Intent
At Keir Hardie Primary we aim to provide a high quality geography curriculum that is designed to develop all pupils’ learning in the basic building blocks to developing in depth knowledge. Through our ambitious curriculum we ensure that all pupils develop substantive knowledge of; locational and place knowledge, human and physical processes and geographical skills and fieldwork which leads to pupils developing their disciplinary knowledge of ‘thinking like a geographer’.
Our geography curriculum promotes cross curricular links such as reading; in supporting pupils by exposing them to a wider range of vocabulary that progresses through the key stages.
Our aim is to inspire all pupils to develop a greater sense of the world through connecting knowledge, people, locations, processes and environments. We want to expose our pupils’ and develop their cultural capital experiences to prepare them for life in modern Britain and the 21st century.
Our geography curriculum will enable our pupils to become better global citizens, champion global issues, respect diversity and appreciate their moral duty to make our world a better place.
Above all else, we aim to promote curiosity in pupils including those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds or who have SEND in order to gain a real sense of curiosity to find out about the world and people who live there.
Implementation
To achieve our Intent, our geography curriculum is based on the National Curriculum and has been designed to build on substantive knowledge (locational and place knowledge, human and physical processes and geographical skills and fieldwork) in order to further develop disciplinary knowledge.
Our pupils learn geography using the experiential outside the classroom as well as use the resources in our local community which is progressive from EYFS to KS2. This includes:
Learning within the local community, local walks within the community, redevelopment of the local area, comparing localities, residentials to experience outdoor learning and sustainability awareness.
Through our well sequenced learning journeys, lessons are taught half termly (1 hour a week) and are carefully planned to ensure the children are taught the skills and content for their age range. Each year, children progressively learn more about the UK as well as a contrasting place in another location, country/continent.
Our pupils learn key geographical vocabulary, develop their oracy, and learn about different places, human and physical processes and the key skills and fieldwork. In lessons, pupils use digital resources like the VR and Now Press Play headsets to immerse themselves in geography. Computing programmes such as; Google maps, Google Earth, Digimaps, maps, globes, online resources such as Oddizzi, compasses and atlases are used to support and enrich the teaching and learning of geography.
Pupils understand what it means to be a global citizen through environmental issues and contributing to community events. When opportunities arise we embark on special projects where we collaborate with schools’ in other countries to work on common themes within the environment.
Impact
Outcomes in pupils’ books show that pupils are making good progress in their knowledge and skills within our geography curriculum.
The development of geographical vocabulary continues to develop as well as the cross curricular links with other subjects linking our Keir Hardie curriculum together.
Our pupils appreciate their role as global citizens by learning about and taking an active interest in global issues such as climate change, pollution and sustainability.
Our pupils have a lifelong thirst for knowledge that prepares them for future learning and the understanding of what it means to think like a geographer. They enjoy exploring, researching and raising questions that help them to gather more information about people and places.
Displays around the school capture geography and curiosity of our pupils. Overall, geography is a subject that our pupils enjoy. A student recently said “learning about different environments makes me want to find out more”.