Intent

In order to achieve a high standard of Geography education, at Baston CE Primary School, we have designed a spiral curriculum along the National Curriculum themes of: Locational Knowledge; Place Knowledge; Human & Physical Geography; and Geographical Skills & Fieldwork. We use the schemes of work provided by Kapow to support the teaching of this subject alongside our Teaching and Learning Policy. 

We aims to inspire pupils to become curious and explorative thinkers with a diverse knowledge of the world; in other words, to think like a geographer. We want pupils to develop the confidence to question and observe places, measure and record necessary data in various ways, and analyse and present their findings. Through our curriculum, we aim to build an awareness of how Geography shapes our lives at multiple scales and over time. We hope to encourage pupils to become resourceful, active citizens who will have the skills to contribute to and improve the world around them. Our scheme encourages:

• A strong focus on developing both geographical skills and knowledge.
• Critical thinking, with the ability to ask perceptive questions and explain and analyse evidence.
• The development of fieldwork skills across each year group.
• A deep interest and knowledge of pupils’ locality and how it differs from other areas of the world.
• A growing understanding of geographical concepts, terms and vocabulary.

Implementation

The National curriculum organises the Geography attainment targets under four subheadings or
strands: Locational knowledge; Place knowledge; Human and physical geography; and Geographical skills and fieldwork. We have a clear progression of skills and knowledge within these four strands across each year.

Being a spiralised curriculum means that essential knowledge and skills are revisited with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revise and build on their previous learning. Locational knowledge, in particular, will be reviewed in each unit to coincide with our belief that this will consolidate children’s understanding of key concepts, such as scale and place, in Geography. Geographical key concepts are woven across all units rather than being taught discretely.

The two EYFS units provide a solid foundation of geographical skills, knowledge and enquiry for children to transition successfully onto Key stage 1 Geography learning, whilst also working towards the Development matters statements and Early Learning Goals. These units consist of a mixture of adult-led and child-initiated activities which can be selected by the teacher to fit in with Reception class themes or topics.

Cross-curricular links are included throughout each unit, allowing children to make connections and apply their Geography skills to other areas of learning. Enquiry questions form the basis for our
Key stage 1 and 2 units, meaning that pupils gain a solid understanding of geographical knowledge and skills by applying them to answer enquiry questions. We have designed these questions to be open-ended with no preconceived answers and therefore they are genuinely purposeful and engage pupils in generating a real change. In attempting to answer them, children learn how to collect, interpret and represent data using geographical methodologies and make informed decisions by applying their geographical knowledge.

Each unit contains elements of geographical skills and fieldwork to ensure that fieldwork skills are practised as often as possible. The units of work follow an enquiry cycle that maps out the fieldwork process of question, observe, measure, record, and present, to reflect the elements mentioned in the National curriculum. This ensures children will learn how to decide on an area of enquiry, plan to measure data using a range of methods, capture the data and present it to a range of appropriate stakeholders in various formats.

Lessons incorporate various teaching strategies from independent tasks to paired and group work,
including practical hands-on, computer-based and collaborative tasks. This variety means that lessons are engaging and appeal to those with a variety of learning styles.

Impact

The impact of our geography curriculum can be constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. Each lesson includes formative opportunities for teachers to assess pupils against the learning focus and any relevant scientific enquiry skills. Pupils' learning is also measured against a set of level descriptors to track progress across the school. SLT monitor the subject further through book scrutiny, pupil voice and learning walks.