Intent
At St. Andrew’s, our geography curriculum is designed to promote a sense of awe and wonder, encouraging children to appreciate and respect the natural world and its rich diversity. Our intent is for our geography lessons to inspire and deepen children’s curiosity and fascination about the world they live in by nurturing their understanding of diverse places, people, cultures, and environments.
Our curriculum is designed to develop knowledge and skills that are transferable to other areas of the curriculum, and to equip our pupils with the awareness, expertise, and attitudes necessary to become responsible global citizens and live out the school values of Love, Courage and Friendship.
Implementation
The geography curriculum is carefully planned and structured to ensure continuity and progression of knowledge and skills. It is ambitious, broad, and balanced, encompassing a wide range of geographical concepts and themes. We have identified the key knowledge and skills that the children should acquire at each stage, ensuring a logical progression and understanding from early years through to Year 6.
Knowledge organisers are planned and designed carefully for each unit of study. These organisers are used to support the children with learning key vocabulary and building knowledge, as well as to reinforce prior learning.
We actively promote cross-curricular links, integrating geography with other subjects, where appropriate. This approach enables children to make connections and develop a comprehensive understanding of the world around them.
Geographical elements can be taught in English, through the study of rich, diverse texts, from Early Years to Year 6, that reinforce global understanding. Examples of these tests include: Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain, Handa’s Surprise, Cloud Tea Monkeys, Shackleton’s Journey, Windrush Child and The Last Bear. We also look at Pilgrimages in Year 6 in RE lessons, which feeds into learning about cities and countries, their landscapes and their significance for many people of faith. Through these studies, we explore a range of cultures, traditions, and perspectives from different parts of the world, encouraging children to develop empathy and respect for different ways of life.
We celebrate diversity and difference within our school community, aiming to provide opportunities for pupils to learn from each other’s backgrounds and experiences. We are nurturing empathetic links with school children in Lincolnshire and in East Africa, that will enable our children to gain an understanding of life somewhere different from their own.
Local area
In addition to knowledge acquisition, we develop pupils’ geographical skills through map reading, data analysis and fieldwork studies in our local area of Enfield Town and London. Being in a town, we are able to take full advantage of having a park, a river, a playground, a wood, two train stations and a town centre on our doorstep, to use for supporting pupils to ask geographical questions, carry out investigations, and interpret and communicate their findings effectively.
Impact
Our pupils develop a deep and secure knowledge and understanding of geographical concepts, processes, and locations. They can discuss and explain key geographical occurrences such as weather, climate, earthquakes, rivers and the water cycle, mountain formation, and sustainable development. Children begin to understand how geography connects with other subjects and the wider world, enabling them to make informed decisions about environmental and social issues.
At St. Andrew’s, we use a range of formative and summative assessment methods to track pupils’ progress. This includes teacher observations, quizzes, spaced retrieval practice over the unit, project presentations and written tasks. Feedback is provided to pupils in a timely and constructive manner, allowing them to reflect on their learning and identify areas for improvement.
Our curriculum instils a life-long curiosity in our pupils. They are inquisitive, ask meaningful questions, and actively seek ways to explore the world around them. They develop the skills to conduct independent and collaborative investigations, nurturing a spirit of curiosity and exploration that extends beyond their time in primary school.
We closely monitor and address any achievement gaps, ensuring that every child, regardless of their starting point, has the opportunity to excel and reach their full potential. We have high standards for all our pupils and our aim is for the curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment strategies to aid pupils in achieving these goals. This will lead to outstanding outcomes in Geography and beyond, enhancing pupils’ educational and life opportunities.
Pupils from Year 1 to Year 6 are taught Geography once a term, with the skills, knowledge and understanding acquired progressing across the key stages. A range of opportunities are provided for pupils to enable them to communicate their knowledge and understanding of the subject. The scope of units taught increases from the pupils’ own environment in KS1 to the wider world in KS2. Some units specifically focus on human geography, and others focus on physical geography, but most are holistic geography units considering both together.
Below are the three units of geographical study that will be taught in each year group:
Year 1:
Our Local Area, People and Their Communities, Animals and Their Habitats
Year 2:
Seasons, Journeys: Food, Our Wonderful World
Year 3:
Climate and Weather, Our World, Coasts
Year 4:
The Americas, Rivers and the Water Cycle, Earthquakes and Volcanoes
Year 5:
Changes in our Local Environment, Europe: A Study of the Alpine Region, Journeys: Trade
Year 6:
South America: The Amazon, Protecting the Environment, Our World in the Future
We also supplement the learning throughout the year with educational visits, speakers, local walks and visiting local areas of interest. These trips include the beach, Forty Hall and Enfield Town.