Whole School

Geography Intent, Implementation and Impact

Intent

Our intent is to provide a high quality Geography education that stimulates children’s interest and understanding of the world around them. We want to inspire pupil’s curiosity and fascination for the world around them.

Through our spiralling curriculum, we equip children with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources (natural and human environment), together with a deep understanding of the earth’s key physical and human processes and experience local Geography. We progressively build up on meaningful contextual knowledge and skills. Children are taught to ask questions, think critically, contrast and analyse places around the world and identify their place and role in it. As a result, they become confident to apply the skills acquired through their Geography learning to everyday activities.

Implementation

At St Stephens, Geography is taught through whole class and small group sessions and through stimulations. Geography experiences are planned into our continuous provision using books, props, dress ups, motion pictures and artefacts.

Across EYFS, KS1 and KS2, Geography is taught consistently each week in 6 week blocks. At times, when it is appropriate to promote deep learning, weeks may be devoted to one topic to achieve complete immersion and high levels of engagement and enthusiasm. In order to deliver and plan a broad, balanced and enriching curriculum we follow and use Hamilton trust scheme of work.  

Children interact with and are influenced by their immediate environment as well as the world around them. They use the globe, maps and atlases to locate places, starting with the location of areas around them before moving on to the wider world. They carry out research and various field work to consolidate their understanding of concepts taught. Children are also provided with resources such as explicit teaching, dual coding and scaffolding to ensure that all children of all abilities can participate confidently and fully in the lesson.

Impact

Children will develop critical and analytical enquiry skills to make sense of their world which will be driven by their own ideas, curiosities and interests. They will be able to apply their map, atlases and globe skills and locational knowledge to talk about their locality, including their immediate school environment. Knowledge of location and maps will enable them to navigate their way when travelling or while every journey to and away from home.

Children will get a deeper understanding of the planet and how to preserve it as well as being able to articulate why it is important to preserve the world for future generations and the choices we can make to ensure this. We ensure that the children’s vocabulary is embedded and expanded upon in order to give them more confidence in developing a richer repertoire of ideas.    We are also providing children with the opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas of the History curriculum through pupil voice.