Geography Curriculum Statement

Intent 

Our Geography curriculum is designed to develop children’s curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Children investigate a range of places – both in Britain and abroad – to help develop their knowledge and understanding of the Earth’s physical and human processes. We are committed to providing children with opportunities to investigate and make enquiries about their local area of Moss Side and Manchester so that they can develop of real sense of who they are, their heritage and what makes our local area unique and special. Geography, by nature, is an investigative subject. Through our teaching, we intend to provoke thought, questions and to encourage children to discover answers to their own questions through exploration and research to enable them to gain a greater understanding and knowledge of the world and their place in it.

A high proportion of our children have English as an Additional Language (EAL) so we ensure that teachers and TA’s incorporate key vocabulary and clearly model skills using visual aids, ICT and cues to enhance the learning. We ensure our curriculum includes enrichment experiences such as visiting different localities (Castleton) and exploring our local area. All children are given the opportunity to access the curriculum at their level and are provided with the resources required to enhance their understanding.

Implementation

Geography is taught through the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and the early learning goals (ELG’s) in the Early Years Foundation Stage and the framework of the 2014 National Curriculum, with geography planning linked to the school’s age-related expectations (ARE), which are revisited 3 times throughout the year allowing progress to be monitored. The curriculum is designed so that it is ambitious for all learners. In order to foster children’s curiosity about the world, interest and creativity, we are enthusiastic about Geography and encourage children to explore and ask questions.

Pupils in the Early Years learn about people and their communities through the specific area of Understanding the World. They are encouraged to explore the world through observations, questioning and investigations, and the teachers observe and record their learning on Tapestry as evidence.

In Key Stage 1 and 2, topic teaching is used to progress children’s knowledge and skills. Each year group has a long-term plan with two to three Geography topics, which are to be covered over the year. Topics will alternate with History. Geography will be linked into some History topics, where appropriate, to develop children’s knowledge and understanding. It will also ensure all areas of the curriculum are covered in depth. Teachers are encouraged to consider opportunities available to use the school grounds and the local area for fieldwork to enable children to base learning on first hand experiences to enhance geography skills Children at Claremont learn about their local area Manchester and compare their life in this area with that in other regions in the United Kingdom and in the rest of the world. Through their growing knowledge and understanding of human geography, children gain an appreciation of life in other cultures. Geography teaching also motivates children to find out about the physical world and enables them to recognize the importance of sustainable development for the future of mankind.

Knowledge organisers detail the key learning points of the Topic and specify the key vocabulary that the children need to know. Medium-term planning details success criteria, learning intentions and challenge questions to develop greater depth and critical thinking.

Educational visits are a key feature of our geographical skills and enquiry planning; the school subsidises a range of trips to enrich the curriculum making meaningful cross curricular links. A programme of trips are arranged to allow for progressive geography field work, including:

Y1 Around our school  

Y2 Coastal area – Lytham St. Anne’s beach

Y3 Contrasting locality – Styal in Cheshire

Y6 Manchester Today – Peterloo link to History and Outward-Bound Camping Trip – Ghyll Head

We use online resources- Digimap, Google Maps, aerial photographs, atlases, globes and are building a set of Topic books for each year group. 

We are members of the Geographical Association which gives our staff access to quality resources and ensures we are up to date in our planning and teaching of Geography

Insight curriculum tracker is used to record the progress the progress that pupils are making in terms of knowing more, remembering more and being able to do more at the end of each academic year. This will record whether the children are working towards the age-related expectations, at the age-related expectations or are above the age-related expectations

Impact

As a result of the high-quality geography teaching at Claremont Primary School we want our children to be able to:

  • Access geography teaching that develops a range of investigation and problem-solving skills that are transferable to other curriculum areas especially Science, Mathematics, English.
  • Enjoy lessons – we believe this early love of learning stimulates children to become life-long learners and have an awareness of the World around them.
  • Have an excellent knowledge of where places are and what they are like, both in Britain and the wider world
  • Have a comprehensive understanding of the ways in which places are interdependent and interconnected;
  • Have an extensive base of geographical knowledge and vocabulary
  • Have excellent fieldwork skills as well as other geographical aptitudes and techniques
  • Show the ability to express well-balanced opinions, rooted in very good knowledge and understanding about current issues in society and the environment
  • Express a genuine interest in the subject and a real sense of curiosity about the world and the people who live here.

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Useful Documents

Curriculum Statement Geography            
Geography Subject Overview            

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