INTENT

At the Holt Primary School, we aim for a high-quality geography curriculum which should inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination with the world and its people. Our teaching of the subject equips pupils with the 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. We also want children to develop geographical skills; collecting and analyzing data; using maps, globes aerial photos and digital mapping to name and identify countries, continents and oceans; and communicating information in a variety of ways. We want children to enjoy and love learning about the wider world by gaining knowledge and skills, not just through experiences in the classroom, but also with the use of fieldwork and educational visits.

'The natural world is the greatest source of excitement. The greatest source of visual beauty. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.' Sir David Attenborough

IMPLEMENTATION

Many of our topics are driven by a History or Geography focus. Topics like geography provide an opportunity to learn about people and places in our location as well as globally and nationally.   We specifically teach a range of skills including mapwork and fieldwork skills as we develop locational knowledge, place knowledge alongside elements of both human and physical geography. Our topics are carefully selected and planned to be age appropriate and inspirational across the age groups. In both KS1 and KS2, we use the geography of our locality to support the children’s learning about the world we live in.  Knowledge organisers, which outline the knowledge and vocabulary for all children to master, are shared with both parents and pupils. Topic overviews are included within this document to demonstrate some of the key knowledge and skills covered, links to other parts of the curriculum, trips, visitors and key experiences as well as the quality outcomes children will produce during the unit. We aim to include Art, Music, English, British Values, PSHE, RE and where appropriate Mathematics and Science to enhance the topic.

National curriculum in England: geography programmes of study - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In all Geography lessons we will reinforce our school’s characteristics of good learning:

 Respect. Reflective. Responsible. Resourceful. Resilient. Reasoning.

IMPACT

Our Geography Curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression. By the end of the primary journey, we aim to have developed for all our pupils a geographical mind of enquiry, an understanding of the world in which they live and knowledge of the human influences and physical processes that impact on the planet.

If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress. In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes
• A celebration of learning at the end of a unit
• Pupil discussions about their learning

The impact of our geography curriculum will be measured by assessment procedures which allow us to measure outcomes against statements outlines within our progression documents.

Assessment procedures

Teachers will use ongoing assessment for learning techniques to support the development of vocabulary and the acquisition of new knowledge.  A range of information gathering activities such as learning flashbacks and progress pauses will be used to ascertain how well children are learning within this subject and what they need next to support their understanding.