Geography

INTENT:

At Sutton Benger CE Primary School, we recognise the importance of geography in our daily lives. We aim to instil a love of geography and we want our children to be curious and to ask questions to develop their understanding and fascination about the world and its people. Our geography curriculum is deliberately knowledge and vocabulary-rich as we believe it is vital to acquire a cumulatively sufficient understanding of key geographical concepts and processes. We also recognise and value the need to develop methods of geographical enquiry and so our children are fully immersed in units of learning that allow them to learn, grow and flourish within the geography curriculum.

In conjunction with the aims of the National Curriculum, our geography curriculum offers opportunities for children to:

• develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places – both terrestrial and marine – including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes
• 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, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length

IMPLEMENTATION:

Geography is blocked as units of learning within a 39-weeks curriculum map. The children take on the state of being of ‘Being a Geographer’ and are fully immersed in a curriculum unit that is dedicated to geography, with pre-existing knowledge from other curriculum areas used to support where possible. Knowledge Organisers are provided for every geography unit and they include the foundational knowledge needed first in order to access next learning. Subject specific knowledge is also included which allows pupils to then apply when thinking critically within the unit. The implementation of geography in this way supports children to become fully secure in each geography unit as well as supports them to build progressive understanding of the key concepts that are woven throughout the curriculum. To support high quality planning and assessment, teachers draw upon knowledge from the school’s geography subject leader, as well as from experts within our multi-academy trust, DBAT.

To ensure a cumulatively sufficient curriculum, key concepts are woven throughout. Our curriculum is designed to ensure that all children access the key concepts within a range of units as they progress throughout the school e.g. mapping or physical geography. They are challenged to meet learning expectations for their key stage. Key concepts are referred to throughout the curriculum units so that children are given opportunities to recall and retrieve knowledge in order to support them to build upon it.

Our curriculum is vocabulary-rich encouraging children to use a wide vocabulary of everyday geographical terms. All geographical vocabulary which is key to the unit is included as part of the Knowledge Organiser and is referred to throughout the unit. Children are given opportunities to develop and practice their vocabulary and oracy so that they become confident geographers who can develop, expand on, and articulate their own perspectives of the world around them.

At Sutton Benger CE Primary School, children are taught a balance of geographical knowledge and enquiry skills. They work geographically and make links with other areas of learning in subjects such as history, English, forest school and computing. Through geographical enquiry, children are encouraged to: deepen their knowledge about the wider world, make links between human and physical geographical processes, as well as using this learning to understand how the Earth’s features are interconnected and change over time.

IMPACT:

Children at Sutton Benger CE Primary School enjoy ‘Being Geographers’ and flourish within our curriculum. They are able to use their curiosity and their knowledge to make meaning of the world around them through a deep understanding of geographical concepts and processes. They are able to make connections and think critically about their existing geography learning so that they can apply this to new learning.

Our curriculum allows for excellent progress over time and children are exposed to a wide range of units that build cumulatively. Children are able to confidently share, discuss, analyse and write as Geographers.

Our curriculum allows children to develop their geographical knowledge, enquiry, and understanding of key geographical processes. This means they gain a deeper understanding of the world around them and are building the foundations for further learning in these areas as they move on to the next stage of their education.