Geography

Our aim is to provoke and answer questions about geography in relation to both the natural and manmade world by developing and using geographical enquiry skills.

Geography develops knowledge of places and environments, an understanding of maps and promotes a range of investigative and problem-solving skills both inside and outside the classroom. It is a focus for understanding and resolving issues about the environment and sustainable development.

As children study geography, they encounter different societies and cultures. This helps them realise how nations rely on each other and can inspire them to think about their own place in the world, their values and their rights and responsibilities to other people and the environment.

In Key Stage 1 children develop knowledge, skills and understanding relating to their environment and the people who live there, along with a developing awareness of the wider world.

In Key Stage 2, children progress to study in depth people, places and themes from local to national in the United Kingdom and overseas. They investigate how people and places are linked and how they relate to the wider world.

Our Geography Curriculum Intent

To strive to be an ‘Evidence Informed’ school, taking into account the important role different forms of evidence can play in improving our school Geography curriculum through informing decision making and implementation practices that continually work to improve the outcomes of teaching and learning.

In order to achieve this goal, we will:

Engage with a wide range of research, related to both Geography and wider teaching and learning
Explore areas of school practice that can be improved and clearly define them for all school stakeholders
Prepare clear school development plans that outline how implementation activities and resources will be deployed to meet the intended outcomes
Deliver and Adapt implementation strategies, monitoring their effectiveness through developed school systems and a flexible and collaborative peer-to-peer approach to school improvement
Sustain and scale successful implementation practices to ensure they are embedded
To provide learning experiences which will enable the pupils to extend their knowledge of the world they live in
To develop children’s ability to interpret geographical information using a variety of sources including maps, globes, photographs and the surrounding environment
To teach children about their own and other cultures in order to encourage awareness, respect and understanding
To develop an understanding of environmental issues at local, regional and global level
To develop children’s awareness of their ability to self-regulate and think about their learning by sustaining and promoting the school’s metacognition agenda, in order to develop metacognitive strategies in conjunction with building a progressive understanding of geographical concepts.

How We Implement Our Geography Curriculum

Geography in Fens Primary School is delivered in a way to extend and enhance each pupil’s awareness of a variety of physical and human conditions on earth. Pupils engage in active enquiry, within the classroom, in the immediate locality and wherever possible, further afield. In Foundation Stage, the pupils follow the document Development Matters and then move onto the Early Learning Goals where their understanding is generally extended through first-hand experience of local surroundings, observation and simple investigations. As the children move through the school, pupils are encouraged to develop a range of skills and knowledge that will enable them to carry out geographical enquiry in a range of contexts.

Objectives

To satisfy the requirements of the National Curriculum for Geography.
To encourage pupils to make accurate observations and develop skills of enquiry.
To have some understanding of changes taking place in environments and to be aware that decisions made by human beings can affect these changes.
To develop an awareness of seasonal and weather conditions and the effects these can have on the lives of people in our own country and others which they study.
To acquire familiarity with globes and maps and be able to apply simple techniques of map reading and interpretation.
To acquire skills in carrying out observations: collecting, organising, recording and retrieving information as part of an investigation.
To communicate their information in a variety of ways, such as writing, maps, models, pictures and diagrams.

Geographical Skills and Concepts

Geography is delivered using four main aspects.

Location and Knowledge
Place Knowledge
Human and Physical
Geographical Skills and Fieldwork

During the Foundation Stage and Key Stage One, pupils are encouraged to observe and record the world around them by exploring stories, the school and its environments, as well as visits around the local area. Pupils also contrast the local area to places they study around the world. At this stage, geography is about developing knowledge, skills and understanding relating to children's own environment and the people who live there, and developing an awareness of the wider world. As pupils develop, they are introduced to the use of maps and begin to describe places around them using an increasing range of geographical terms.

In Key Stage 2 the local environment is also used for investigations which are aimed at developing the pupils’ skills of enquiry. Pupils are encouraged to observe and ask questions about geographical features. They collect and record evidence to answer questions, analyse evidence, draw conclusions and communicate findings. During their studies, it is important for the pupils to become aware of environmental issues affecting both the local area and other localities which are studied.

Throughout both key stages, pupils are encouraged to extend their knowledge and understanding in the use of maps and diagrams. The development of spatial understanding begun in Early Years leads on to an increasing understanding of the skills associated with the use of globes, atlases, photographs, plans and maps.

Geography Across the Curriculum

Literacy

Reading and writing are essential for the processes of finding out about and communicating an understanding of Geography. Geography lessons can provide opportunities to reinforce what children have been learning in English lessons and can provide opportunities for pupils to practise their literacy skills in a different context.

Numeracy

Many aspects of geography provide opportunities to develop mathematical skills. Children can collect data - temperature, rainfall, record their findings in the form of tally sheets or charts, present data in tables or graphs and interpret their results. Mathematical skills are used in map work when using coordinates and calculating distances from scales.

ICT

Google Earth provides a powerful tool for exploring the earth. Computing skills can be developed when children are researching a range of subjects and word processing skills can be demonstrated in the presentation of the information. The Bousfield Learning Suite provides an excellent resource that can be used by the children to experience a range of places as well as to investigating maps.

Health and Safety

When conducting fieldwork, the health and safely of all of our pupils is important and guidelines on adult to children ratios are followed. Appropriate risk assessments are carried out where appropriate.

Support Staff

When available, Teaching Assistants provide a valuable resource working with children to extend or support their learning.

Homework

Homework activities may be given to children to extend their learning in a specific area where appropriate in line with the school’s homework timetable.

The Role of the Subject Leader

It is the role of the geography subject leader to oversee the development of geography throughout the school. The subject leader conducts scrutinies of planning and work, and monitors the planning of all staff in geography. The subject leader ensures that all staff are following the correct guidance to develop geographical skills and that the completed work matches the planning. Developmental feedback is given to the staff where appropriate and a report is given to the head teacher. The subject leader reviews the topics at regular intervals and holds discussion with other staff members about the suitability of the current work.

It is the responsibility of the subject leader to ensure that the staff have the relevant resources needed to teach the learning objectives effectively.

Resources

A variety of resources for the delivery of the Geography curriculum are available for teachers to use in school. Maps, photographs and topic boxes are available to use for a range of topics throughout the school. The libraries have a wide variety of books available for research across a range of topics studied in geography.

How we measure the impact of the Geography Curriculum

Assessment and Monitoring (Including Assessment for Learning through verbal and written feedback)

Assessment follows the guidelines in the Assessment Policy and is part of the school’s self-evaluation process. It is based on the appropriate levels of attainment and is linked to learning objectives and learning outcomes. It is carried out to monitor pupils’ progress and achievements and ensure that individual pupil needs are being met.
At the beginning of each geography unit, year group teams look at the key skills and vocabulary of the unit objectives, which needs to be incorporated into planning, adapting activities for their own cohort, taking into account all potentially vulnerable groups.
Ongoing assessments inform weekly planning and individual lesson delivery. Teachers regularly offer children timely feedback both verbally and through written marking.
Teacher questioning and pupil-teacher classroom dialogue is used as an integral element of assessment. Teaching staff will adapt their curriculum to the needs of all children based on the ongoing feedback this process provides.
Marking is to be against clearly set lesson objectives that the children’s title will relate to.
Children of all ability groups should be challenged through marking with an emphasis on promoting progress in their geographic understanding.
Teachers should ensure children respond to their feedback when asked to do so.
At the end of each Geography unit, teachers make an assessment judgment as to whether pupils are working towards the expected standard, working at the expected standard or working at greater depth within the expected standard. This information is inputted into the school’s SIMs based assessment tracker.
Year group/ phase teams should moderate their judgements to ensure consistency.
Information from assessments is used to establish progress and identify where reinforcement of concepts is needed.
The Geography Subject Leader monitors the planning and assessments.
Class teachers report on pupils’ progress and attainment at parental consultations each term, as well as in their annual report to parents.
Evidence of pupils’ work is kept in the Geography workbooks. Examples of workbooks of higher ability, middle ability, lower ability and SEND pupils are kept each year

Geography Curriculum Map