Geography

Intent – What we are trying to achieve?

Our aims are to:

fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum for Geography whilst promoting both British Values and our own Clowne Values;
ensure that children have a good understanding about what Geography is and why it is important
provide a Geography curriculum which is tailor made to the fit the needs of our children who live in a relatively isolated village in a predominantly white British community;

provide a curriculum which works on a 4 year cycle and each cycle has a purposeful driver which is current, relevant and purposeful; Globalisation, Exploration, Adaptability and Power;
place emphasis upon the use of tier 3 vocabulary;
consolidate learning, make connections with prior learning and embed knowledge
provide children with relevant and purposeful Geography lessons to inspire pupils.

Our Geography curriculum aims to give all children opportunities to develop the following concepts:

Within each Geographical concept, lessons will explore the following knowledge categories:

Implementation – How will we achieve this?

Geography objectives are linked to topics over the 4-year cycle to ensure the National Curriculum is covered. Each objective is revisited twice to enable children to recall and build upon prior knowledge.
Geography lessons are sequenced by geography leads and then planned by staff. Lower KS2 staff plan collaboratively with Upper KS2 staff in order to ensure progression of skills and differentiation.

Geography lessons are supported by working walls and knowledge organisers.
Progression of geographical skills are followed by teachers when planning individual lesson and sequences of lessons. using the Chris Quigley milestones.
Teachers start units by ensuring children’s awareness that they are learning Geography and not Topic and what the subject of Geography entails.
Knowledge organisers are provided both in school and for parents in order to promote key knowledge and specific vocabulary for the unit of work.
Vocabulary is promoted in every lesson with specific vocabulary displayed on the board. Additionally, key vocabulary for the topic is generated by staff and displayed in each classroom which is regularly revisited both in and out of lessons.
End of unit quizzes reflect the sequence of learning allowing opportunities for children to recall knowledge, discuss and explain what they have learnt.
CPD is provided through the following means:

Feedback from subject leader training such as Ofsted Deep Dive training and Chris Quigley Curriculum Milestones training
Peer Reviews from internal and external sources
Staff meetings for planning and sequencing series of lessons for topics with links to vocabulary and homework pyramids.

Impact – What difference will this make?

Children should have a knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. They should have an understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments.
Children talk passionately and enthusiastically, with purpose and intent, about their Geographical studies and can identify when they have taken part in Geography lessons.
Children complete optional homework pyramids for the subject by choice and because they enjoy the subject.
Children’s knowledge is assed in end-of-unit quizzes which will assess the 5 main concepts of each geographical study. These results are inputted on our school tracking system and used to inform teachers of gaps in children’s knowledge. Quizzes are revisited at least once in order to interrupt the forgetting and ensure that knowledge is retained in the Long Term Memory (LTM).