Redlands Primary and Nursery School
Geography
“Geography is a living, breathing subject, constantly adapting itself to change. It is dynamic and relevant. For me geography is a great adventure with a purpose.” - Michael Palin
At Redlands, we are committed to developing our pupils as responsible global citizens who have a good understanding of their own locality, the wider world and their place within it. The subject of geography plays a key role in achieving this.
Aims
Our aims are taken from the EYFS curriculum for Understanding the World and the Geography Programmes of Study for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 of the National Curriculum.
Our aims are to ensure that all pupils:
- Have a frequent and wide range of experiences to increase their knowledge and make sense of the world around them
- 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.
Intent
Our geography curriculum aims to be one that is accessible to all and that will maximise the outcomes for every child.
In the EYFS, the specific area of Understanding the World ensures the children make sense of the world around them through stories, visitors, school trips and class discussions inspired by our diversity. Children are encouraged to explore, problem solve and investigate in order to further their thinking and understanding, supported by highly skilled staff.
In KS1 and KS2, our geography lessons, in line with the National Curriculum, hope to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. We plan for our teaching to equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As our pupils progress, we want their growing knowledge about the world to help them deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. We want out pupils’ geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enable them to explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.
As inhabitants of Worksop and the surrounding area, we want our pupils to learn about the geographical features within the local area as well as those further afield. Our whole curriculum at Redlands is designed around providing experiences for all. It is through these first-hand experiences that children make meaningful connections about their learning and consequently deepen their understanding of what has been taught. Therefore we aim to use the surrounding area to carry out fieldwork and bring the subject of geography to life wherever possible.
Implementation
Our pupils begin their geography learning journey with us from the moment they enter the Foundation Stage. Learning in this subject has been clearly mapped out from F1 to Y6, ensuring that pupils build on their geographical knowledge and understanding effectively over time. Teachers foster a positive attitude to geography learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children can achieve high standards in this subject. The subject leader keeps up-to-date with developments in geography and supports staff in planning, delivery and assessment. They act as a champion for the subject, being an ‘expert’ in their field and raising the profile of geography across the school.
In geography, like in all subjects at our school, we reinforce our core values through teacher modelling and the careful planning of activities and opportunities to allow pupils to demonstrate these and understand their importance in every day life. Our core values are respect, kindness, responsibility, confidence, cooperation, enjoyment, learning, safety, perseverance and being eco-friendly.
In the EYFS, geographical learning is constant. It occurs on a daily basis through class discussion, stories and poems, investigation and problem solving, exploring the natural environment, discussion about the weather each day and much more besides. Adults are highly skilled in interacting with children during free flow to ensure geographical explorations and investigations further the children’s learning and understanding and widen their vocabulary.
Geography, through its multidisciplinary nature, lends itself well to cross-curricular, purposeful learning. Therefore, in Year 1 and beyond it is usually taught as part of a wider topic but occasionally may be taught as a stand-alone block if this is considered best for teaching and learning. Whilst we take a topic based approach where possible, the subject being taught at any given time is clearly identified in planning and is communicated to pupils in lessons. This ensures that geography maintains its own identity within the curriculum and there is no risk of dilution of the subject matter.
Pupils’ existing knowledge is checked at the beginning of each unit through an informal pre-assessment. This ensures that planning is informed by the children’s starting points and teaching is adapted to the needs of the children. To encourage a curious mind, each child is asked to think of a question they would like to answer during the course of their study. These are then displayed in the classroom, referred to in lessons and form an important part of the learning journey. Lessons are designed to provide appropriate challenges to all learners and to develop independent working and confidence, in line with the school’s commitment to inclusion. During lessons, children access a range of resources to support their learning including atlases, maps, digital technology, books and photographs. Educational visits, local fieldwork and visitors to school are used effectively. Formative assessment is on-going throughout the learning process and includes observing children at work, questioning, class discussions, quizzes, written and verbal feedback, application of knowledge and skills during practical fieldwork and independent learning in books. At the end of each topic, key knowledge is reviewed and consolidated as necessary. Children’s attainment levels are recorded on Eazmag at each assessment point (4 times per year).
Impact
Monitoring the impact of our geography curriculum is vital so that we can be certain our children are getting high quality teaching and that learning is long-lasting with knowledge being retained over time. The senior leadership team and the geography subject leader judge the impact of the curriculum by monitoring the following:
· Teacher assessment (pre and post assessment activities, questioning, evidence in books, quizzes, discussion, observation) and pupil attainment data (Eazmag data analysis, work scrutiny, moderation)
· Pupil progress over time (evidenced in Eazmag data analysis, moderation)
· Pupil enjoyment of and enthusiasm for the subject of geography (evidenced in pupil interviews, pupil questionnaires, learning walks, lesson observations)
· Application of knowledge, skills and understanding in other subjects (evidenced in learning walks, lesson observations, work scrutiny, pupil interviews, teacher questionnaires)
· Development of pupils towards becoming responsible, global citizens (evidenced in pupil interviews, pupil questionnaires, teacher questionnaires, parent questionnaires, learning walks, lesson observations, work scrutiny)
The geography subject leader carries out a range of quality assurance activities throughout the year, identifying strengths and weaknesses and taking action to drive for improvement.
