Geography
The Intent, Implementation and Impact of Geography at Victoria School
"The study of Geography is about more that just memorising places on a map. It’s about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exists across continents. And in the end, it’s about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together."
- Barack Obama
Intent:
Geography/ Understanding the world is essentially about understanding the world we live in. It helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world.
At Victoria School, children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it. The geography/ understanding the world curriculum enables children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferable to other curriculum areas.
Geography/ understanding the world is an investigative subject, which develops an understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills. Our intent, when teaching geography/ understanding the world, is to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and people within it; to promote the children's interest and understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the earth's key physical and human processes.
Implementation:
It is important that children develop the knowledge and skills of a geographer by fully immersing them in all areas of the subject.
In the EYFS we teach using the development matters, birth to five and communication and language toolkit and in Key Stage one and two we teach the National Curriculum, supported by clear skills and knowledge progression. This ensures that skills and knowledge are built on year on year and sequenced appropriately to maximise learning for all children. In EYFS, pupils develop their compassion for the environment and love for the world. They are provided with a robust, progressive curriculum for cultural capital to enhance their breadth of learning.
In each lesson pupils work ‘As a Geographer’ identifying the skills and knowledge needed to investigate, research, connect and appreciate geographical processes. This is provided to them through practical studies, fieldwork experiences and trips around the local area to develop their geographical understanding. At Victoria School we want pupils to ‘Think geographically’ and become global citizens of the future, valuing the role of this subject in our curriculum and raising the level of understanding and appreciation of complex wonder that is the world we live in.
Located 11 miles from the Lake District our local area is fully utilised to achieve desired outcomes, with opportunities for learning outside the classroom. School trips and fieldwork are provided to give first-hand experiences, which enhance children's understanding of the world beyond their locality.
In Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 Teachers follow ‘The Learning Challenge Curriculum’ in Geography, a knowledge rich and carefully sequenced approach to the subject. This ensures that skills and knowledge are built on year by year and sequenced appropriately to maximise learning for all children. Existing knowledge is checked at the start of each new topic. This ensures that teaching is informed by the children's starting points and takes account of pupil voice. Lesson content and tasks are designed to provide appropriate challenge with high expectations for all learners, in line with our commitment to inclusion.
Impact:
By the time pupils leave Victoria School they will:
Describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps;
Understanding similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, drawing on knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts and – when appropriate – maps.
Have a secure knowledge of where places are and what they are like.
Have a secure 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.
Be fluent in complex geographical enquiry and the ability to apply questioning skills and use effective analytical and presentational techniques.
Have the ability to reach clear conclusions and develop reasoned arguments to explain findings.
Have significant levels of originality, imagination or creativity as shown in interpretations and representations of subject matter.
Have highly 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.
