Geography
Geography in our Curriculum
Curriculum vision
 Geography is a valued part of the curriculum where we strive to inspire our children to have an innate curiosity and fascination with the world that we live in and the diversity around them. Our goal is for all children to develop a love of geography. At St Agnes School, we are committed to providing all children with learning opportunities to engage in Geography by exploring, appreciating and understanding the world in which we live and how it has evolved. Geography encourages children to learn through experience, particularly through practical and fieldwork activities. Â
We believe it is important to build a geographical curriculum that endorses the importance of outdoor learning, to build a curiosity for learning, to help them to know more, remember more and understand more.
The intent of the Geography curriculum is that our children will have a deep understanding of their local environment and the diverse surroundings in the wider world, with an appreciation of human and physical characteristics.
We will deliver a curriculum that:
- Inspires curiosity and fascination about the world and its people;
- Equips children with an understanding of diverse places, people, resources and environments around them;
- It allows children to build on prior learning about physical and human processes and the formation and use of landscapes and environments;
- Develops an understanding that the Earth’s features are interconnected and change over time;
- Encourages exploration of their own environment and challenges pupils to make connections between their local surroundings and that of contrasting settlements;
- Use the local area and community to develop geographical skills and knowledge.
The strands in Geography are:
- Locational knowledge
- Place knowledge
- Human and physical geography
- Geographical skills and fieldwork Â
Characteristics of a geographers
At St Agnes Catholic Primary School, we are Geographers. We have…
- An excellent knowledge of where places are and what they are like.
- An excellent understanding of the ways in which places are interdependent and interconnected and how much human and physical environments are interrelated.
- An extensive base of geographical knowledge and vocabulary.
- Fluency in complex, geographical enquiry and the ability to apply questioning skills and use effective analytical and presentational techniques.
- The ability to reach clear conclusions and develop a reasoned argument to explain findings.
- Significant levels of originality, imagination or creativity as shown in interpretations and representations of the subject matter.
- Highly developed and frequently utilised fieldwork and other geographical skills and techniques.
- A passion for and commitment to the subject, and a real sense of curiosity to find out about the world and the people who live there.
- The ability to express well-balanced opinions, rooted in very good knowledge and understanding of current and contemporary issues in society and the environment.
What does this look like at St Agnes Catholic Primary School?
Our ambitious Geography curriculum is designed to have concepts weaved throughout every year group in order to encourage purposeful repetition to ensure the progressive development of geographical concepts, knowledge and skills. This consistently builds on previous understanding, so that our children are striving to become geographers who understand their own significance in the world which will remain with them for the rest of their lives. The lessons are carefully planned to ensure that all children are well-supported in their learning and that opportunities for depth are planned. We ensure that trips and visiting experts enhance the learning experiences for the children.                       Â
What this looks like in St Agnes
EYFS
Within the Early Years Foundation Stage, Geography is included as part of Understanding the World. Children learn to investigate similarities and differences, the local environment and cultures and beliefs, fostering the skills essential to developing historical understanding. This is set out in the early year’s curriculum as children need to:
- Observe, find out about, and identify features in the place they live and the natural world;
- Begin to learn about their own cultures and beliefs and those of other people;
- Find out about their environment, and talk about those features they like and dislike.
KS1
During Key Stage 1, pupils investigate their local area and a contrasting area in the United Kingdom or abroad, finding out about the environment in both areas and the people who live there. They also begin to learn about the wider world. They carry out geographical enquiry inside and outside the classroom. In doing this, they ask geographical questions about people, places and environments, and use geographical skills and resources, such as maps and photographs.
KS2
During Key Stage 2, pupils investigate a variety of people, places and environments in the United Kingdom and abroad, and make links between different places in the world. They find out how people affect the environment and how they are affected by it. Pupils carry out geographical enquiry inside and outside the classroom. In doing this, they ask geographical questions, and use geographical skills and resources, such as maps, atlases, aerial photographs and ICT.
Memorable experiences in our geography curriclum:
Kew Gardens Greenhouse
NHM– Earthquakes
Shelter building in Claremont Fields
RNLI Workshop
Allotment Visit
Farm visit
Orienteering Trip
Visit to the beach
Golders Hill Park- Magic Map
River Thames Visit
Adaptations
Geography is carefully planned for all learners. New material is delivered in small steps, with teachers considering how much information is presented at any one time. New material is presented both verbally and visually. High-interest, engaging materials such as images, clips and revision activities often provide a strong start to a lesson.
Assessment
Assessments will take the form of low-stake quizzes, end of unit pieces of work and teacher assessments throughout the unit.Â
Assessment is used to monitor progress and to identify any child needing additional support as soon as they need it.
