Curriculum and Assessment review - your views please...

An RGS-heavy day today alongside my teaching.

This post is a cross-posting from my dedicated RGS blog - please go and check it out if you haven't already. It shares all the news linked to my role as Vice President: Education. This curriculum review will be one of the things I'm interested in for the next year or so.

Joined a very interesting Zoom call followed by some emails related to the opening of the RGS' request for your thoughts as part of the 'call for evidence' of the Francis Curriculum Review. That request is now open as of lunchtime today.

New on the RGS website is this call for your thoughts ahead of the Curriculum and Assessment Review for England, which is being chaired by Becky Francis.

At the moment, the review is in a phase where they call for evidence.

This evidence will inform later stages of the consultation.

The Government has launched an open call for evidence to inform its curriculum and assessment reviewfor England, which is being chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE.

The review spans key stages 1 to 4, and 16 to 19 education, and will look closely at the challenges to attainment for young people, and the barriers which many children face – in particular those who are socio-economically disadvantaged, or with special educational needs or disability (SEND).

The review is wide ranging and is seeking evidence from young people and parents, teachers and lecturers, leaders, experts and employers on how the curriculum and assessment system can ensure all young people are prepared for life and work.The Society will be responding to the call for evidence and we want to hear your views to help us formulate our response. 

In particular:
  • We know that many in education feel the geography curriculum at GCSE is overloaded. Do you agree? If so, how can the load be reduced while keeping a coherent curriculum? What should assessment look like?
  • We often hear from young people that the geography curriculum is not relevant to them and the world they now live in. What changes could be made to improve this?
  • We believe fieldwork is an essential element of geography in schools. How can high quality fieldwork provision for all students be assured? How should it be assessed?
  • We believe that geography is the central home for learning about climate change and action. Do you agree? How would you describe the value a geographical perspective brings to understanding and responding to climate change?
  • We recognise that spatial data skills are vital for employability, especially within the growing green careers sectors. How should these be embedded across the different key stages? How should teachers be supported to deliver this element of the curriculum?
We are keen to collect the views of everyone, but those working in geography education in some ways are likely to be more affected by the outcomes of this review, as it filters through into official curriculum documents which more schools will be legally obliged to follow.

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