In some schools, the aims of each topic are less clearly defined leading to limited ambition.

The main limiting factors of secondary geography are curriculum time and the way in which exam specifications dictate KS4 and KS5 curriculums.

Fewer hours dedicated to the subject, both in terms of fortnightly hours and the duration of the key stage, often leads to less ambition and a narrower scope.

Limited time does not need to lead to limited ambition: some schools counter these limitations by being careful about which content is taught, avoiding any repetition of KS2 material and ensuring that different aspects of the NC are woven into individual topics.

Reducing KS4 and KS5 to exam coverage is a weakness in some schools.

Some schools could benefit from taking a more synoptic approach to teaching exam content alongside other important aspects of geography. Building the curriculum around the exam specification can be an effective approach.

All schools in the sample had high expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND. In almost all schools, mixed attainment classes involved all pupils working towards the same objectives.

Most schools have a good balance between different forms of geographical knowledge. Leaders often map out when these different forms are to be taught in each topic.

Although most schools base their curriculums around the NC, sometimes aspects are missing; when this is the case, it is more usually related to locations or places specified by the NC e.g. Russia and the Middle East.

Where schools teach the concept of 'place' well, pupils are often able to use their locational knowledge to explain features of the places they have studied.

In these schools, leaders are aware of the need to avoid teaching a 'single story' about a place; they ensure that pupils understand different aspects of the places they learn about by studying them in different contexts.

Where 'place' is less well considered, pupils often have a poor understanding of location. This results in them struggling to understand the processes occurring in different places.

Sometimes schools teach about a very large number of different places, often only exploring one aspect of the place. This can lead to teaching 'single stories'.

A particular challenge of the KS4 curriculum is selecting places to study: often schools base these decisions on the resources which are available online or in textbooks.

Pupils develop a more thorough sense of place when they are taught about them several times in different contexts.

Procedural knowledge is rarely chosen or sequenced well. Even when skills are taught discretely, pupils can fail to develop fluency unless they have multiple opportunities to practise across the curriculum.

Treating procedural knowledge in the same way as substantive knowledge can be effective in determining how pupils will get better over time.

It is rare for GIS to be taught in schools. Most leaders report that time constraints, a lack of access to computers and a lack of training are the main reasons for this.

GIS is used more effectively when leaders focus on simple methods to plot data on a map and use different layers of data to reach conclusions.

Most concepts discussed by teachers and leaders are those from the substantive content of the NC rather than the macro concepts mentioned in the original research review: the key concepts of space, place, earth systems and environment; and the organising concepts of time, scale, diversity, interconnection and interpretation.

These geographical concepts were not featured in curriculum planning by any of the sample schools.

Ofsted emphasise that pupils do not need to necessarily know these concepts; however, they argue that the concepts are a helpful way to plan the curriculum and ensure that the study of the topic is geographical in nature.

A lack of clarity around the geographical concepts can lead to struggles with the identification of core knowledge which teachers and leaders want pupils to learn.

When topics have a clear geographical question at heart, the identification of core knowledge (both substantive and procedural) becomes easier to identify.

In some schools, a lack of understanding of these concepts can lead to a curriculum which lacks rigour - especially when 'organising questions' are added to existing topics rather than being used to determine content.

The cumulative structure of geography - rather than hierarchical - means there is no common approach to sequencing the curriculum.

Most schools layer up knowledge to become more complex over time; this is a relatively new approach in many schools.

There is often less thought given to sequencing in KS4 and to a lesser extent in KS5. Often, these decisions are based on exam specifications.

Leaders and teachers rarely consider how to build knowledge between topics in KS4; this can result in the KS3 curriculum being more ambitious than the KS4, and the KS4 curriculum failing to prepare pupils for the more synoptic nature of KS5 and higher education.

Procedural knowledge and fieldwork is often underdeveloped in leaders' curriculum thinking. There is often a lack of consideration given to the sequencing of teaching knowledge which would allow pupils to carry out more complex fieldwork over time.

There is significant variation in how leaders have considered to teach disciplinary knowledge in their curriculums. The strongest practice involves pupils being taught explicitly about how geographical knowledge is created and how geographical understanding has changed over time.

Geographical models are a common way to teach disciplinary knowledge. The strongest practice involves teaching not only what these models are but any of their limitations.

Models are, however, presented uncritically.

Geographical enquiry can be an effective way of developing disciplinary knowledge; however, this is rare. It is effective when pupils are explicitly taught how geographers identify questions, collect, present and analyse data, and then reach and evaluate conclusions.

Many schools explain their lack of fieldwork to due to the pandemic. It is significant that although some aspects of fieldwork could have continued despite the limitations, in many cases schools have not used opportunities to do so.

A lack of fieldwork in the curriculum has existed since before the pandemic.

There appears to be far less thinking being done about including fieldwork in the curriculum and what progression in fieldwork looks like.

It is more effective practice to include knowledge about fieldwork alongside other aspects of procedural knowledge.

Recent improvements in the curriculum mean that, in some cases, younger pupils are remembering more than older pupils. They are benefiting from a more ambitious or rigorous approach.

There is significant variation in the impact of teaching on pupils' locational knowledge. Explicit teaching has supported pupils to develop a secure knowledge of location - they understand what makes a good geographical description.

Place knowledge is stronger when pupils can describe a nuanced understanding of place rather than lists of disconnected facts.

Good curriculum sequencing supports pupils gaining a deeper understanding of complex issues such as climate change. It is important for pupils to approach curriculum content through different geographical lenses. Revisiting content is helpful in developing a deeper understanding.

Teaching pupils about procedural knowledge in the context of different places or geographical processes is an effective way of developing fluency and pupil competency.

Many schools identify potential misconceptions at the planning stage, supporting non-specialists and less-experienced teachers to address them in lessons.

Formative assessment is used well to identify and address misconceptions held by pupils.

The most frequent misconceptions relate to people and places. This is especially likely when 'single stories' have been presented to pupils. Other common misconceptions include tectonic processes, climate change and weather.

Most teachers have the subject knowledge necessary to teach effectively and with confidence. Strong subject knowledge enables teachers to bring their lessons to life, provide effective explanations and helpful examples and anecdotes.

It is common for non-specialists to teach geography, especially in KS3. Sometimes, non-specialists lack the necessary subject knowledge to teach the content effectively.

Some leaders provide very effective support for non-specialists, including centrally-planned resources accompanied by detailed notes.

There is variation in approaches to lessons but most have common features: starting the lesson with retrieval practice; followed by teacher exposition supported by video, data and texts; followed by a combination of discussion and independent work.

Retrieval practice is a common feature of lessons: it is most effective when it is referred to and built upon during lessons.

There are some lessons where pupils have insufficient time to apply what they have been taught.

The specifications of exams - and the amount of content - have caused some curriculums to be more about coverage than learning.

Where lessons are more geographical in character, pupils are given authentic geographical data and taught how to use it to answer questions.

It is generally less effective to ask pupils to find out information for themselves. This is, however, rarely seen.

Questions are often well-planned and developed.

Formative assessment is mainly used well throughout lessons. Well-planned questions help teachers identify misconceptions and check for understanding. On the contrary, formative assessment is used less effectively when checks for understanding are not made, or when lessons carry on regardless of pupils' incorrect responses.

Summative assessments are well designed in most schools. Stronger practice includes using a combination of shorter and longer tasks and questions to check that component knowledge has both been learned and can be applied.

If not entirely absent, summative assessment of procedural knowledge, including fieldwork, is often weaker.

Weaker assessment practices occur when assessments appear unrelated to what has been taught. e.g. where assessments do not specify in sufficient detail the content pupils are expected to know.

Subject-specific feedback is generally given to pupils on how to improve their work. Stronger practice encourages pupils to apply this feedback to future pieces of work.

Rapid, whole-class verbal feedback is used effectively to identify and address misconceptions.

Less effective feedback includes insufficient feedback, feedback which is too generic, and feedback which does not inform pupils of how to improve their future pieces of work.

Feedback from assessments is usually used well, including to identify which material might need to be retaught.

Some schools do not use information from assessments effectively. This can be caused by ineffective assessments, but even with high-quality assessments, some schools do not use assessments as feedback to teachers and leaders. This results in less responsive teaching.

Time given to geography ranges from 1 to 2 hours per week, with most schools having a 3-year KS3.

At KS4, most pupils have 3 hours of geography per week, with others ranging from 2.5 to 3.5 hours.

At KS5, pupils have 4 to 5 hours a week.

No schools in the sample took a cross curricular approach to teaching geography.

A well-planned KS3 curriculum might negate the need to teach GCSE content in Year 9.

Most lessons are taught by geography specialists but most schools have some teaching taught by non-specialists, especially at KS3.

The impact of non-specialist teaching depends on the support provided to them.

Most subject leaders have little time available for quality assurance, which is often undertaken by trust leads or senior leaders, usually taking the form of lesson visits and book scrutinies.

Most schools are generally well-resourced with the resources teachers need to teach effectively.

There is increasing use of digital technology to support teaching, especially for creating quizzes and automating feedback.

There are occasional uses of out-of-date resources such as photographs and data. These can distort the accuracy of what is being taught.

Most leaders are supportive of pupils having visits outside of school, recognising fieldwork as a key part of the curriculum. They ensure cost and time are not barriers.

In a few schools despite leaders thinking positively about fieldwork, school policies and practices can create barriers e.g. pupil participation being limited due to the costs of the trip.

The lack of support for, or awareness of the need for, CPD in how to carry out fieldwork acts as the main barrier to improving it.

In many schools, teachers are offered little subject-specific CPD although schools in trusts tend to receive more than those outside of trusts.

Sometimes, CPD is dominated by exam preparation rather than CPD aimed to improving or updating teachers' subject knowledge.

Most teachers would like CPD on planning fieldwork and using GIS. There is a general lack of professional knowledge in these areas.

CPD aimed at generic aspects of teaching, such as supporting SEND pupils, is received positively.

Membership of subject associations occurs in around a half of schools. It is rare for resources from subject associations and bodies to be used in class.

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Blog: Ofsted geography subject report

We invited Mark Enser, geography subject lead at Ofsted and one of His Majesty’s Inspectors, to give an overview of the findings of  Ofsted’s 2023 geography subject report , published earlier this week.

The report reveals significant improvements in the quality of geography education in schools since the previous 2011 report, while also highlighting areas for further work.  

Ofsted’s recently published  geography subject report  is titled  Getting our bearings  and it aims to do exactly that. It is an invitation to pause for a moment as a subject community and take stock of how far we have come, and where we want to go next. The report is based on 50 research visits that took place last year to a representative sample of schools across the country. What we found will hopefully be of use not only to teachers and subject leaders, but also policy makers and subject bodies.

One of the most noticeable findings from these visits was the improvement in curriculum planning that has taken place since Ofsted’s previous subject report was published in 2011. That report found that geography was being lost in cross-curricular ‘topic’ approaches in primary schools, which emphasised generic skills rather than geographical knowledge. It also noted that geography was particularly weak in secondary schools at Key Stage 3. Pupils sometimes received very little specific geography education and the curriculum lacked challenge. What we now see in many schools is a well sequenced curriculum from Key Stage 1 to 3, with particular strengths in Key Stage 3 where leaders are ensuring the curriculum builds not only over a topic but over a series of topics. The recent visits also saw some strengths in how geographical knowledge is being developed in the early years foundation stage through the  Understanding the world  area of the curriculum.

However, our research visits also pointed to some areas where more care is needed. In most primary schools there was a sequence within each geographical topic, but little sense of the topics connecting and building over time, leading to pupils having a fragmented knowledge of the subject and struggling to answer questions about what they had learned. In secondary schools, exam specifications had often become a de facto curriculum for Key Stage 4. Where practice was strongest, leaders had considered how to create a curriculum from the exam specifications. However, this was very rare. In most cases leaders taught the content as laid out in the specification, simply working through it point by point. As a result, pupils struggled to connect different areas of the subject and see the bigger picture.

A third important finding from the visits was the role that fieldwork played in the curriculum. We talked to leaders about fieldwork prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and fieldwork happening now, and found there had been a reduction in the number of trips taking place since the pandemic, but little reduction in the amount of genuine fieldwork. This was because very little fieldwork, as opposed to field trips, had been taking place before the pandemic. Very few leaders, at any key stage, had thought about a curriculum for fieldwork or for developing other geographical skills. As a result, when pupils went out of the classroom, they were not developing a knowledge of how geographers collect, present and analyse data and reach conclusions. Instead, there were isolated events of out of classroom activity, which often lacked a geographical focus. There were some examples of very strong practice where the knowledge of how to complete fieldwork was treated as any other part of the curriculum, but this was rare.

Our report contains a range of findings, including areas of strength and areas where improvement is needed. My main hope is that these feed into our conversations as a subject community about what we want geography in schools to look like and it’s potential to shape how children and young people see and engage with the world.

Mark Enser Geography Subject Lead at Ofsted

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Blog Ofsted: schools and further education & skills (FES)

https://educationinspection.blog.gov.uk/2021/05/11/geography-in-outstanding-primary-schools/

Geography in outstanding primary schools

Iain Freeland HMI, Ofsted’s subject lead for geography, discusses our geography subject inspections.

Studying geography is so important for children, regardless of their age or stage of learning. Geography helps them to make sense of the world around them and piques their curiosity in places and people. Done well, it engages pupils in their world, often spurring them into action, and is fun!

Between January and March 2020, we carried out 23 geography subject inspections of primary schools. The schools were selected at random from schools that were graded as outstanding at their most recent inspection. These inspections were carried out to:

• develop further our understanding of the primary curriculum
• better understand strong curriculum management in primary leadership
• identify good practice at subject level.

Many strengths

There were strengths in the quality of geography education in many of the schools we went to. Overall, curriculum planning was well thought through, and there was clear organisation to make sure that pupils built on what they had already learned. In a few schools, where subjects were taught discretely, there were sophisticated links across subjects to make sure there was cohesion across the whole curriculum.

Teaching geography in the early years was almost universally strong. Teachers were adept at helping pupils to understand their locality, the wider world and phenomena, such as the weather and seasons. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities were fully included in the provision for geography. Teachers and other adults supported these pupils well so that they could access the same content.

The vast majority of the schools we inspected were significantly revising their curriculum plans for geography. In almost every school, leaders were using the national curriculum as the basis for their planning. However, at the time of the inspections, just under half of the schools did not meet the scope or ambition of the national curriculum. In most cases, the most significant gaps were in key stage 2. However, headteachers were aware of this and, in almost all schools, plans were already in place to improve this.

Areas for improvement

In some schools, we found that practice was not always as good as it could be. Very few teachers had actually been trained in teaching geography, although some could remember a brief session as part of their initial teacher training. In some cases, this led to teachers not drawing out important geographical concepts or introducing errors. We found that pupils often struggled to recall places they had studied, including the principal cities of the United Kingdom and major world oceans. Very few showed a good appreciation of scale.

Important geographical skills (using maps, atlases, globes and digital mapping, using locational and directional language, using aerial photographs, devising maps, using Ordnance Survey maps and fieldwork) were not taught particularly well. When pupils were constructing their own plans or maps, these often lacked the accuracy or conventions followed by geographers, such as the use of scale. In some schools, teachers were making good use of the plentiful supply of globes, atlases and maps at various scales. In others, this was less common.

Fieldwork is vital to geographical practice, but this was weak in key stage 2 in many of the schools we inspected. That’s not to say that pupils did not visit different places, but, when they did, they did not make the observations or collect data that they could analyse and present their findings. Fieldwork was much stronger in the early years and key stage 1.

Very few schools were working with secondary schools (or junior/middle schools in the case of infants schools). This limited the precision with which primary schools set their curriculum goals and make sure pupils are properly prepared for the next phase of education.

While there was room for improvement, it’s also clear that these schools had a lot to be proud of. Pupils told us how much they love geography, showing great curiosity about the world around them and the people in it. Many were passionate about the planet and looking after it – a number told us that they were taking direct action to protect the environment. Given that school leaders were clearly aware of the gaps in their curriculum and were actively working to fill them, I hope that these successes are built on.

These inspections were carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and in accordance with Ofsted's published procedures for a no formal designation inspection of schools. The inspections were carried out to enable Her Majesty's Chief Inspector to better understand the quality of education in specific subjects provided by outstanding primary schools. Twenty-three geography inspections were carried out between January and March 2020.

As these inspections only looked into one subject, inspectors were not expected to evaluate or infer the quality of education in the school. This is because the education inspection framework methodology requires a minimum of three subjects to be reviewed in order to draw out systemic features. This was not the purpose of these inspections.

Schools inspected

The full detail of the findings of each inspection are published on each school’s web page on Ofsted’s reports website .

Abacus Belsize Primary School, Camden

All Saints' Church of England Primary School, Ilkley, Bradford

Bournehall Primary School, Hertfordshire

Broomhaugh Church of England First School, Northumberland

Castlethorpe First School, Milton Keynes

Challock Primary School, Kent

Charnwood Primary School, Leicester

East Haddon Church of England Primary School, Northamptonshire

Gomer Infant School, Hampshire

Lindley Church of England Infant School, Kirklees

Louth Kidgate Primary Academy, Lincolnshire

Lowdham Church of England Primary School, Nottinghamshire

Lumley Infant and Nursery School, County Durham

Merrow Church of England Controlled Infant School, Surrey

Oulton Broad Primary School, Norfolk

Purleigh Community Primary School, Essex

Shepherdswell Academy, Milton Keynes

Silkstone Common Junior and Infant School, Barnsley

St John's (Church of England) Primary Academy, Clifton, Calderdale

St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Falmouth, Cornwall

St Matthew's Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School, South Tyneside

Trowse Primary School, Norfolk

Yardley Hastings Primary School, Northamptonshire

You can follow  Iain Freeland and Ofsted  on Twitter.

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Comment by sally magill posted on 11 May 2021

It is not surprising that teachers haven't been 'trained in geography'. There are 11 subjects plus RE in the National Curriculum and we have to teach them all. You are inspecting curriculum subjects in Primary schools in exactly the way as you are in High schools, where there is a department for that subject, a true subject leader who is a specialist and they only teach 1, possibly two subjects all day every day. Your expectations are not realistic or fair to small primary schools, sometime with 7 teachers in total.

Comment by stephen schwab posted on 12 May 2021

Very interesting Iain, very clear.

Comment by @TeacherToolkit posted on 14 May 2021

You mention that "the inspections were carried out to enable Her Majesty's Chief Inspector to better understand the quality of education" and in the next sentence, "...inspectors were not expected to evaluate or infer the quality of education in the school."

1. "Under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and in accordance with Ofsted's published procedures for a no formal designation inspection of schools" - Could you clarify why this methodology was chosen if no evaluations were to be made?

2) How do you evaluate which approach represents good value to the taxpayer?

Comment by External Relations posted on 18 May 2021

Thank you - we're glad you found it helpful.

Comment by External Relations posted on 24 May 2021

Thanks for your message. No formal designation inspections enabled us to carry out this research, which was about understanding the quality of the geography education in outstanding primary schools, rather than providing a formal evaluation of the quality of education as a whole. On your second point, we used the methodology from our research-based Education Inspection Framework which we believe provides efficient and robust evaluation.

Thanks for your message. There is an expectation that teachers have sufficient subject knowledge to be able to plan a geography curriculum for their context and implement it effectively. This is a requirement of the Teacher Standards. That said, we have shared our thoughts about subject leadership in primary settings , particularly small schools. We aren’t looking for a particular model of subject leadership in a school. We recognise the challenges faced by smaller schools, and will work with them to understand how they organise leadership, particularly around curriculum, and accommodate this thinking in our inspection.

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What Can We Learn From Ofsted’s Subject Report For Geography?

Written by Kapow Primary

Published on 1st November 2023

Last Updated: 1st November 2023

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In September 2023, Ofsted published Getting our bearings: Geography subject report offering insights into the teaching of primary Geography in England. 

This comprehensive report covers Geography education across both primary and secondary schools. We have summarised the most relevant points for primary school leaders and teachers.

In this blog we look at:

• Ofsted’s statement on the report

Positive developments in primary Geography

Areas for improvement in primary geography, recommendations for schools to improve primary geography.

• How Kapow Primary’s Geography scheme supports Ofsted’s recommendations 

Ofsted’s statement on the report

In the press release following the report, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman said: 

“Geography is vital to children’s understanding of our physical world. It’s great that both primary and secondary schools have made such strides in their geography teaching. Pupils are now being taught a much more ambitious and challenging curriculum. I hope that schools can now focus on ensuring that children get more opportunities to develop their data collection and analysis skills so they can master the fundamentals of geography fieldwork.”

Ofsted notes significant improvements in Geography education in the last 12 years since Geography: learning to make a world of difference was published. The new report emphasises that almost all primary schools now teach distinct Geography lessons, elevating the subject’s prominence within school curriculums.

There have been many more positive developments in the teaching of the Geography curriculum, including:

Curriculum content

Curriculum planning has improved; leaders are better at identifying exactly what should be taught and how pupils’ knowledge and capabilities should build over a topic. 

Ofsted found that curriculum content is more ambitious, with more schools including geographical enquiry questions in each topic. 

In most schools, pupils are working towards the same curriculum goals, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). 

It was also noted that EYFS children are being introduced to more geographical content, particularly regarding geographical vocabulary.

Teacher knowledge

In most Geography lessons, teachers have the subject knowledge necessary to teach effectively. On the whole, teachers plan for, spot and address misconceptions, and provide rich examples and anecdotes to help bring abstract ideas to life. 

Knowledge recall

In schools where pupil knowledge is strongest, pupils recall knowledge until they are fluent in it and then, later in the lesson, apply this knowledge in a new context.

Teachers are using formative assessment in lessons to check for understanding effectively and are using this information to help plan subsequent lessons. 

The report identified several areas in which schools need to develop further to improve the standard of Geography teaching and learning.

Fieldwork skills

In many schools, fieldwork is “underdeveloped” and pupils do not have sufficient opportunities to learn and develop their fieldwork skills. Pupils may go out of school on a visit, but they rarely learn how to collect, present and analyse geographical fieldwork data when they do so. 

Teacher CPD

There is a need for better support and more subject-specific CPD for both specialist and non-specialist teachers. Teachers can “miss pupils’ misconceptions and sometimes even pass them on to the pupils in their class”. 

Teaching and learning time

Evidence collated by Ofsted reveals a “huge variation” in the amount of Geography education primary pupils receive. Some schools have one hour a week for half the year, with others having as much as two hours a week throughout the year.

Knowledge building

Ofsted identified limited knowledge-building across Geography topics. Furthermore, in key stage 1, pupil knowledge does not always go much beyond what pupils have already learnt by the end of Reception. 

The report also highlights disciplinary knowledge (how geographical knowledge is formed, debated and contested) as a weaker area of curriculum thinking in both primary and secondary schools, as key geographical concepts have not been identified beforehand. 

National curriculum coverage

The curriculum in some schools does not match the scope and ambition of the national curriculum. When teaching about ‘place’, Ofsted found schools using outdated and inaccurate resources. 

A further observation about the curriculum is that when schools combine History and Geography into a topic, History usually takes precedence. 

The Ofsted report outlines the following suggestions for how schools can ensure that all pupils receive a high-quality Geography education:

• Confirm that the curriculum supports the effective transition between key stages so that content builds cumulatively and is not repeated.
• To strengthen disciplinary knowledge , leaders need to identify geographical concepts that underpin the curriculum and use them in their planning.
• Teach pupils about fieldwork . Pupils should know how to collect, present and analyse data, and reach and evaluate conclusions based on this data.
• Consider the prior knowledge that pupils need to access more complex ideas and concepts to develop their expertise.
• Consider how pupils will build on knowledge , not only within a topic but over a series of topics, so that they can apply what they have learned in different scenarios. 
• Plan how to identify and address likely misconceptions in each topic. 

How does the Kapow Primary Geography scheme support Ofsted’s recommendations?

Kapow Primary Geography was developed following research on the challenges facing teachers. Consequently, there is a strong focus on developing fieldwork skills and providing CPD for teachers and subject leaders. The scheme is designed to be taught for an hour a week over three half-terms. 

The Kapow Primary Geography scheme addresses the recommendations made by Ofsted in several ways:

Supports effective transitions

Planning supports transitions between year groups as well as key stages:

• The Geography: Progression of skills and knowledge document illustrates how knowledge is built upon both within a year group and across key stages.
• We advise that key stage 1 units are taught in a specific order to allow children to develop Geographical concepts that build progressively on what they have learnt in EYFS.
• The skills and knowledge that pupils develop in key stage 2, along with the resources they use, provide a solid foundation for key stage 3 Geography.

Develops fieldwork skills

Every Geography unit includes fieldwork based on enquiry questions as part of the Kapow Primary enquiry cycle . This allows children to apply the skills and knowledge they have learnt during the unit and ensures the development of fieldwork skills. Fieldwork opportunities are accessible with suggestions for alternative locations where relevant. 

Develops teacher knowledge and confidence

Kapow Primary Geography includes integrated CPD in teacher videos and within the ‘teacher knowledge’ section of the lesson plans. These invaluable resources support teachers with subject knowledge and identify possible misconceptions, enabling them to deliver quality lessons with confidence.

Builds pupil knowledge

• Every lesson begins with ‘Recap and recall’ to help children recap on prior learning and make connections between topics.
• A spiral curriculum design ensures that key skills and knowledge are revisited in a progressive way.
• The progression of geographical concepts explains how key geographical concepts are covered and revisited across topics and year groups.
• There are a variety of pupil assessment resources such as: ‘Wrapping up’ at the end of every lesson Unit quizzes Knowledge catchers and skills catchers Assessment spreadsheet .

Assessment resources from our Geography unit Year3/4:Why are rainforests important to us?  

The Ofsted report indicates that we are indeed “getting our bearings” when it comes to teaching Geography in primary schools. There have been considerable improvements in the last few years, in particular around curriculum planning. However, some of the suggested recommendations, such as developing fieldwork or upskilling teachers with CPD are difficult to achieve. Kapow Primary Geography has integrated CPD and a fieldwork focus in every unit, making it easier for schools to include these elements in their Geography curriculums and provide a better-quality learning experience.

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Speed read: Ofsted’s guide to a ‘high-quality’ geography curriculum

17 Jun 2021, 13:41

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Ofsted has highlighted some of the key principles of teaching a “high-quality” geography curriculum in its latest research review.

The inspectorate today published the fifth in a series of subject research reviews. It has previously covered languages , maths , science and religious education.

Ofsted said the research reviews would be a useful tool in helping teachers prioritise catch-up content by explaining the most helpful ways of securing progression.

These are some of the key pieces of advice.

1. Consider pupils’ prior knowledge

The review stated that when choosing curriculum content, teachers should “consider pupils’ prior knowledge and experiences”.

It found that geography had a relatively low status in primary schools and “over time there has been a gradual decline in the amount of time spent studying geography in the classroom”.

In contrast, the number pupils entering geography exams has “increased significantly” in the last decade, with almost half of key stage 4 pupils now studying the subject.

Ofsted added that teachers with “high-quality” curriculums broke down content into “component parts and draw from the breadth of concepts to give pupils the knowledge they need to appreciate the wider subject”.

2. Locational knowledge can help pupils build identity…

Ofsted said locational knowledge – “knowing where’s where” – was one of the mainstays of geographical education and teachers should recognise it helps pupils “build their own identity and develop their sense of place”.

The review added that growth of this knowledge contributes to pupils’ understanding of geographical processes.

“Over time, pupils learn and remember more locational knowledge. They become increasingly fluent in identifying specific locations.”

3. …but place knowledge is the most important

The review found that place knowledge – which allows a pupil “to locate or orient oneself with respect to the larger global space and to other places” – was the most important knowledge and should be “prioritised in the geography curriculum”.

This knowledge should be built by linking to places pupils are already familiar with, and built up over time to allow pupils to make “meaningful comparisons”.

4.  Fieldwork should be practised regularly

Fieldwork such as data collection, analysis and presentation should be practised regularly, Ofsted said.

As pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) “generally study the same curriculum scope” as other pupils, it is advised that classroom resources and fieldwork are “adjusted as required to ensure that all pupils take part”.

5.  Avoid overloading pupils’ working memory

When teaching a “high-quality” curriculum, “teachers avoid overloading pupil’s working memory”, Ofsted found.

“They break larger concepts or ideas into smaller ‘bite-size’ chunks and teach a small number of these.”

Pupils then commit knowledge to long-term memory through “recalling and repeated practice”.

6. Allocate sufficient teaching time to geography

Ofsted found both the amount of time allocated to geography and the way it is organised “affect the quality of geographical education overall”.

The watchdog advised school leaders to take into account the availability of subject specialist teachers and wherever possible allocated them to teach geography classes.

In addition, non-specialist teachers should be well-supported and receive further professional development.

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Geography Research Review

• 07 December 2022 15:19

On 17 th June 2021, Ofsted released its research review into geography. The purpose was to identify the factors that contribute to a high-quality geography education, using information around pedagogical practices, assessment processes and whole-school policies and systems.

The review highlights the requirement to begin pupils’ geography journey in EYFS, particularly with regard to geographical vocabulary which is then built on over the subsequent years.

It also suggests that geography is a curriculum area that is often diluted or lost within a topic-based approach, something that we at Sonar Curriculum recognise and address in our approach. In addition, the review points to the fact that teachers’ subject knowledge is often lacking in this area.

However, Ofsted also recognise that there is a ‘healthy appetite’ for geography in primary schools and children care deeply about the world around them and their place in it.

To read more from the geography research review, click here .

Related articles

• Research Review: History
• Research Review: Mathematics

The Journal for Student Geographers

Response to Ofsted’s curriculum research review for geography

By Dr C Nayeri (Editor-in-Chief) and Dr E Rushton (Managing Editor)

Ofsted’s curriculum research review for geography published on 17 th  June 2021 is concerned with the question of ‘what it means to get better at geography’ (2021: n.p). The aim is to provide a review of literature relating to the field of geography education and, from this review, identify aspects of best practice to share with teachers and the government. 

A report into what makes an excellent geographical education has the potential to provide leadership that comes from having a country-wide purview of geography teaching in schools. Teachers, schools and academics generate a wealth of research on pedagogy and geography education that characterises a vibrant community of practitioners. There is therefore a genuine need for a review that spotlights the full scope of this work in a way that does justice to its national and global significance. This means presenting the unanswered questions and tensions in current work as well as thinking through the areas for future potential. Instead, the report does what it tells teachers not to- which is ‘portraying a single story’ (n.p.) of what makes high-quality geography education. 

Rather than a review of geographical approaches, what is left is a selective list of geographical research that is used to assemble a particular, not uncontroversial, idea of what excellent geography looks like in schools. Whilst all reports must make decisions on their scope, there is no rationale (beyond a very basic set of principles [1] ), provided for the literature cited, the dates of the literature used, or the different parts of geography education analysed. In the 200 or so references, we are introduced to an eclectic mix of ideas that range from Barack Obama speeches to articles in the  National Geographic  magazine and reference to complex and problematic characters from geography’s past such as Halford Mackinder. For academic Steve Puttick, this is ‘problematic and ironic’ as the report advocates for a ‘appreciation of the discipline’ (2021, n.p), but does not unpack the ‘racist, environmental determinism, English exceptionalism and geography as a colonial subject that Mackinder worked so hard to promote’ [2]  (see also Kearns, 2009). 

If teachers look to documents such as Ofsted’s curriculum research review for guidance, it is vital that they feel ideas such as teaching about topics such as race matter in the geography curriculum. The silences around race, in particular, are problematic, especially at a time when geography academics have highlighted its importance. In the words of Professor Gillian Rose, it is this attention to race and diversity that is at the heart of ‘what makes good geography’ (Rose, 2020, p. 140; Tooth & Viles, 2021). A report which cautions against the risks of ‘politicising teaching’ (2021, n.p.) whilst masking the politics of its own creation raises important and fundamental questions about the interests and ends of the report itself. 

There is therefore the need to scrutinise both what is in the report and the geographical knowledge that the report excludes. Within geography’s disciplinary purview- or what the report terms ‘substantive knowledge’- are arguably our biggest strengths to make geography relevant in the twenty first century. These include the capacity for the discipline to explore and interrogate ideas of race, ethnicity and LGBT+ geographies, the inequalities and opportunities caused by COVID-19, climate change and biodiversity crises. These areas represent some of the most interesting and innovative recent developments in geography education and are being pioneered by teachers who have shared their resources such as Paul Turner whose climate change scheme of work has been downloaded over 7000 times (pers. coms.) and Sarah Trolley who has designed activities that enable students to explore the colonial histories of geography (Trolley, 2020), work recognised by the Geographical Association’s Excellence in Leading Geography Award. 

It is not only the ideas of early career geographers that are missing from this report, but substantial areas of geographical scholarship. For example, the report is completely silent about leading geography educationalists’ work on wellbeing, play and geographical education (Moula, Walshe, & Lee, 2021; Rushton & Batchelder, 2020). The importance of compassion and kindness in geography (the theme of the Geographical Association’s 2021 conference) (Geographical Association, 2021). Health geographies in the curriculum (Winter, 2009). Geographies of the anthropocene (Nayeri, 2021; Rawding, 2017). The role of teacher identity(Rushton, 2021). This list is far from exhaustive and relates not only to work on disciplinary knowledge but contemporary developments in geographical pedagogy. What is most surprising is this work represents leading scholarship from UK academics in geography education, often supported by UK research council funding. 

Whilst there is much that has been left out, that which is in the report is at times imprecise. For example, the term ‘relational geographies’ is used to describe geography in the early 20 th  century when the relational turn is a much more common expression to describe geographies post-2000 where ideas of the connections between Nature and Society have been scrutinised and debated. Other examples of this imprecision also abound around ideas of ‘place’ and ‘locational’ knowledge. Where locational knowledge is defined in part by helping pupils to ‘build their own identity and develop their sense of place’ (n.p.) and ‘place’ involves ‘a sense of place’ (n.p). A report which is at pains to be prescriptive about what good geography should look like has itself been tripped up by trying to engineer simplicity in a set of concepts whose strengths lie in their complexity. 

This review of geography education by Ofsted matters to geography teachers and academics because of its significance for making judgements about what is and is not good geography teaching. These may well be judgements teachers make of themselves, heads of department make of their team, or perhaps most significantly, Ofsted make when inspecting schools.  As geographers, we know through our (inter/ multi)disciplinary training that good geography comes through collaboration, conversation and diverse views which is why it would have been far better if teachers and students could have been invited to share the resources and research they use as part of these reviews. This is especially the case for geography as there is such a significant contribution made by teachers’, often unpublished, work to the discipline. 

As geographers we are still left asking of the report: ‘to what ends was this report written?’ ‘How and by whom?’ What was the rationale for the literature cited’? ‘How will the report be used in practice?’ ‘Why are there so many omissions of work that shows the tensions, debates and richness that represents the current richness of geography education’? 

Geographical Association. (2021). Compassionate Geographies.

Kearns, G. (2009).  Geopolitics and Empire: The Legacy of Halford Mackinder . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Moula, Z., Walshe, N., & Lee, E. (2021). Making Nature Explicit in Children’s Drawings of Wellbeing and Happy Spaces.  Child Indicators Research . https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-021-09811-6

Nayeri, C. (2021). Teaching Geography in the Anthropocene.  Teaching Geography ,  46 (2), 50–52.

OFSTED. (2021).  Research review series: geography .

Rawding, C. (2017). The Anthropocene and the global. In D. Lambert & M. Jones (Eds.),  Debates in Geography Education  (2nd ed., pp. 239–249). Oxon: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315562452-18

Rose, G. (2020). Editorial introduction by Professor Gillian Rose: Diversity and Inclusion.  Routes ,  1 (2), 138–141.

Rushton, E. A. C. (2021). Building Teacher Identity in Environmental and Sustainability Education: The Perspectives of Preservice Secondary School Geography Teachers.  Sustainability ,  13 (9), 5321. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095321

Rushton, E. A. C., & Batchelder, M. (2020). Education for Sustainable Development Through Extra-curricular or Non-curricular Contexts. In W. Leal Filho, A. . Azul, L. Brandli, P. G. Özuyar, & T. Wall (Eds.),  Quality Education. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals  (pp. 249–258). Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95870-5_19

Tooth, S., & Viles, H. A. (2021). Equality, diversity, inclusion: ensuring a resilient future for geomorphology.  Earth Surface Processes and Landforms ,  46 (1), 5–11. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5026

Trolley, S. (2020). How contextualising a book can develop students ’ understandings of geography.  Teaching Geography , 72–74.

Winter, C. (2009). Geography and education I: the state of health of Geography in schools.  Progress in Human Geography ,  33 (5), 667–676. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132508101603

[1]   https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/principles-behind-ofsteds-research-reviews-and-subject-reports

[2]   https://twitter.com/Steve_Puttick/status/1405489297575362560  [Accessed 20/6/21]

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Secondary Geography: Ofsted's Recommendations for a High-Quality Education

This webinar will provide headteachers, curriculum leaders, subject leaders, teachers and practitioners with insight into Ofsted’s Research review series: geography which provides an evidence-based conception of a high-quality geography curriculum to support Ofsted’s inspection judgements, and can be used to guide curriculum planning.

• Description
• Learning Outcomes

Ofsted is publishing a series of research reviews, each identifying factors which can contribute to high-quality curricula, assessment, pedagogy and systems in a specific subject. They can be used by subject and curriculum leaders to inform provision, particularly timely as schools face the challenge of catching up after remote education.

In this webinar, Mike Chiles, principal examiner, curriculum development expert, school leader and author of The CRAFT of assessment, will explain the principles behind Ofsted’s research reviews and provide an insight into the content of the Research review series: geography including the national context, factors affecting the quality of geography education, curriculum progression, pedagogy, assessment and decision-making.

• Being able to make curriculum decisions which are informed by Ofsted’s conception of a high-quality geography curriculum as established in its Research review series: geography
• Appreciating the background to and rationale for Ofsted’s publication of the research review series as part of a wider school improvement initiative
• Understanding the importance of careful selection of content to achieve a balance between breadth of coverage and depth of study
• Being able to establish a progression model which precisely identifies and clearly sequences what pupils need to know so that they can build and link knowledge
• Identifying approaches to pedagogy and assessment and systems which can together contribute to a high-quality geography provision

Michael Chiles is a Principal Examiner, Curriculum Development Advisor and an experienced school leader who has successfully headed departments in several challenging secondary schools in the UK. He is an experienced trainer and has delivered training, both nationally and internationally, to support teachers in their approaches to implementing effective assessment practices.

Michael is a Chartered Geographer at the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) and is an experienced Head of Geography. In recent years, Michael has supported schools in curriculum development, delivering training nationally and internationally to teachers and school leaders, along with authoring several revision materials for schools. He is a passionate practitioner with a keen interest in using research-based evidence to support students in becoming lifelong learners.

Michael is the co-author of ‘The CRAFT of Assessment’, in which he explains the importance of school leaders cultivating the right conditions for teachers to use assessment as a tool to support learning, both in and out of the classroom, to enable pupils to close the knowledge gap. His book has received widespread acclaim and has been praised for containing a wealth of practical ideas with research-informed explanations.

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Answered by: sarah purcell last updated: mar 06, 2024     views: 1702.

In 2021, Ofsted began to publish a series of curriculum research reviews for each subject. Each review is intended to provide the latest evidence to inform teaching in those subjects. You can find the series on the UK Government website here . 

To reference one of these reviews, you should go to the webpage for that subject's review and use a webpage format if you are using Harvard style, for example:

Ofsted (2021) Curriculum research reviews series: languages . Available at:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-research-review-series-languages/curriculum-research-review-series-languages (Accessed: 5 July 2021). 

Ofsted (2024) Telling the story: the English education subject report . Available at:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/subject-report-series-english/telling-the-story-the-english-education-subject-report (Accessed: 6 March 2024).

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How to make the most out of Ofsted's Research Review in English

How to make the most out of ofsted’s research review in english, nick wallace, english mastery.

Over the past few months, Ofsted have been undertaking a deep-dive into the educational research available in the curriculum design, pedagogy, and assessment protocols for core subjects.

Last week, Ofsted published their Curriculum Research Review for English. It’s a long read, so how can subject leaders in English engage with the research review?

1. Look for sections that describe your department’s current approach to curriculum and implementation. How are you aligned, where do you diverge and what’s your case?

Browse through the research review and identify which areas describe what you and your colleagues are already doing: you’re bound to be developing and delivering a curriculum that’s already rooted in great practice and educational research in many ways.

2. Identify areas of the research review where your curriculum is less developed.

The research review is broad and comprehensive. Even the most research-informed among us may have areas where we have less of a grasp on what research suggests leads to the best outcomes for students.

It may be helpful to note down these areas and conduct some further reading in your department or speak to colleagues in other schools to find out how they’re addressing that area of practice to improve their curriculum and teaching.

3. Be prepared to engage critically with some of the conclusions.

One of the best things about English teaching is the diversity of approaches that we see in departments across the country. It’s quite possible that you have some reservations – or disagreements – about the suggestions and conclusions drawn in the research review.

You may think, ‘This doesn’t describe the curriculum we want for students in our school’ or feel that there are other forms of research which haven’t been adequately represented in the review.  Great – start the debate!

This is what happened with my colleagues in Maths Mastery  when Ofsted published the review in their subject, and has led to some brilliant discussion and debate about the nature of their subjects.

That’s one of the purposes of the research reviews: to provide a robust, comprehensive stimulus to encourage subject and school leaders to continue to engage with the curriculum – the very substance of education.

4. Continue your own journey in engaging with educational research.

There are loads of great books and articles available that offer accessible entry points into engaging with educational research. Some English Mastery favourites include:

• Why Don’t Students Like School? by Daniel Willingham – a great starting point which has recently been republished in a second edition
• Making Good Progress? by Daisy Christodoulou – an engaging insight into the educational research behind assessment pedagogy
• ‘Principled Curriculum Design’ by Dylan Wiliam – a short paper outlining some key principles in developing – and implementing – a successful curriculum

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Research review series: history

A review of research into factors that influence the quality of history education in schools in England.

Applies to England

In this report, we have:

• outlined the national context in relation to history
• considered curriculum progression in history, pedagogy, assessment and the impact of school leaders’ decisions on provision
• summarised our review of research into factors that can affect quality of education in history

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