I want to be clear, and put this up front. I’ve been involved with the Royal Geographical Society as a Fellow for many years, and then more recently as a Trustee and an elected member of Council. I’ve been a Chartered Geographer (Teacher) for a number of years, and an assessor too.

This post is my personal opinion. It’s not been directed by the RGS, and all opinions here are mine – not the Society’s! I wanted to ensure that people felt I was being honest and open about my position here, and there was full transparency!

As a teacher in the early phase of your career, a lot of your professional development is naturally focused on your Geography and subject knowledge. As you build your pedagogical toolkit, lead your first fieldwork, and take your first exam classes through, you are naturally aligned between what you need, and the wider external suggestions that you’ll get.

In my experience, as you develop further through your career, the Geography-specific training and focus reduces in time. As you become a middle leader, or take on wider and additional roles in schools, you tend to be thinking about ‘leadership’ or more strategic and whole school thoughts. You may drift towards an NPQLTD or NPQML/NPQSL – and the tradition for people in these spaces is to become less subject-specific in their CPD and personal focus.

But what if you want to be focused on your Geography? This is where the Chartered Geographer (Teacher) accreditation can come in – and, in my opinion, is one of the very best opportunities to consider.

What is it?

Chartered Geographer (CGeog) accreditation recognises your professional experience and expertise in Geography. It’s internationally recognised, and like any other ‘Chartered status’ is a real mark of professional qualification and standards.

You must be able to demonstrate expertise in:

• Geography skills, knowledge and understanding
• Innovating
• Acting professionally
• Communicating and influencing in a range of professional settings

The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) is the UK’s learned society and professional body for Geography, and so they’re the only organisation who can offer this professional accreditation in this way. They work with Geographers in any profession – and they accredit a number of different strands of our work. You’ll see geospatial professionals, mappers, GIS experts and planners, policymakers and more. Those of us working in education can apply for the recognition of CGeog (Teacher).  

How does it work?

In order to apply for Chartered Geographer status, you need to meet the eligibility criteria. For teachers with a Geography degree, that’s a minimum of six years of experience in the profession and practice of teaching Geography. You’ll also need to have undertaken relevant Geographical professional development, and be able to explain how and why you want to be a Chartered Geographer.

There’s a formal application process that you go through, to accredit your qualifications. You’ll need to put together your CV, answer some key questions, and provide two references for people who can comment on your Geography work. It’s similar to putting together a job application, but without the standard forms and challenges!

There’s lots of support available to first-time applicants. Formally, through the Society, there are plenty of opportunities and workshops that are available to help, where the Society’s co-ordinator runs and ensures sessions can help. Informally, there are lots of us around who are CGeog (Teachers) and assessors (I’m one of them!) who are happy to answer questions, or have chats via Twitter DM or beyond!

Your application will be reviewed by C Geog assessors, most of whom are also CGeog (Teachers) and will be able to supportively comment on your skills and evaluate your application quality. You’ll be supported

Why is it so good?

I think there a wide range of professional benefits to being chartered and formally accredited in this way. Clearly, the formal recognition and connection with a prestigious learned society is important for some – and puts you on a part with other Chartered professionals. There are elements of networking and society connection which some people may be more keen on than others.

But for me, I think there are three things which make this an outstanding accreditation process.

First, it’s Geographical in focus and nature. The emphasis is not on leadership, whole school development or that wider professional development common to 5-8 year professionals – it’s about your Geography development, and was – for me – a really welcome return to thinking about, and focusing on the subject I love.

Second, it’s open ended. You’re encouraged to focus your reflections on a theme each year, and to support your focal points, but there isn’t a specific target or tick box for you to complete. Your application, reflection and process will be judged on its’ own merits against the framework of competencies. If you’re focused on physical Geography, great. If you’re focused on human, great. If you’re focused on an even narrower developmental approach – brilliant.

Third, it’s an ongoing process. Each year, you submit a log of professional development and reflections, and think about what Geography development you’ve done, how it’s worked, and what you want to achieve next year. This is not linked to an academic year, and doesn’t feel like an appraisal – it’s an honest, and open reflection of your development. It’s encouraged me to take more strategic reflections on my development as a Geographer, and to be more aware of the Geography I’m doing. I now keep a CPD diary where all of my work gets supported – and this reflective focus, and greater awareness of what I’m doing has been probably the greatest strength of the CGeog process for me.

If you’re interested, what can you do?

Start by having a look at the eligibility criteria. If you meet them, I think the next step is to demystify the process and make it feel as accessible as possible.

Take a look at some of the opportunities to meet, do some workshops, or chat to Chartered Geographers, or start putting together your own ideas about what you might want to focus on.

Do take a look through the register of C Geog (Teachers) to see who you know. A friendly face and name to talk through options is always helpful – and as an assessor, I’m always happy to informally chat to people by DM.

Having taught secondary Geography for most of my professional life post-academia, the decision to leave classroom teaching was a difficult one for me. While the COVID pandemic and the challenges for teachers was undoubtedly a factor, I think I’d also come to the conclusion that I loved my subject (and/or was more capable of it) more than I loved leadership and management. I knew that anything above being a Head of Department was going to take me away from subject; and while that’s a really exciting prospect for many people, it wasn’t the right choice for me.

I’d started to explore my options, but I was very fortunate to find a job with Teach First via social media, and applied without really understanding the wider landscape. I’ve been working with my subject colleagues now for just over 18 months, and I thought I’d share my advice for anyone else thinking about leaving the classroom and exploring the education space that exists beyond schools.

What are my options?

If you break down your classroom teaching experience in to new fields, I think there’s four big areas that you might want to explore.

First, if you love subject and teachers, you might think about teacher training and development in your subject. This might be at a university, or might be at another educational provider – could be one of the larger organisations, or could be at a smaller and more local option. School based Teacher Training providers might have lead roles, and there are options through subject associations for consulting and supporting teachers in your subject, too.

If you’re the kind of person who liked curriculum design, you might go in to development of resources or writing ideas. This could be curriculum design roles in an education provider, or even leadership of a subject theme in a Trust. You might consider working for an educational publisher, subject association, or organisation who create and make resources. It might be subject specific, or it could be more generalised.

If teaching and working with young people is your focus you might think about the organisations who serve schools. Museums, youth groups, charities and lots of spaces are often looking for people who like teaching and have all of the skills required, but want to be working in a different non-subject space. You could, for example, consider some of the fieldwork study providers if you’re a Geographer! If you have a more pastoral focus, you could consider branching out in to counselling or pastoral roles that support schools.

Finally, you might want to go towards the project management type roles if you’ve got middle leadership experience, and enjoyed getting things done as a team. There are a number of ex-teachers who are good at supporting programmes, working with designers and other colleagues to build or write something great, and who love the idea of Gantt charts and projects as their skill set! You’ll see these described in different ways, so look carefully through the job description to be confident about what you’re looking at!

Where do I look for jobs?

For those of us who’ve only ever used TES to find jobs, I think this is probably one of the more frustrating components of finding a job in the education spaces beyond schools. There aren’t really centralised and overlapping spaces that you can use singly – it’s often a case of exploring a number of different avenues. Take stock of all of the things that intersect with things you use – textbooks, exam boards, resources and providers etc – and use them as a springboard to explore options for your future career!

• For university jobs (ITE or studentships), then jobs.ac.uk is likely to be the best starting point.
• Many of the teacher educator charities and providers don’t advertise centrally; so it’s worth checking their own websites for further ideas: Teach First, National Institute of Teaching, Ambition Institute or Teacher Development Trust. You could also consider Oak National Academy or even Work for the Department for Education
• Look for charitable sector jobs (e.g. https://jobs.theguardian.com/jobs/charities/) as an option.
• Many companies will have their own careers options on their websites – so if you’ve got that jumping off point to consider, then have a look through!

I’d also strongly recommend having a look via social media. You might not feel you want (or need) to dive in to the world of Twitter – though I acknowledge a lot can get advertised that way – but I’d advise a good LinkedIn profile and following things you are interested in. Lots of jobs go through that space, and you’ll often connect to consultants or people doing recruitment – so a little investment can be very powerful!

What are some of the changes?

There’s a proverb about the grass being greener on the other side of the fence, so I won’t waste your time with that. In my experience, the key changes are:

Advantages:

Generally more flexible, more likely to have hybrid or remote working options, may allow you to focus on one area (e.g. curriculum development) and not others. Autonomy over your working day and lack of bells/timetable is a very strange feeling! My diary is mine to manage; breaks, flexibility, lunch and cups of tea are very positive. I bring my cats to work (technically, I suppose I bring my work to my cats… but…) I’m really lucky to be working with fabulous colleagues and teams who have put a lot of trust in me to do my job how I think it needs to be done best; but I’m not claiming that’s a universal experience.

Disadvantages:

Pay is variable, depending on where you currently are and what you do. Pensions will be significantly less than TPS. I find the remote nature can be challenging at times; you can certainly get more lonely or disconnected from your impact compared to classroom teaching/working in a Department office! The narrower range of experience – you’re less likely to leap from pastoral to academic to cocurricular to admin – might feel relatively quiet, too. Some roles – particularly in more academic settings – might regard L7+ experience (Masters or above) as desirable/essentials – and that could be frustrating for teachers.

If you’re thinking of changing careers, then I wish you the very best of luck. Although classroom education is a hugely important and wonderfully rewarding career, there’s a number of great spaces where that experience can be built upon for different people – and I hope you find your fit!

In between other headlines this week, you may have seen that the IPCC has published their Sixth Assessment Report. While the headlines have rapidly faded in to other news, and even the publication of other reports, it’s a critical piece of work that points the direction of global agreements and international bodies in the next few years.

But what does it mean for classroom teachers, and what should you do with it?

What is it? Who wrote it? Where does it come from? What’s it for?

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a body of the United Nations.
• Since 1988, they’ve been getting the world’s best climate and policy scientists together to produce regular reports on the science of climate change. They come out about every four years.  
• They work in three areas: the physical science basis (Working Group 1), a group who look at the likely  impacts and vulnerabilities (Working Group 2) and a group that look at the potential mitigation strategies for climate change (Working Group 3).
• These reports are hugely detailed and complex. They are very academic, and written by experts for experts. They release them in stages.
• The intention is to be scientific, objective and apolitical. They make statements about ‘confidence’ and ‘likelihood’ for their estimates, and set out options for decision-makers. They do not often make significant policy recommendations or preferred courses of action.
• The report that has just been released is different. It’s the “Summary for Policymakers”. It’s the document that you give to Presidents and Prime Ministers – and say “this is what you really need to know”.
• It aims to be shorter, more accessible and highlight key conclusions, figures and trends. It’s probably fair to say that most world leaders will not read the detailed Working Group reports!

What does it say?

• Human activities have unequivocally caused about 1.1 deg of warming. Greenhouse emissions have continued to increased, and the patterns are unsustainable and unequal.
• Widespread impacts have occurred in every sphere of the planet (atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, biosphere). Human caused climate change is affecting extreme weather patterns.
• There are significant adverse impacts and losses, and damage to nature and people. This includes impacts on food security, water security and human development. Vulnerable communities who have historically contributed least are often disproportionately affected. Urban areas are vulnerable.
• These statements are not new. For the first time, the IPCC has chosen to show the impacts of this variation in “climate stripes” and generational terms (Figure SPM.1), which is a powerful message for students.
• Progress in adaptation is happening, but the IPCC suggests that it is variable, with poor financial flows and problems particularly for developing countries. There is a discussion about which techniques work well for adapting, but most observed responses are fragmented, with significant gaps, and an unequal distribution globally.
• Previous Reports have identified possible pathways for modelled outcomes. This report shows that while many have been implemented, they are likely to fail to limit warming to 1.5 deg C, and it is likely that we will exceed 2 deg C.
• Future climate change is significant and brings intensification of hazards and vulnerability. Each increment of change is describe and mapped (Figure SPM.2) which shows impacts in different areas.
• This report suggests that many risks are significantly higher than in the previous assessment, with complexities and compound risks creating significant management challenges (Figure SPM.3). These will make global inequality worse, not better (Figure SPM.4).   
• Solutions from around the world are described and explored, but these are significantly variable across sectors, countries, and levels of economic development. Adoption of low emission lags in most developing countries.
• Future changes are only limited by “deep, rapid and sustained global greenhouse gas emissions reduction” (Figure SPM.5). This sets up a significant challenge for e.g. COP28 to solve – how do we get fossil fuel and GHG reductions urgently agreed?
• The longer we wait, the less likely the solutions are to work (Figure SPM.6). Rapid actions are beneficial, and would reduce losses and damages. They may have co-benefits for air quality and health.
• For the first time, a concept of “overshoot” and reduction by “achieving and sustaining net negative global CO2” is described. This is a big shift – historically, carbon reduction technologies have not been included or discussed at all. This could be due to changes in technology, or a deliberate decision based on risk mitigation.

Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health (very high confidence). There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all (very high confidence). Climate resilient development integrates adaptation and mitigation to advance sustainable development for all, and is enabled by increased international cooperation including improved access to adequate financial resources, particularly for vulnerable regions, sectors and groups, and inclusive governance and coordinated policies (high confidence). The choices and actions implemented in this decade will have impacts now and for thousands of years (high confidence).

There are multiple opportunities for action (Figure SPM.7) but most need significant structural, political and financial investment at the macro-scale. A range of potential solutions and impacts on systems and infrastructures are described.

Clear political leadership and governance is explicitly called for. Finance, technology and international co operation are described as critical enablers.

The report offers a range of areas of optimism; suggesting that capital and impacts are all available if leadership is sufficiently motivated to enact them.

What are the key things to do with it?

First, I think it’s worth reading some of the report – particularly the highlighted boxes and the figures. This probably takes 10-15 minutes for a teacher. You may want to read some of the further text. Alternatively, thanks to @Geography_Paul, you may want to explore this summary video which is excellent.

I would download the figures and look for ways to include them in lesson content. They fit obviously in to climate change or physical geography topics, but also in to development, inequality, and global governance themes too. They are high quality, large resolution – you may want to crop some to focus on one specific section.

I think A Level students – and good GCSE students – are capable of reading this text. Most KS4-5 students could make sense of the highlighted boxes, and discuss the Figures. You might want to give some scaffolding to interpret confidence language (See Table 1 of this document) and what “very likely” means for the IPCC etc.

I’d expect the version to be cleaned up in the next few days – the current draft has markings and components on it. You may want to produce some excerpts from the highlighted boxes for your lesson content and slides – it’s good top level material.

If you have existing climate change resources, then it’s worth setting aside time to incorporate the latest information from this report in to them at a future date.

What can I do next? How do I integrate it in to lessons? What do I need to think about for students?

This offers exceptionally clear and helpful summaries of key issues. You could easily print and use as a resource, or use information pieces out of this to help direct student understanding in key topics.

It also offers, with some other resources, a great starting point for decision making or evaluative enquiry questions in the classroom. Some examples are given here.

Regional & Spatial Evaluation of Impact. You could use the report as source material to focus on particular areas of the world, or to build on existing place studies in your curriculum. What are the system interactions, complexities and likely impacts for a chosen place? What aspects of vulnerability are described and more likely now?

Assessment & Evaluation of Governance: You could use the UN’s own timeline of actions to identify what’s happened so far. This could become an evaluation of the limits of intergovernmental action in a global governance lesson, a discussion about stakeholders in a COP evaluation, or you could make up provocative essay questions like “Is COP fundamentally flawed?” to probe student understanding of the complexities of solutions.

Solutions focus: You could use the EN-ROADS simulator to explore the options, limits and impacts of different mechanisms for solution. I’ve identified different ways of doing that – from teacher resource, to full COP-simulator activity – and you can pivot from the AR6 report in to “what do we think the solutions will be?” quite comfortably. If you want to extent the learning in to a full synthesis, you could even evaluate a “why haven’t global governance systems been able to do what we’ve just done?” and incorporate the previous activity too!

Students may well feel concerned about the generational impact and severity of this report. However, the scope of the solutions and potential implementation offer some hope – and it could be used to strongly motivate them to act, make their voices heard in directing key goals, and to help be part of that future!