Geography

Geography Curriculum Statement

“Geography is the subject which holds the key to our future.”

Michael Palin

Intent 

At Crow Orchard Primary School, we believe Geography inspires the children’s curiosity and interest to explore the natural and human aspects of the world. Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it.

Through high quality and engaging teaching, our curriculum develops and secure skills that the children will build on as they move through the year groups. We want all our learners to have:

• A secure knowledge of place in Britain and the wider world, including both terrestrial and marine.
• Understanding as to how places are interdependent and interconnected.
• The ability to carry out geographical enquiry.
• Excellent fieldwork skills, including map reading
• The ability to hold and share balanced opinions which are founded excellent knowledge and understanding around current issues and the environment.
• A wide geographical vocabulary.
• A deep knowledge and understanding of physical and human features and how they interact.

We have eight key priorities at Crow Orchard Primary School that underpin every subject area. We believe that by focusing on these key priorities our children will be ready to successfully meet the challenges of the next stage of their education and their lives.

Implementation
 

What does it look like?

Geography at Crow Orchard Primary School is taught in blocks throughout the year, so that children can achieve a greater depth in their learning. Teachers have identified the key knowledge and skills of each blocked topic and consideration has been given to ensure progression across topics throughout each year group across the school. At the beginning of each topic, children can convey what they know already as well as what they would like to find out. This informs the programme of study and ensures that lessons are relevant and take account of children’s different starting points. Skelmersdale, River Tawd and the surrounding local area is fully utilised to achieve the desired outcomes, with extensive opportunities for learning outside the classroom embedded in practice.

Early Years:

Geography is taught in our Foundation Stage as an essential part of the topic work covered throughout the year. We relate the geographical aspects of the children’s work to the objectives set out in the Early Years Framework. Geography makes a significant contribution to the Early Learning Goal objectives of developing a child’s understanding and knowledge of the world through activities such as finding out about different places and habitats and investigating our locality.

Key Stage 1 and 2:

Here at Crow Orchard Primary School, we ensure that sufficient time is given to Geography to enable pupils to meet the expectations set out in the National Curriculum programme of study. Our Geography curriculum we use help us to show progression.  

In Key Stage 1 pupils are taught to:

During Key Stage 1, the children investigate Skelmersdale and local environment/area and the country they live in as well as the wider United Kingdom. They develop an awareness of landscapes around them via first hand observations and exploring the human and physical features of their environment for example why is Blackpool so different to Skelmersdale as well as exploring the location of hot and cold areas around the world. The children also learn to identify and name the 7 continents and 5 oceans of the world.

In Key Stage 2 pupils are taught to:

During Key Stage 2, pupils investigate a wider variety of people, places and environments in the UK and abroad and start to make links and comparisons between different places in the world. Pupils widen their knowledge beyond the UK with a study of Europe and Brazil/South America. They find out about the importance of Fairtrade and research climate change. They investigate geographical features and processes including rainforests, mountains and rivers. In doing this, they ask geographical questions and use skills and resources including maps, atlases, digital mapping programmes, aerial photographs and ICT. They will acquire the appropriate Geographical practical skills including using suitable vocabulary, fieldwork techniques and map reading.

Wider curriculum:

Where possible cross-curricular links are made in other subjects, linking our geography learning to other areas of the curriculum, so making learning more cohesive. Teaching and learning is enhanced by field trips, in particular using the Tawd valley as a resource for our learning and benefitting from the knowledgeable rangers who care for the area.

Impact 

At Crow Orchard Primary School, we want our Geography provision to impact our children in the ways listed below. We strive for our children to become inquisitive, adventurous, creative, and critical thinkers.

To ensure this is achieved we encourage all our children to:

• Develop a curiosity and understanding of places and people both locally, nationally and globally.
• Develop a knowledge and understanding of the physical and human processes which shape places.
• Make sense of their own surroundings, their own locality and the interaction between people and the environment.
• Develop a respect and understanding of what it means to be a positive citizen in a multi-cultural country.
• Develop a commitment to sustainable development and an appreciation of what ‘global citizenship’ means.
• Develop the geographical skills, including how to use, draw and interpret maps of different scales, and the vocabulary necessary to carry out effective geographical enquiry.
• Apply map reading skills to globes and atlas maps and identify geographical features and make use of digital mapping skills.
• Formulate appropriate questions, develop research skills and evaluate material to inform opinions.
• Work geographically in a range of appropriate contexts, using a variety of materials and equipment including other people’s experiences and knowledge.

Class teachers will use individual, group and class discussion, written work, quizzes, art/ D&T work and ICT work to assess the knowledge and understanding that the children in their classes have made.

The subject leader will also assess progress in each class and across the school by means of:

• Pupil voice-discussions
• Staff discussions
• Book and planning scrutiny
• Learning walks
• Lesson observations and drop ins.
• Displays

We use seesaw to share pictures of work the children have undertaken with parents.

These varied approaches enable the subject leader to have a clear view of the progress that is made across the school in the subject. This will also enable any gaps to be identified and steps taken to fill these. Children with SEND must also be included in this assessment process to ensure that those with additional needs are being provided with a full curriculum that meets their specific needs.

The Geography subject leader is:

Mrs Laura White

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