Geography

Our vision is to provide an excellent, well-rounded education which celebrates academic, emotional and spiritual achievement and prepares everyone to fulfil their full potential in an inclusive environment in God’s World.

“It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty, the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.” Sir David Attenborough

At St George’s, we believe that Geography helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it. The geography curriculum at St George’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.

Geography is, by nature, an investigative subject, which develops an understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills. The curriculum is designed to ensure that teaching equips pupils with 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. As pupils progress through the school, their growing knowledge about the world helps them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Geographical knowledge and skills are progressive and are sequenced to provide the framework and approaches that provide explanation of how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time. We seek to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people which will remain with them for the rest of their lives, equipping them well for further education and beyond.

At St George’s, our Geography curriculum is underpinned by the above statement and we believe that Geography is an essential part of children’s development throughout the school, from our youngest children in Nursery, through to the young adults we hand over to the next phase of their lifelong journey. The following aims are embedded within our teaching and are central to the engaging lessons and opportunities which our children encounter.

We aim for all pupils to:

• develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places – both terrestrial and marine – including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes

• understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time

• be competent in the geographical skills needed to: collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes, interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.

Our intent is for all children to believe in themselves and grow as geographers. Our teaching is planned to stimulate the children’s interest, curiosity and understanding about the world and people within it. Through our geography curriculum, the children will revisit threshold concepts to allow them to reflect and build on prior learning and develop long term memory.

The threshold concepts are:

• investigating patterns

• investigating places

• communicating geographically.

We have also identified knowledge categories to be revisited on various occasions as appropriate to the geography being taught. These include; physical and human features of places, location, diversity, physical and human processes, technique and also vocabulary linked to the specific areas being studied as well as vocabulary needed to develop their skills as geographers.

The curriculum also enables the children to understand how they can help to sustain and have an impact upon environmental issues. Children will be given opportunities to deepen their understanding of how to protect our eco system and planet.

We see Cultural Capital as the essential knowledge that pupils need to be educated citizens, introducing them to the best that has been thought and said and helping to engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement.’” Throughout our geography curriculum, the children are provided with rich and sustained opportunities to develop their cultural capital that celebrates all cultures and values diversity, to prepare them for their future and also for life in modern Britain.

Throughout our geography teaching, we promote an ‘I can do’ philosophy in which we aim to develop ‘growth mindset’ attitudes.

Teachers also use experiences to address mistakes and misconceptions as an essential part of learning to build resilience and enables the children to learn in a curious and safe environment, which in turn allows all children to flourish.

At St George’s all children have full access to the curriculum, which includes our SEND children. Within geography, children are scaffolded in their learning to ensure that they can develop their geographical skills This is accomplished through careful planning and preparation by the teaching staff, who will use a range of strategies to support their needs to ensure they are able to meet their full potential. These strategies may include having their work presented differently with the outcomes being the same as their peers. Complex ideas can be broken down, so they are accessible through questioning and verbal and visual prompts. Children with SEND will have access to visual representations of their work, topical word banks and manipulatives to support their learning where appropriate.

We strive to help children apply their skills and knowledge in a range of different contexts in the wider world and we want all of our children to develop confidence as geographers, experience success and recognise the enjoyment which geography can bring.