top of page
.png)
Curriculum Development Links
Curriculum design, sequencing, progression, content and reform
A curated selection of articles, research, websites, books and practical resources to support curriculum thinking and development.
Curriculum Thinking
Exploring the ideas, principles and debates that shape curriculum purpose, knowledge selection and the role of subjects and disciplines in what pupils learn.
Books
Mary Myatt — The Curriculum: Gallimaufry to Coherence
Myatt, M. (2018). John Catt Educational Ltd.
A brilliant exploration of curriculum purpose, coherence and planning. Particularly useful for thinking about how individual curriculum choices contribute to a coherent whole rather than becoming a collection of disconnected topics and activities.
View book →
https://www.johncattbookshop.com/products/the-curriculum-gallimaufry-to-coherence
Ruth Ashbee — Curriculum: Theory, Culture and the Subject Specialisms
Ashbee, R. (2021). Routledge.
A particularly useful overview of curriculum theory through the lens of individual subject disciplines. It considers issues including progression, sequencing and substantive and disciplinary knowledge, and is especially valuable when thinking about what curriculum principles mean within different school subjects.
View book →
https://www.routledge.com/Curriculum-Theory-Culture-and-the-Subject-Specialisms/Ashbee/p/book/9780367483777
Clare Sealy (ed.) — The researchED Guide to the Curriculum
Sealy, C. (ed.) (2020). John Catt Educational Ltd.
A collection of evidence-informed perspectives on curriculum thinking and design. Particularly useful as an accessible bridge between curriculum theory, research and the practical decisions made by teachers and subject leaders.
View book →
https://www.hachettelearning.com/curriculum-design/the-researched-guide-to-the-curriculum-an-evidence-informed-guide-for-teachers
Michael Young, David Lambert & Carolyn Roberts — Knowledge and the Future School
Young, M., Lambert, D. and Roberts, C. (2014). Bloomsbury Academic.
An important contribution to thinking about knowledge, curriculum and educational entitlement. Particularly valuable in understanding the ideas underpinning powerful knowledge and the role schools and subject disciplines play in enabling pupils to move beyond their everyday experience.
View book →
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/knowledge-and-the-future-school-9781472528148/
Tim Surma et al. — Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking: The Knowledge Revival
Surma, T. et al. (2025). Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking: The Knowledge Revival. Springer Nature.
OPEN ACCESS - A substantial exploration of the relationship between knowledge-rich curriculum design and deeper thinking. It considers why secure knowledge matters for critical thinking, problem-solving and understanding, alongside principles for developing coherent and content-rich curricula. Particularly useful for thinking about the relationship between the intended curriculum, the curriculum that is actually implemented, and what pupils ultimately learn.
Read online / Download the full book as a free PDF →
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-74661-1
Websites and Articles
.png)
Christine Counsell — Taking Curriculum Seriously (Chartered College of Teaching)
A thought-provoking exploration of why decisions about curriculum content matter. Particularly useful for considering knowledge selection, disciplinary traditions and the responsibility involved in deciding what pupils should encounter.
Read article →
https://my.chartered.college/impact_article/taking-curriculum-seriously/
Cambridge University Press & Assessment — Is Curriculum Coherence a Fundamental Characteristic of High-Performing Education Systems?
An exploration of curriculum coherence and why the different components of an education system need to work together. Particularly useful for thinking beyond individual units or schemes of work towards the alignment of curriculum content, pedagogy, resources and assessment.
Read article →
https://www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/blogs/curriculum-coherence/
Cambridge University Press & Assessment — Exploring the Essence of Curriculum Design
A discussion of some of the central principles of curriculum design, including the importance of coherence and alignment between curriculum aims, content and implementation.
Read article →
https://www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/blogs/essence-of-curriculum-design/
Design, Sequencing and Progression
Resources exploring how curriculum content can be selected, connected and seqeunced to develop increasingly sophisticated knowledge and understanding over time.
Books
Tim Surma et al. — Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking: The Knowledge Revival
Surma, T. et al. (2025). Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking: The Knowledge Revival. Springer Nature.
OPEN ACCESS - A substantial exploration of the relationship between knowledge-rich curriculum design and deeper thinking. It considers why secure knowledge matters for critical thinking, problem-solving and understanding, alongside principles for developing coherent and content-rich curricula. Particularly useful for thinking about the relationship between the intended curriculum, the curriculum that is actually implemented, and what pupils ultimately learn.
Read online / Download the full book as a free PDF →
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-74661-1
Websites and Articles
Sarah Dowey — Why This? Why Now? Using Curriculum Narratives to Develop Consistency, Challenge and Progress
Substack 2026
A useful way of thinking about curriculum narratives and being able to articulate not only what is being taught, but why particular content appears at a particular point in the curriculum.
Explore resource →
https://weareinbeta.substack.com/p/subject-specialist-talks-c68
Rob Chambers — Mastery, Integration and the Tensions in Designing a Coherent Curriculum
Substack, 2026
A reflection on some of the tensions involved in designing a coherent curriculum, including mastery, integration, deliberate revisiting, schema development and the challenge of ensuring that curriculum knowledge remains connected rather than fragmented.
Read article →
https://robgeogchambers.substack.com/p/mastery-integration-and-the-tensions
Geographical Association — Planning for Continuity and Progression
Useful for thinking beyond progression as simply moving through topics or year groups and considering how geographical knowledge, understanding and capability develop cumulatively over time.
Geographical Association — Progression in Geographical Learning
A useful exploration of what it actually means for pupils to become better at Geography over time and how progression can be considered through geographical knowledge, understanding and thinking.
Geographical Association — The Rationale, Scope and Sequencing of Schemes of Work
A practical exploration of the decisions involved in curriculum sequencing, including how recurring geographical concepts can help knowledge develop and connect across a programme of study.
Read article →
https://geography.org.uk/blogs/the-rationale-scope-and-sequencing-of-schemes-of-work/
Cambridge University Press & Assessment — Perspectives on Curriculum Design: Comparing the Spiral and the Network Models
An interesting comparison of spiral and network approaches to curriculum design. Particularly useful for thinking about how knowledge can be revisited, connected and developed over time rather than curriculum progression being represented simply as a linear sequence.
Read / Download PDF →
https://www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/Images/598388-perspectives-on-curriculum-design-comparing-the-spiral-and-the-network-models.pdf
Developing a Geography Curriculum
Subject-specific thinking about what makes a curriculum genuinely geographical: its purpose, knowledge, concepts, disciplinary foundations, places, processes, skills and ways of thinking.
Books
David Gardner — Planning Your Coherent 11–16 Geography Curriculum: A Design Toolkit
Gardner, D. (2021). Geographical Association.
A really practical guide to planning a coherent and sequenced secondary Geography curriculum, with progression and assessment at its heart. It combines theoretical thinking about curriculum, curriculum making and powerful disciplinary knowledge with practical guidance and case studies showing how schools have approached different stages of the curriculum design process.
View book →
https://portal.geography.org.uk/shop/view/P020772
Mark Enser — Powerful Geography: A Curriculum with Purpose in Practice
Enser, M. (2021). Crown House Publishing.
An exploration of purposeful Geography curriculum design. It draws together ideas around powerful knowledge, geographical thinking and curriculum planning and applies them specifically to the decisions Geography teachers make.
View book →
https://www.crownhouse.co.uk/powerful-geography
Mary Biddulph, David Lambert & David Balderstone — Learning to Teach Geography in the Secondary School
Biddulph, M., Lambert, D. and Balderstone, D. (2021). 4th ed. Routledge.
A substantial reference for secondary Geography education, including the purpose of school Geography, geographical knowledge, curriculum planning and the development of geographical thinking.
View book →
https://www.routledge.com/Learning-to-Teach-Geography-in-the-Secondary-School-A-Companion-to-School-Experience/Biddulph-Lambert-Balderstone/p/book/9781138386556
Websites and Articles
Geographical Association — A Framework for the School Geography Curriculum
A significant framework for thinking about the disciplinary foundations and essential characteristics of school Geography. Particularly valuable as a reference point when considering curriculum purpose, content selection and progression.
Explore framework →
https://geography.org.uk/ite/initial-teacher-education/learning-to-teach-secondary-geography/geography-subject-teaching-and-curriculum/curriculum-and-curriculum-planning/what-is-the-curriculum/
Geographical Association — Powerful Geography Knowledge
A useful introduction to debates around powerful knowledge within Geography and what it might mean to give pupils access to knowledge that enables them to think beyond their immediate experience.
David Lambert — Who Thinks What in Geography Classrooms? Powerful Disciplinary Knowledge and Curriculum Futures
Lambert, D. (2017). The New Geography, 65(3), 1–15.
An important consideration of powerful disciplinary knowledge and the role of Geography in enabling pupils not simply to acquire information about the world, but increasingly to think geographically.
Read article →
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/newgeo/65/3/65_1/_article/-char/en
Geographical Association — What Is Geographical Subject Knowledge?
Useful for exploring what we mean by geographical subject knowledge and therefore what a Geography curriculum needs to enable pupils to know, understand and do.
Explore resource →
https://geography.org.uk/ite/initial-teacher-education/geography-support-for-trainees-and-ects/learning-to-teach-secondary-geography/what-is-geographical-subject-knowledge/
Geographical Association — Thinking Geographically
A helpful exploration of what it means to think geographically and how geographical concepts and theories help pupils make sense of their expanding knowledge of the world.
Ofsted — Research Review Series: Geography
A substantial review of research relating to high-quality Geography education, including curriculum content, geographical knowledge, progression, fieldwork, assessment and teaching.
Read review →
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-review-series-geography
Ofsted — Getting Our Bearings: Geography Subject Report
Ofsted's national subject report for Geography. Useful alongside the earlier research review for identifying recurring strengths and weaknesses in how Geography curricula are being designed and enacted in schools.
Read report →
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/subject-report-series-geography/getting-our-bearings-geography-subject-report
Geographical Association — From Intent to Implementation: Curriculum Making
A practical exploration of curriculum making as the process of turning curriculum intentions into engaging and challenging sequences of geographical learning. Particularly useful for considering the relationship between the subject discipline, teachers' expertise and pupils' experiences.
Geographical Association — The Rationale, Scope and Sequencing of Schemes of Work
A practical exploration of the decisions involved in designing and sequencing Geography schemes of work. The article also specifically recommends David Gardner's curriculum toolkit and includes examples of how different schools have approached curriculum sequencing.
Read article →
https://geography.org.uk/blogs/the-rationale-scope-and-sequencing-of-schemes-of-work/
Curriculum in Practice
Exploring how curriculum intentions are translated into classroom practice through teacher preparation, lesson sequencing, resources and curriculum enactment.
Books
Kat Howard & Claire Hill — Symbiosis: The Curriculum and the Classroom
Howard, K. and Hill, C. (2020). John Catt Educational Ltd.
A useful exploration of the relationship between curriculum design and classroom practice. Particularly valuable in thinking about how curriculum intentions become enacted through teachers’ planning, decision-making and classroom practice.
View book →
https://www.hachettelearning.com/teaching-strategies/symbiosis-the-curriculum-and-the-classroom
Mary Myatt — KS3: The Ambitious Years
Myatt, M. (2026). Mary Myatt Learning Limited.
This is a superb book (Highly recommended)- a strong argument for treating Key Stage 3 as an intellectually ambitious phase in its own right. Particularly useful when thinking about curriculum depth, challenge and the entitlement pupils should experience during Years 7–9.
View book →
https://www.amazon.co.uk/KS3-Ambitious-Years-matter-think/dp/0995668728/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0
Websites and Articles
Mary Myatt — Are Our Resources Useful and Beautiful?
A reminder that thoughtful curriculum design needs equally thoughtful implementation. Myatt considers the quality of the plans and materials through which pupils actually encounter the curriculum, and the importance of ensuring that ambitious curriculum intentions are reflected in classroom resources.
Read article →
https://www.marymyatt.com/blog/are-our-resources-useful-and-beautiful
Geographical Association — From Intent to Implementation: Curriculum Making
This explores curriculum making as the process of translating curriculum intentions into engaging and challenging sequences of geographical learning. Particularly useful for considering the relationship between curriculum plans, teachers’ expertise, pupils’ experiences, resources and assessment.
Explore resource →
https://geography.org.uk/ite/initial-teacher-education/geography-support-for-trainees-and-ects/learning-to-teach-secondary-geography/geography-subject-teaching-and-curriculum/curriculum-and-curriculum-planning/from-intent-to-implementation/
Rob Chambers — Curriculum Booklets: Conditions for Success — A Personal Reflection
RobGeog Substack, 2026
A reflection on the strengths, limitations and conditions needed for curriculum booklets to work well. It considers how shared materials can support coherence, sequencing, consistency, workload and non-specialist teaching, while emphasising that booklets cannot replace teacher thinking, subject knowledge or responsive classroom practice.
Read article →
https://robgeogchambers.substack.com/p/curriculum-booklets-conditions-for
Rob Chambers — Intellectual Preparation, Part 1: Why Intellectual Preparation Matters
RobGeog Substack, 2026
An exploration of why Intellectual Preparation matters in bridging the gap between the intended curriculum, the curriculum enacted by teachers and what pupils ultimately learn. It considers why shared curriculum resources still require teachers to understand, interpret and bring the curriculum to life.
Read article →
https://robgeogchambers.substack.com/p/intellectual-preparation-part-1-why
Rob Chambers — Intellectual Preparation, Part 2: What Intellectual Preparation Looks Like in Practice
RobGeog Substack, 2026
A Geography-focused exploration of the thinking teachers undertake before a lesson begins, including subject knowledge, misconceptions, explanations, vocabulary, questioning, scaffolding, practice and metacognition.
Read article →
https://robgeogchambers.substack.com/p/intellectual-preparation-part-2-what
Rob Chambers — Intellectual Preparation, Part 3: Making It Work and Keeping It Purposeful
RobGeog Substack, 2026
A reflection on the conditions needed for Intellectual Preparation to work well, including time, trust, subject leadership, shared mental models and professional dialogue. It also considers why Intellectual Preparation needs to remain purposeful rather than becoming another compliance exercise.
Read article →
https://robgeogchambers.substack.com/p/intellectual-preparation-part-3-making
Curriculum and Assessment Reform
Key documents, guidance and subject-specific commentary relating to current curriculum and qualification reform in England. This section will be updated as consultations, revised subject content and new curriculum materials are published.
See also my overview of "Preparing for Geography Curriculum and Assessment Reform"
Websites and Articles
Curriculum and Assessment Review — Final Report: Building a World-Class Curriculum for All
Department for Education, 2025
The final report of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, setting out its conclusions and recommendations for curriculum, assessment and qualifications in England. This is the key starting point for understanding the rationale and direction of the current reform programme.
Read final report →
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-final-report
Department for Education — Government Response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review
Department for Education, 2025
The Government's response to the Review, setting out which recommendations it intends to take forward and the direction of subsequent curriculum and qualification reform. This is important to read alongside the Review itself, as recommendations and subsequent government policy are not necessarily the same thing.
Read government response →
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-final-report-government-response
Geographical Association — Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report
Geographical Association, 2025
A useful Geography-specific summary of the Review's recommendations, bringing together the implications for the subject and highlighting the areas of Geography identified for further development through curriculum reform.
Read GA summary →
https://geography.org.uk/curriculum-and-assessment-review-final-report/
Rob Chambers — Preparing for Geography Curriculum and Assessment Reform
RobGeog Substack, 2026
A reflection on the developing Geography curriculum and assessment reform process, including the relationship between subject content, assessment requirements and future specifications. It also considers some of the key questions Geography departments can begin discussing ahead of consultation, including curriculum coherence, progression, disciplinary knowledge, fieldwork, content volume and assessment.
Read article →
https://robgeogchambers.substack.com/p/preparing-for-geography-curriculum
Geographical Association — The Curriculum and Assessment Review: Key Information for Geography Teachers
A free CPD resource bringing together the Review process, key implications for Geography and practical next steps for teachers and departments preparing for change. Separate primary and secondary routes are available.
Explore free CPD resource →
https://geography.org.uk/events-cpd/cpd-courses/the-curriculum-and-assessment-review-key-information-for-geography-teachers-cpd/
Geographical Association — Teachers' Awareness of and Preparedness for Curriculum and Qualification Change
Geographical Association, 2026
Findings from the GA's January 2026 survey exploring Geography teachers' awareness of the Review's recommendations and their preparedness for forthcoming curriculum and qualification change.
Read findings →
https://geography.org.uk/teachers-awareness-of-and-preparedness-for-curriculum-and-qualification-change/
Royal Geographical Society — Update on Department for Education Curriculum Review
Royal Geographical Society, June 2026
A current overview of what happens next for Geography. It sets out the developing timetable for consultation and implementation and highlights some of the implications for Geography teachers and departments.
Read update →
https://www.rgs.org/about-us/our-work/latest-news/society-update-on-department-for-education-curriculum-review
Coming Next - Autumn 2026
The next particularly important stage will be the publication of draft revised programmes of study and subject content for consultation. The RGS reports that the Department for Education plans to consult on draft KS1–3 programmes of study and the first group of GCSE subjects in September 2026, with final KS1–3 programmes of study planned for spring 2027 and first required teaching from September 2028.
I will continue to update this section as consultation documents, revised Geography content and qualification information become available.
bottom of page