Frant Church of England Primary School

Intent

Geography is a vital and rich contribution to a balanced and broad curriculum which enables children to develop a thirst for knowledge about the world around them. Through Geography, we trigger investigative thinking and allow children’s minds to reach beyond their classroom. By teaching Geography, we intend to impart pupils with the knowledge, understanding, confidence, attitudes, values and skills they need in order to reach their potential as individuals in Geography, their local community and the wider world. At Frant Primary School, the teaching of the Geography curriculum has been carefully considered to enable our pupils to become inquisitive geographers. Using the national curriculum, we have carefully worked to create a Progressive Skills Document where objectives for each year group are progressively mapped out to ensure our pupils are given the acquired skills and knowledge to further their education journey into KS3 and life beyond the classroom. Our aim is to provide inclusive and aspirational environments and learning experiences where pupils thrive and build the knowledge they need to make aspirational choices about their own futures, overcoming any barriers. 

Implementation

The National Curriculum is the starting point for the teaching of all subjects in our school.  Statutory requirements are carefully mapped across a two year cycle, ensuring that skills and knowledge are taught in an order that makes sense. Our curriculum provides opportunities to make the most of the local environment within which our school is situated, using the incredible outdoor spaces around our school to bring learning to life.  We have carefully thought about how geographical knowledge and skills can be sequenced in order to maximise cross-curricular learning opportunities whilst allowing children to build on their prior learning and experiences. This begins with the youngest children in our school who explore their immediate environment beginning to use geographical vocabulary and skills. As pupils progress into Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, they cover the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum and beyond, using a range of topics to apply their learning in different contexts.

This document outlines the progression of skills and knowledge we believe our pupils need in order to be successful in this subject. Guided by the National Curriculum some geography topics require detailed exploration However, we believe that geography is a thread which runs through all of our lives and as such, should be taught continuously. We also believe that pupils should have the opportunity to apply their skills independently and frequently. By constantly revisiting key concepts and skills, pupils can build on their prior learning to fully embed the geographical learning needed to become successful geographers. This may be in the form of a stand-alone lesson or part of a lesson, through collective worship or a class discussion or debate. Making connections, discussing similarities and differences, and applying skills and knowledge from previous learning is central to our pedagogical approach. Our planet and the environment within which we live is a fundamental part of Frant Primary. We have an active Eco Council with pupils in all year groups contributing to making our local and wider environment a better place. The pupils have guided this element of our curriculum, making it clear that learning about the environmental challenges we face is very important to them. With this in mind, the following areas are studied: Litter – looking after our school grounds and wider community; Recycle, Reduce, Reuse, and Repurpose; reducing single use plastic / plastic pollution; melting ice caps / climate change; water pollution (rivers & coasts); flooding; deforestation.

Pupils are immersed in our geography topics through quality literature, hands on experiences, field work and by making links with their own lives and previous learning. There are opportunities to investigate, research, discuss, and evaluate both verbally and in written form. Assessment is continuous to monitor progress and identify any support (or increased challenge) that might be required. We have high ambitions for every pupil, particularly SEND, disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils.  Where needed, lessons are differentiated to ensure that children who need further support have appropriate resources and scaffolding, enabling them to successfully access the learning. Pupils that require further challenge will be encouraged to think more deeply, making connections with their own lives and provide more sophisticated responses to questions posed. Summative assessment is based on a progression of skills and knowledge, however not all of learning takes place in books and our assessment of Geography reflects this with field skills, verbal conversations and non-written responses all feeding into overall teacher judgements in this subject.

Impact

The planning and teaching of our Geography curriculum ensures that when children leave Frant CE Primary School, they have the geographical knowledge and skills they need to transition successfully to the next stage of their education. They will understand how geography is relevant to everyday life and will be able to make connections between their lives and the world around them, as well as appreciating the physical complexities associated with our planet.  Pupils will be confident in their own abilities and proud of their achievements. Christian values play an important role in all areas of learning at our school and enable children to think deeply and with compassion when considering the lessons we may learn from communities and cultures studied.  Through this, and by building resilience and independence, our pupils will achieve highly and be ready to make valuable contributions to our community and wider society.