Geography at St Oswald's
Intent
At St Oswald’s School we want every child to be informed and excited learners of Geography. We follow the national curriculum programmes of study for each year group. We aim to create the very best geographers, well equipped to continue their study of geography as they move throughout their education. We challenge pupils to ask and find answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. We seek to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people.
Implementation
In the Early Years it is the first opportunity to see how a child interacts with their environment and how the environment influences them. Staff follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework which aims to guide children, to make sense of their physical world and their community by allowing them to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment – this is the first step of becoming a geographer.
In KS1 and KS2, Teachers maintain strong links to the National Curriculum guidelines to ensure all aspects, knowledge and skills of Geography are being taught across all year groups.
- Geography lessons are planned coherently, using the skills progressions, to build pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the world and the interaction between physical and human processes through quality first teaching.
- build geographical expertise from their local area to the wider world. This includes locational knowledge, understanding of human and physical features and geographical and fieldwork techniques.
- Opportunities to develop their skills and fieldwork using maps and atlases (both physical and digital) will be provided for all pupils. Fieldwork allows pupils to apply geographical skills in a real-life setting and explore their local area and the features within it. We will develop deep subject knowledge and key skills while differentiating work for all abilities.
- From EYFS up to the end of KS2, pupils will be taught key geographical vocabulary.
- Geography assessment is ongoing and informs teachers with planning lesson activities and differentiation; it will be tracked against the Geography progression of skills objectives.
- All lessons are planned using skills progressions so that knowledge is taught across the year group; skills are progressed across the key stage with connections made to prior learning.
Impact
At St Oswald’s Catholic Primary School the impact of quality first teaching in Geography will foster a love and enthusiasm for the subject.
- Well-constructed and well-taught lessons provide pupils with opportunities to research and apply skills independently – skills essential for lifelong learning. Book scrutiny indicates high expectations and reflect what pupils have learned to a good/very good standard. All learning builds towards clearly defined end points that are met.
- Pupils will leave KS2 with a strong knowledge of their local area and a confidence of the location of other countries and cities around the world. All pupils will be able to discuss and recall a variety of events and where they happened in the world, as well as explain aspects of human and physical geography and confidently use maps and atlases (physical and digital).
- Knowledge and skills will have developed progressively to not only enable them to meet the requirements of the National Curriculum but to prepare pupils to become competent geographers in secondary education. We want pupils to have thoroughly enjoyed learning about geography, therefore encouraging them to undertake new life experiences now and in the future.