“Make it local” has become one of the most frequently repeated pieces of curriculum advice in recent years. The logic is compelling: pupils are more engaged when they can see themselves and their communities reflected in what they learn. Teaching that draws on familiar places, experiences and examples can feel more meaningful and accessible, particularly for pupils who may not immediately see school knowledge as relevant to their lives.

But like much well-intentioned advice, “make it local” can be taken too far. When local context becomes the starting point, end point and dominant frame for the curriculum, it risks narrowing pupils’ horizons rather than widening them. In the pursuit of relevance, we can inadvertently limit ambition.

The problem is not local knowledge itself. The problem is what happens when local context replaces, rather than supports, access to broader disciplinary and cultural knowledge.

When local becomes limiting

In curriculum discussions, there is an increasing emphasis on schools designing highly individualised curricula to “meet the needs of their pupils”. While this sounds inclusive, it can quietly lower expectations. If we assume that pupils in certain communities need a fundamentally different curriculum, we risk defining what they learn by what they already know or are presumed to know.

In geography, this can show up as an overreliance on local case studies. Rivers are always the nearby river. Urban issues are only explored through the local town. Climate change becomes a discussion of recycling bins and bus routes. Pupils may develop a detailed understanding of their immediate area, but little sense of how places connect, differ or are shaped by wider global processes.

This is not a uniquely geographical problem. In history, an excessive focus on local history can crowd out access to national or global narratives. In English, an attempt to prioritise “relatable” texts can lead to a narrow literary diet that denies pupils encounters with unfamiliar voices, contexts and traditions. In science, practical examples drawn only from everyday experience can limit pupils’ ability to generalise, abstract and apply concepts beyond the familiar.

In reality, most schools are not teaching local knowledge to the exclusion of all else. But the danger is that if the curriculum tips too far in the local direction, learning can become circular. Pupils learn about what they already encounter, in ways that confirm what they already assume, rather than being taken somewhere new.

What is local knowledge for?

Local context is powerful when it is used as a bridge, not a boundary. Its value lies in helping pupils to make sense of ideas that extend beyond their immediate experience.

In geography, a local flood event can be a starting point for understanding river processes, risk management and climate patterns that apply globally. A nearby high street can be used to explore economic change, migration and globalisation. The key question is not “Is this local?” but “What does this help pupils to understand that goes beyond here?”

Local knowledge supports learning best when it helps pupils to access powerful ideas, rather than replacing them. So, how can schools strike the right balance?

A well-designed curriculum identifies the key concepts, stories and ideas that pupils should understand. Teachers then draw on their professional knowledge of place, community and experience to make those ideas intelligible. The curriculum provides direction and ambition; local context provides clarity and connection.

In this model, the curriculum does not simply start and end with the local environment. It starts there, moves beyond it and returns with greater understanding.

In practical terms, this means curriculum leaders and teachers try the following:

• Define the knowledge first, not the context. Be explicit about the concepts, processes or narratives pupils need to understand before deciding which local examples might support them.
• Use the local as an illustration, not the whole story. Ensure that local case studies sit alongside regional, national or global examples, so pupils can compare, generalise and see patterns.
• Plan deliberate movement beyond the local. Map where pupils will encounter unfamiliar places, time periods or perspectives, rather than relying on these to emerge incidentally.
• Avoid assuming that relevance equals familiarity. Pupils can find distant places, historical periods or abstract ideas meaningful when they are well taught, even if they are not immediately recognisable.
• Check for curricular balance over time. Review schemes of work to see whether local examples dominate particular key stages, and whether this limits cumulative knowledge and progression.
• Use local knowledge to return with insight. Revisit local contexts later in the curriculum once pupils have learned broader concepts, so they see their own environment differently as a result of what they now know.

Our task as teachers is not simply to reflect the world that pupils already inhabit, but to help them understand the wider one they will step into.

“Make it local” is only good advice when it serves that purpose. If it narrows what pupils are allowed to know, it has stopped being inclusive and started being limiting.

Mark Enser is a writer and works in school support. His latest book How Do They Do It? is out now

You can now get the UK’s most-trusted source of education news in a mobile app. Get Tes magazine on iOS and on Android