Geography
Intent
At St Joseph's, our Geography curriculum aims to inspire pupils’ curiosity and wonder about the world and its inhabitants. They will learn about their locality, other places, individuals, resources and natural and man made environments. We want children to leave us with an understanding of the physical and human processes that take place on our planet. Children's geographical knowledge and skills are underpinned by tangible learning experiences that include fieldwork, questioning and enquiry learning.
Implementation
The Geography curriculum is structured so that the youngest children learn about their immediate environment. As children move through KS1, they learn more about their wider environments across Britain until the end of KS2 when they will have covered wider and more far reaching places and aspects of the world in which we live. Content is planned to meet the requirements of the national curriculum. Study is supplemented through engaging educational visits and fieldwork as well as innovative online learning platforms. Our teaching equips pupils with knowledge about: diverse places and people; resources in the environment; human and physical processes; and formation and use of landscapes. In addition, we aim to develop children’s geographical skills such as: collecting and analysing data; using maps, globes and digital mapping to name and identify countries, continents and oceans and communicating information in a variety of ways. Through our teaching, we want children to develop a love of Geography and an understanding of the world - both the physical environment and the human processes within them.
The Geography curriculum at St Joseph's enables children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferable to other curriculum areas and which can and are used to promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The appreciation of the beauty of creation is always celebrated and prayer and liturgy will often take place in areas of natural beauty to give the children the experiences of awe and wonder about the natural world.
Geography is taught half termly, alternating with History so that each year group has three Geography topics across the year. During the half term that Geography is not taught, teachers share maps, news items and information from across the world in order that the subject knowledge is revisited and remembered.
We have identified the key knowledge and skills of each year group and consideration has been given to ensure progression across topics throughout each year group across the school. Children are encouraged to develop geographical skills in lessons and are challenged by a curriculum which allows a local and global understanding of our lives and the processes within it. We have high expectations and children are assessed during lessons and following a unit of work using careful questioning, practical tasks, discussion pieces of writing and mini quizzes.
Geography in the Early Years Foundation Stage EYFS is an integral part of children's understanding of the world. Geography begins life in the EYFS curriculum in the early learning goals entitled 'The Natural World' and 'People, Culture and Communities.' Through hands on experiences such as playing with sand and water, going on nature walks, looking at maps and globes, children start to grasp basic geographical concepts and vocabulary. Children are introduced to similarities and differences between the natural world and various human habitats, fostering an early appreciation for more formal geography education as the children progress through the school.
Our curriculum is one that is fuly inclusive of all learners so the intent for chidlren with additional needs is the same as for all children. In the implementation of our curriculum however, we adapt, challenge, support and scaffold learning in different ways for different groups of learners.
Impact
Our children's curiosity and fascination about the world and their place within it is developed through our Geography curriculum so that by the time our children leave us, they have a sound understanding of the content and skills taught; an appreciation of the richness of both landscapes and the people within them and a desire to be good stewards of our wonderful and at times fragile planet.