Geography

Intent

Our intention is to provide a high-quality Geography curriculum that will inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Teaching should equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the world should help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Geographical knowledge provides the tools and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time. 

The aims of Geography in our school are to:

• Develop a love of Geography throughout the school
• Develop contextual knowledge of the location of places, seas and oceans, including their defining physical and human characteristics.
• Understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time.
• Ensure children are competent in the geographical skills needed to:
• Collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes.
• Interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
• Communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps and writing at length.

We want our children to be able to:

• In EYFS children are encouraged to develop their understanding of the wider world and of their surroundings. Children will be given the opportunity to explore, observe, problem solve, predict, think critically and make decisions. Children will also be encouraged to talk about and make observations on creatures, people, plants and objects in their surroundings. EYFS children will learn about the weather, the seasons and their local surroundings.
• In Key Stage 1 pupils should develop knowledge about the world, the United Kingdom and their locality. They should understand basic subject-specific vocabulary relating to human and physical Geography and begin to use geographical skills, including first-hand observation, to enhance their locational awareness. 
• In Key Stage 2 pupils should extend their knowledge and understanding beyond the local area to include the United Kingdom and Europe, North and South America. This will include the location and characteristics of a range of the world’s most significant human and physical features. They should develop their use of geographical tools and skills to enhance their locational and place knowledge. 

We will try to achieve this by:

• Ensuring that learning is experiential and active
• Using a range of sources (including maps)
• Engaging and actively involving the children in their learning through the implication of display knowledge organisers and the use of DEAL
• Encouraging the children to ask questions about their learning
• Appropriately challenging and differentiating work
• Using the outdoors and natural environment whenever possible (fieldwork)
• Constantly striving to improve our IT hardware to support and enhance all areas of the curriculum

Implementation

Our school uses a variety of teaching styles in geography lessons. The principal aims are to develop skills and understanding as well as developing their technical knowledge. We do this through a mixture of whole-class teaching and individual/group activities. Within lessons, we give children the opportunity both to work on their own and to collaborate with others, listening to other children’s ideas and treating these with respect.