Geography

Geography

Intent

At Swanland School we want pupils to become confident geographers.  To enable this to happen we have established an outcomes driven curriculum which recognises the importance of identifying not just what we want our pupils to know and do in Geography but also the intellectual outcomes we intend them to achieve by and through their learning.  As pupils progress as geographers as well as the knowledge and skills they are learning, our expectations of them must also be focused on the following progression in subject outcomes. This progresses beginning with the EYFS through to the end of KS2.

The scheme of work used throughout the school is in line with statutory requirements, as well as ensuring that each year group will teach specific areas of Geography, which are designed to expand the learning obtained in previous years, whilst building further on pupils’ understanding of geographical ideas, subject knowledge and skills. Swanland School commits to ensuring the geography our pupils learn is inspiring and stretches them intellectually.

The scheme of work will;

• stimulate pupils’ interest in their surroundings and in the variety of human and physical conditions on the earth’s surface;
• foster pupils’ sense of wonder at the beauty of the world surrounding them;
• help pupils develop an informed concern about the quality of the environment and the future of the human habitat;
• enhance pupils’ sense of responsibility for the care of the earth and its people and secure their commitment to promoting and living sustainable lifestyles;
• develop and build pupils’ skills of critical enquiry and an ability to handle and interpret information, through asking and answering geographical questions and using computing to communicate with and explore a variety of people, places and environments across the world;
• help pupils explore values and attitudes about complex issues such as sustainability and sustainable development;
• enable pupils to study the above across a range of places, cultures and environments at a variety of scales, from local to global; including the local area;
• foster a sense of understanding about how we are interconnected and interdependent with other people and ecosystems around the world;
• give pupils the opportunity to investigate their local area.

The school will work towards these aims in partnership with parents. The Geography curriculum is taught throughout the school in separate lessons, as well as through topic and Geographical themes, where children are given the opportunity to apply their learning in a cross-curricular way.

Implementation

The school is committed to providing its children with the opportunities to apply their geographical knowledge and skills into real life situations, through extra-curricular trips, outdoor learning and practical lessons. We use a progressive curriculum and ensure our lessons are focussed upon factual, conceptual and debatable content.

Each year group studies a range of different countries and topics, and research different aspects of this.  For example: settlements, climate, etc. Where topics are similar the subject vocabulary will be built upon, as well as teaching children to read and spell this vocabulary as it progresses. Lessons will focus on teaching key knowledge and skills; whist encouraging children to ask a range of questions and have discussions and debates with one another.

Some topics may link to the PSHCE curriculum.

To appreciate the range of national, regional, ethnic and religious identities in the UK and to think about the lives of people living in other places.

Health and safety

Field work and outdoor learning is risk-assessed by the class teacher using Evolve, where necessary.

Homework

Homework, in Geography, is provided in line with whole school policy and will be given at the discretion of the teacher, where appropriate, and such to coincide and support geographical investigations and topics.

Impact

We believe that our Geography curriculum is progressive and challenging, whilst remaining relevant. It is carefully planned to demonstrate progression. We measure the impact of our curriculum in several ways, which includes learning walks and pupil voice, lesson observations, book looks to aid teacher assessment.

Through our Geography curriculum we aim for our pupils to be Young Geographers, who are curious about the world around them, as well as being autonomous and independent learners. By the end of Key stage 2 our pupils should have a secure knowledge of the key geographical concepts and skills that have been taught, as well as a rich geographical vocabulary. We aim to ensure that our pupils leave our school as responsible members of society, who care for their world recognising different perspectives and viewpoints, as well as understanding how interconnected and interdependent the world is.

During each year group the teacher will be able to use their knowledge and understanding of each pupil, gained through extensive formative assessment over the previous Geography topic, to reach an accurate judgment of what they know and can do.  Most critically this decision is based on the professional knowledge and judgement that the teacher possesses of the pupil, built up over an extended period of time, which is then used to make a rounded and holistic judgement of their attainment in Geography. Tapestry is used in the EYFS and Seesaw in KS1 and KS2 to upload children’s work, involving parents in their child’s learning journey.

Geography knowledge progressive curriculum 2023