Opening Worlds: Curriculum Design with Christine Counsell, Mind the Gap, Ep.80 (S4, E17)

On this episode of Mind The Gap, Tom Sherrington and Emma Turner are joined by Christine Counsell, founder of Opening Worlds and a key figure in curriculum development. Christine discusses her journey from a history teacher to running the history PGCE course at Cambridge University and eventually founding Opening Worlds. She explains how her company supports primary schools in developing a fully resourced curriculum that integrates history, geography, and religious education with a strong focus on oracy and storytelling. The conversation delves into the importance of cumulative sufficiency in curriculum design, the unique opportunities primary education offers for connecting different subjects, and the critical role of vocabulary in helping students navigate and understand the world. Christine also shares insights into the process of training teachers to implement these curricula effectively, emphasizing the value of storytelling and narrative in engaging students.

Christine Counsell was a history teacher, subject lead, and deputy headteacher before she led the history PGCE course at the University of Cambridge for 19 years. At Cambridge, she worked nationally and internationally with policy makers, scholars, teachers and teacher educators in history education. Christine later became Director of Education of a multi-academy trust serving primary and secondary schools in areas of disadvantage. She has published widely, including many curriculum resources, and is editor of the journal, Teaching History. Follow her on X @Counsell_C

Tom Sherrington has worked in schools as a teacher and leader for 30 years and is now a consultant specialising in teacher development and curriculum & assessment planning. He regularly contributes to conferences and CPD sessions locally and nationally and is busy working in schools and colleges across the UK and around the world. Follow Tom on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@teacherhead⁠

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Emma Turner joined Discovery Schools Academy Trust as the Research and CPD lead after 20 years in primary teaching. She founded ‘NewEd – Joyful CPD for early-career teachers,’ a not-for-profit approach to CPD to encourage positivity amongst the profession and help retain teachers in post. Follow Emma on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@emma_turner75⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is produced by Haringey Education Partnership. Find out more at ⁠https://haringeyeducationpartnership.co.uk/