Intent
At Indian Queens School our vision is to provide children with opportunities to know that the world is full of wonders worth discovering. Through their growing knowledge and understanding of human geography, children gain an appreciation of, and respect for, life in other cultures. Geography teaching motivates children to find out about the physical world and enables them to recognise the importance of sustainable development for the future of mankind. We intend to equip children with geographical skills to develop their knowledge through studying places, people and natural and human environments. Through our teaching, we intend to provoke thought, questions and to encourage children to discover answers to their own questions through exploration and research to enable them to gain a greater understanding and knowledge of the world and their place in it. We believe that geography should not stop at school; we want to create lifelong geographers who can help to shape the world they live in with respect for diverse cultures and the natural environment.
Implementation
At Indian Queens School we teach the National Curriculum for Geography. It is taught in blocks throughout the year, so that there is an opportunity for children to achieve depth in their learning. The Subject Leader has identified the key knowledge and vocabulary for each topic in the Knowledge Organisers, with a particular focus on skills progression, learning about diverse cultures, and developing an understanding of the significance of human impact upon the natural environment. The use of the local context and area is key in our Geography planning. We want the children to develop an enriched understanding of our local community.
Progression in geographical knowledge and skills is explicitly planned for. By the end of year 6, children will have a solid understanding of what makes their local area unique, as well as an appreciation of the diversity of humankind on our planet. They can draw comparisons and make connections between different places and cultures. They will understand how human and
physical geography interact in a variety of ways. Work is recorded in topic books and can be evidenced in a range of ways including, artwork, written work, photographs or diagrams.
Opportunities for meaningful fieldwork are explicitly planned for in each year group. We believe that geography without fieldwork is like science without experiments. The ‘field’ is the laboratory where our young people hone their geographical skills and grow their knowledge of human and physical geography.
Cross curricular links are made where appropriate and are specifically planned for. Geography is used as an opportunity to apply literacy skills in a subject appropriate way. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) follows the ‘Development Matters in the EYFS’ guidance. Geography is taught, shared and assessed through the specific area of Understanding the World (The World and People and Communities).
Impact
Impact of the curriculum in Geography is monitored through:
· Pupil conferencing – pupils can talk confidently about their learning in Geography to adults and to each other. They can go into depth about significant individuals and events making comparisons and connections.
· Low stakes testing - children show good recall of key concepts taught in previous topics and lessons e.g., quizzes, using visuals, true and false questions, sorting facts.
· Monitoring of work in books, displays and pupil response within lessons.
· Images and videos of the children’s practical learning and are evidenced
· Lesson visits
· Additional assessment opportunities:
- self-assessment and peer assessment
- group assessment and targeted questioning
