Geography

Intent

The bespoke Geography curriculum at Holy Family School is based on our three main curriculum drivers of Faith and Spirituality, Possibilities and Environment. We strive to give all children the knowledge, experiences and skills to enable them to fully access their learning to become successful and competent Geographers.

Our aim is for our curriculum to inspire children to: ‘develop curiosity and fascination about the world they live in and its people which will remain with them for the rest of their lives.’

We want them to understand how their local area has evolved and be proud of the diverse community in which they live. Through discovery, enquiry and exploration we want to instill a love of the subject not only locally but regionally and internationally. Through the context of places, namely small areas and regions, the children will begin to gain an understanding of other environments and during EYFS, Key Stage One and Two they will not only acquire knowledge but develop a bank of skills that will allow them to conduct fieldwork, collect data, analyse evidence and draw informed conclusions about a range of places around the world.

Studying location and place knowledge of a number of real places, the children will develop an understanding of differing human and physical features and fieldwork techniques, that they will be able to take with them on their journey to Key Stage Three. We will also make meaningful connections to our school’s Catholic ethos, incorporating aspects of Catholic Social Teaching into our geography lessons.

Studying maps and using atlases in Geography

Our intent for Geography is:

To deliver an ambitious Geography education to extend their knowledge beyond the local area.
To deepen their understanding of the world around them while developing their use of geographical tools and skills.
To have an excellent knowledge of the world oceans, continents, major countries and cities, human and physical geography, the environment and sustainability.
To help children develop the ability to think critically and reach clear conclusions and develop reasoned arguments to explain their findings.
To have an excellent understanding of the ways places are interdependent and interconnected and how much human and physical environments are interrelated.
To ensure that geography knowledge and skills are taught through engaging places and case studies that have been selected to be National Curriculum compliant whilst meeting the needs of our children.

Implementation

Units of study are covered in half term blocks to allow children to revisit previously taught skills and knowledge over time and ensures their understanding is retained in the long term. Units allow children to focus on developing their knowledge and skills, studying each of the small areas or regions in depth.
In EYFS the knowledge, skills and vocabulary required to become early geographers is taught. At Key Stage One our geography curriculum is designed so that children begin with My School, its Grounds and their Surrounding Environment whilst also studying a small area of the UK namely The Isles of Scilly and a small area of a contrasting non-European country namely Serrekenda, The Gambia, West Africa. At Key Stage Two we have selected units that meet the needs and interests of our children.
Each unit approaches the investigations in a similar way through the acquisition of skills and knowledge so that characteristics studied in different places can then be compared.
Locational knowledge is repeated and revisited, for example every unit begins with locating the place to be studied on a map (the oceans and continents are always seen as the starting point).
Map work is an integral part of each unit.
All lessons are explicitly planned through medium-term planning based around ‘The Key to the National Curriculum’ study units to ensure progression of knowledge and skills across all year groups.
Observed learning outcomes are noted in relation to the National Curriculum and Chris Quigley Milestones and recorded onto the Geography/History excel assessment spreadsheet to ensure coverage, depth and attainment in line with the Geography curriculum.
Knowledge organisers have been developed for each unit of work to underpin the key knowledge, skills and vocabulary. They support children with their acquisition of knowledge and are used to review their learning.
Trips/fieldwork and visitors add to high quality geographical experiences.
Our whole school progression document shows how pupils build on and develop their knowledge and skills year on year. It documents the substantive content, the recurring themes and language (the ultimate role of the content), and the subject rationale (the proximal role – the later content it is preparing for) and the disciplinary training associated with the subject.
In order to support children in their ability to know more and remember more, there are regular opportunities for retrieval.
The EYFS Framework 2021 and Development Matters have been used alongside ‘The Key’ Early Years Units so children learn about the features of their own environment such as school, home, special places and family life. Through first-hand experiences they will learn how environments may differ through the sharing of books, stories, poems, small world play, role play and visits. Children enjoy the valuable experiences gained from our regular trips to places within our local community such as churches, mosques, theatres, parks and local shops. Children are given time to discuss, comment and ask questions about what they observe about the world around them and are encouraged to be active learners and explore their interests further.

Curriculum Overview

Impact

Impact occurs through:

Conversations with children to gain pupil voice. Listening to children speak about geographical knowledge, skills and experiences.
Children who are confident to talk about and explain their learning to others and have achieved well against the appropriate milestones and the key skills document.
Evidence of coherent knowledge and understanding articulated by the children.
Monitoring by the Subject leader, who will scrutinise geography through book looks, lesson observations, monitoring of planning/excel spreadsheet assessment tool, pupil voice and teacher feedback.
Professional dialogue between teachers to assess the quality of learning.
Sharing of good practice in staff meetings.
Regular updates for teachers to meet their CPD needs. Discussion and feedback with Link Governor.