INTENT
What skills and knowledge do we intend our pupils to gain?
We aim to provide children with a high-quality geography education that inspires a curiosity in the world around them that will remain with them in their future education and for the rest of their life. As pupils progress through the school, they gain knowledge of the world around them; from the school grounds and local community to the United kingdom, Europe, and the wider world. Their growing knowledge deepens their understanding of both human and physical geography, where children learn subject-specific vocabulary. Children are provided with a wide range of opportunities to apply and develop their geographical skills through investigative and collaborative first hand experiences.
IMPLEMENTATION
How has the curriculum been developed, how is it taught and how is it assessed in order to support our children to build their knowledge and apply that knowledge through skills?
As a staff, we have developed a progressive curriculum throughout the whole school that focuses on implementing the knowledge and skills outlined in the National Curriculum. Children are taught through high quality practices with many opportunities for practical learning. Our curriculum ensures that children are given sufficient time and opportunity to build upon their previous knowledge and key skills from Early Years right through to Year 6.
In Early Years, the outcomes for geography are taken from ‘People and Communities’ and ‘The World,’ from the EYFS curriculum area of ‘Understanding the World.’ Learning in these areas is explicitly taught with children being given the opportunity to use, apply and explore the knowledge and skills that they have acquired through child-initiated learning (CIL). Assessment is based on observations during this time.
Through the geography units outlined in the long-term plan from Year 1 through to Year 6, children build a progressive level of locational knowledge and place knowledge, developing a deeper understanding of human and physical geography, geographical skills and fieldwork. Assessment is carried out through the use of formative and summative practices, where the teacher is able to make judgements as to whether children have met or exceeded key objectives. Assessment is used to inform and adapt planning and teaching for next steps in learning.
IMPACT
What outcomes will our children achieve as a result of the curriculum they have received?
Children will participate in innovative and investigative geography lessons where they will develop a passion, curiosity and fascination for finding out about the world around them. Children will develop a deeper understanding of geography as a subject. They will retain and extend their learning of skills and knowledge in geography and be able to consolidate prior learning at the start of a new topic as a platform for new learning. Children will understand the geography of their local areas and develop an awareness of how this compares to the wider world. They will also gain an understanding of the implications of human activity on the natural world. At the end of each year, children will have made significant progress, with the vast majority of children reaching age related expectations or above. Evidence will be gathered across a range of geographical topics with cross-curricular links and differentiated tasks to support all children in accessing the National Curriculum, including disadvantaged and SEND pupils.
Supporting SEND Pupils
Giving the children the opportunity to share their enjoyment and understanding of geography is at the heart of all learning in Geography. At Skyswood, we tailor our delivery to every individual child’s learning style to allow them to demonstrate their understanding in multiple ways, and therefore access as much of the curriculum as possible.
Children who have special educational needs will be encouraged to join in with class learning and follow the same curriculum, wherever possible at same pace. We will assist in different ways to allow them to do this depending on their age and needs.
All Children with special education needs will:
Be supported by the teacher or teaching assistant where necessary
Work with a learning partner who can support them
Work on an adapted version of an identified task
Be able to record their understanding in different ways; through diagram, drawing, video and voice recording
Use a scaffold or template to help with the task
National Curriculum: Geography Programmes of Study
AIMS
The national curriculum for geography aims to ensure that all pupils:
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.
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.
ATTAINMENT TARGETS
By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the content, skills and processes specified in the relevant programmes of study.
