Timetabling Opening Worlds

Given its rapidly discernible effects on literacy and highly inclusive approach, schools teaching Opening Worlds have prioritised in their timetable the humanities subjects (history, geography and religion).

Each lesson is designed to be taught in 75 minutes. Some schools even devote 90 minutes to an Opening Worlds lesson. We recommend 75 minutes which allows the teacher to slow down and speed up, depending on the receptiveness of the pupils and the varying capabilities within the class. As teachers become more familiar with the teaching techniques and approaches, they find lessons move at a faster pace and might not require the full 75 minutes.

We appreciate that in a crowded timetable, it might feel challenging for school leaders to find the time. Consider, however, if a knowledge-rich lesson is rushed. The teacher can often find him/herself clock-watching and inadvertently racing through new content in order to try to ‘get through it all’ in the allotted time. This does not allow the teacher to respond to the varying capabilities in the class, nor to slow down and enjoy the rich storytelling, watching children fall into that heightened state of attention required for receiving and encoding new knowledge. In addition, trying to teach a 75-minute lesson in less time can result in some core knowledge being left out, thus having a knock-on effect on subsequent lessons and units.

So where can senior leaders find the time for 75 minutes each week for each of the humanities subjects in an already crowded timetable?

This video highlights one school’s experience. It includes an honest conversation with a deputy head about:

• her former timetable
• her school’s priorities when finding time for Opening Worlds
• the new timetable with extended time for teaching history, geography and religion
• the effects on pupils’ writing.

With thanks to St Mary’s CE Primary School in Willesden.