Geographical Association

This unit is aimed at geography subject leaders and those with responsibility for managing the curriculum in primary schools.

In this section we:

• suggest some activities that might get you started on gathering evidence of the geography in your school
• point you towards using the Primary Geography Quality Mark (PGQM) framework to help you to evaluate geography in your school.

If your answer to this question is 'very well' you might choose to move directly onto the Using the framework activity.

If your answer is 'not too well' then it might be very valuable for you to work through the Gathering evidence section first.

Before you can effectively use the PGQM framework to evaluate geography in your school you will need to find out what the experience of geography is like for different groups of children. As you monitor the subject keep in mind both the schools 'vision' for geography and the 'aims' and objectives that underpin this 'vision'.  These should form part of the existing 'policy' document and should be available to you to use as a check-list, even if you are new to the coordinating role.

You may choose to use one or more of the following activities yourself or with your staff as part of an INSET day or staff meeting.

School displays are often 'the thing' that teachers who apply for the PGQM home in on when they are exemplifying 'The Characteristics of Geography in the School'.

Take a look through the two slideshows below.

Download this presentation as a PowerPoint

Download this presentation as a PowerPoint

But what do displays really tell us about geography in the school and what don't they tell us?

Use the template below to respond to this question. It will also be helpful to have a copy of the Primary Geography Quality Mark Framework for guidance.

Download the activity in full (Word Document)

This could be a CPD activity for staff. Show them examples of photographic evidence that you have put together, perhaps in the form of a 'photo-story', and then ask them to 'exemplify the geographical achievement of their own pupils'. They might work in pairs to complete this activity. Involving colleagues in this way will give them a direct stake in the outcome of the PGQM award.

Download the activity in full (PDF)

Think about your own planning for geography. How often do you actually teach something in the way that it is written on your plan?  Do you ever miss bits out?  Add other things in? Sometimes assumptions are made about what teacher's planning can show the person who is trying to evaluate the curriculum.

What do you think?

Download the activity in full (Word Document)

Download this presentation as a PowerPoint

In this activity you are going to think about how you might set up a pupil focus group to talk about geography in the school. A group of between six and nine pupils would probably be ideal.

The purpose of the group would probably be to:

• Help you to look at what geography is being taught in the school and how it is being taught.
• A group that feeds back their own ideas about what geography they would like to see taught.

Download the activity in full (PDF)

The Primary Geography Quality Mark was set up to provide you with a structure for evaluating and developing geography in your school. 

1. Print off the PGQM framework and then use a highlighter pen to mark all of the statements that you feel you are currently achieving.
2. Have a look at the example of a PGQM timeline, even if you are not contemplating applying for the award, because there are some very useful pointers that should help you to prioritise your actions.
3. In collaboration with colleagues, create your own timeline for the development of geography in your school. Use this in conjunction with your action plan to set out your priorities for subject development.

We provide an action plan pro-forma for each of the three levels of the award on the password protected PGQM VLE.  Each action plan pro-forma contains a list of every framework statement that you will work towards at that level.

Brindishe Primary School, a successful Gold PGQM applicant had this to say in their application:

'When evaluating where we were three years ago, it became apparent that the area we felt least confident in was geography. We recognised that our achievements were not as successful as we wanted and that geography needed to be a focus of our SDP to breathe some new life into it. We devised a three year plan to raise the profile and attainment of geography in school.

We began to explore the idea of ... developing an integrated, lively and creative curriculum that made links; stimulated the children's curiosity and made learning more relevant to the children. It was quite clear that following the QCA documents (i.e. QCA schemes of work) as they were would not do this.

The more we looked at geography, the more we realised what a central role it had in linking the curriculum areas together and in helping children understand so many aspects of their lives and the world around them.'

Having read the extract above, think about the following:

• What three decisions did Brindishe come to when they decided to make geography a focus of their SDP?
• How has reading this short extract helped you to think through your own priorities?
• What will you do next?

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