Geography
At Hartpury C of E Primary School, we aim to develop children who are motivated and equipped to be courageous advocates for our world, throughout their lives. We seek to develop each child’s understanding, respect, appreciation and responsibility for the world around us, so they can make a difference both now and in the future. The Global Sustainable Development Goals are central to our ethos and our Christian Values underpin all aspects of our community as we strive for the children to develop a broad understanding and enjoyment of the world that enables them to be outward looking, resilient and effective citizens of the future.
Statement of Curriculum Intent
At Hartpury C of Primary School, we aim to fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum. Our Geography curriculum is designed to develop and stimulate the children’s curiosity and fascination about the world, its people and their place in it. Through a spiral curriculum that carefully sequences concepts and is driven by our outstanding rural location and strong Christian ethos, we seek to develop each child’s understanding, respect, appreciation and responsibility for the world around us, so they can make a difference both now and in the future. Children investigate a range of places in both Great Britain and abroad, to help develop their knowledge and understanding of the physical and human processes that shape the Earth. We are committed to providing children with opportunities to investigate and make enquiries about their local area of Hartpury so that they can develop of real sense of their own surroundings, their heritage and what makes our local area unique and special. This also applies to increasing children’s knowledge of other cultures and, in so doing, teach a respect and understanding of what it means to be outward looking, resilient and effective citizens of the future in our multicultural world. We are also developing the children’s ability to apply geographical skills, and the vocabulary necessary to carry out effective geographical enquiry, so as to enable children to confidently communicate their findings and geographical understanding to a range of audiences. Through high quality teaching, we develop the following essential characteristics of geographers:
- An excellent knowledge of where places are and what they are like, both in Britain and the wider world;
- A comprehensive understanding of the ways in which places are interdependent and interconnected;
- An extensive base of geographical knowledge and vocabulary;
- Fluency in complex, geographical enquiry and the ability to apply questioning skills;
- Excellent fieldwork skills as well as other geographical aptitudes and techniques;
- A genuine interest in the subject and a real sense of curiosity about the world and the people who live here.
Statement of Curriculum Implementation
- Geography is taught in Reception (EYFS) through the area of learning ‘Understanding the World’. Opportunities for play based experiences within home, the school environment and the wider local environment are further extended by providing the children with real first hand experiences. This involves visiting places and by finding out about different environments in books and through using other technology.
- In KS1 and KS2, children are taught in mixed age classes of two-year groups. The Geography curriculum is delivered through a two year rolling programme, following the suggested order of the National Curriculum and constructed in-house.
- Using the National Curriculum as a basis, strong links are made to both our Christian values and our rural environment and children are encouraged to develop an awareness and appreciation of the world around them, and their responsibilities towards it.
- The local area is utilised to achieve desired outcomes, with opportunities for learning outside the classroom embedded in practise. Where there are strong links with outdoor education, our on-site outdoor learning provision is utilised by all year groups. School trips and fieldwork are provided to give first hand experiences, which enhance children’s understanding of the world beyond their locality. For example, children in Year 3/4 did a tour of the village in the minibus and completed sketch maps of key features for their ‘Settlements’ unit.
- Key Maths and English skills are applied across the Geography curriculum. For example, in Year 3/4, after studying the local settlement of Hartpury we wrote a persuasive leaflet encouraging tourists to visit Hartpury, linking final writing outcomes for units in English to the Geography topic.
- Children will access a range of resources to acquire learning through atlases, maps, digital technology, books, photographs, Digimaps, Google Earth maps and satellite view. Using a range of secondary resources to develop their knowledge and understanding is integral to their learning.
- Once a year children will be assessed against a progression map using a ‘best fit’ approach. Children will be assessed as ‘below ARE’ or ‘at ARE’.
We ensure our classroom environments are supportive, engaging and that they celebrate learning. Outdoor learning and enhanced curriculum opportunities will be included in planning to ensure learning is irresistible with drivers at the centre. Where possible, cross-curricular links will be made and this will be conducive to learning. Our curriculum is ambitious for all pupils and successfully adapted, developed and designed where appropriate for pupils with special educational needs.
Statement of Curriculum Impact
By the time children leave Hartpury they will:
- Have an excellent knowledge of where places are and what they are like, both in Britain and the wider world.
- Have an excellent understanding of the ways in which places are interdependent and interconnected and how much human and physical environments are interrelated.
- Have an extensive base of geographical knowledge and vocabulary.
- Have excellent understanding of complex, geographical enquiry and the ability to apply questioning skills and use effective analytical and presentational techniques.
- Have well developed and frequently utilised fieldwork and other geographical skills and techniques.
- Have a passion for and commitment to the subject, and a real sense of curiosity to find out about the world and the people who live there.
- Have the ability to express well-balanced opinions, rooted in very good knowledge and understanding about current and contemporary issues in society and the environment.
A programme of monitoring is in place to inform senior and subject leaders of consistency and progression in learning. This includes:
- Professional discussion
- Work scrutiny
- Pupil conferencing
- Lesson visits
