What is Opening Worlds

What is Opening Worlds?

Opening Worlds is a knowledge-rich humanities programme for teaching history, geography and religion in Years 3 to 6. Opening Worlds provide curriculum resources together with training, support and ongoing programme-related professional development for primary school teachers. Because of its rapidly discernible effects on literacy and highly inclusive approach, Opening Worlds quickly gained appeal in schools tackling under-achievement in areas of social disadvantage.

The Opening Worlds programme was first launched in 2019 by Christine Counsell and Steve Mastin, in association with Haringey Education Partnership (HEP). Over 60 primary schools took it up in Haringey and subsequently in neighbouring Enfield. A new company Opening Worlds Ltd was then founded and, in partnership with HEP, began to work with cohesive groups of twelve or more primary schools (eg LA partnerships, MATs and other school groups with established community leadership) in other settings. In this way, over 120 primary schools beyond Haringey and Enfield have now adopted the programme through Opening Worlds communities established in Birmingham, Brent, Cambridgeshire, Lancashire, Liverpool, Peterborough and Surrey, together with some MAT communities serving multiple locations.

The programme meets and substantially exceeds the demand of the National Curriculum for history and geography. The religion programme is compatible with the objectives of most SACRE locally agreed syllabuses in RE but substantially exceeds the knowledge-base and the resourcing that such local RE syllabuses offer. The programme is characterised by strong vertical sequencing within subjects (so that pupils gain security in a rich, broad vocabulary through systematic introduction, sustained practice and deliberate revisiting) and by intricate horizontal and diagonal connections, thus creating a curriculum whose effects are far greater than the sum of their parts. 

Why have we chosen to implement Opening Worlds?

  • The drivers of the Opening Worlds humanities curriculum, (scope, rigour, coherence and sequencing), will allow us to secure the highest possible quality of education for our children.
  • The inclusive nature of the programme, using the ’10 Techniques for Teaching’, makes Opening Worlds accessible for all. This will have a positive impact on the attainment of all our pupils but especially our disadvantaged pupils
  • The strong focus on oracy through the verbalisation of new knowledge and its associated vocabulary will be of great benefit to the children here at Otterham School.
  • The emphasis on the acquisition of vocabulary will undoubtedly impact on their ability to comprehend an increasingly diverse range of texts.
  • Not only does Opening Worlds deliver clarity in terms of each subjects substantive knowledge, the connections between subjects serves to strengthen children’s ‘sticky’ knowledge. This begins from the very first units in Year 3 (e.g. Indus River & Hindu religion).
  • The major themes of climate change, multi-culturalism and diversity, and social injustice are developed over time and woven throughout the Opening Worlds units, which will allow children to develop informed curiosity and critical thinking.