Geography Intent Statement

At Fawbert & Barnard’s Primary School our Geography curriculum is designed to develop pupils' curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives and hopefully ignite their passion for travel. We are committed in widening our pupils' experiences outside of school as well as developing a real sense of who we are, our heritage and what makes our local area unique and special. 

Our pupils apply geographical skills and knowledge. They are able to articulate -using their knowledge and correct vocabulary relating to a specific place, in Britain or the wider world, that they may have visited or wish to visit in the future. Our pupils develop effective presentation techniques, the ability to apply questioning skills to reach clear conclusions and explanations about their findings. We encourage our pupils to participate in discussions to enable them to offer well balanced opinions, rooted in very good knowledge and understanding about current issues in society and the environment.

Intent:

Our Geography curriculum is designed to develop children’s curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.

Children investigate a range of places – both in Britain and abroad – to help develop their knowledge and understanding of the Earth’s physical and human processes. We are committed to providing children with opportunities to investigate and make enquiries about their local area of Britain and Harlow so that they can develop of real sense of who they are, their heritage and what makes our local area unique and special. We also developing the children’s ability to apply geographical skills to enable 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, as well as effective presentation techniques;
• The ability to reach clear conclusions and explain their findings;
• Excellent fieldwork skills as well as other geographical aptitudes and techniques;
• The ability to express well-balanced opinions, rooted in very good knowledge and understanding about current issues in society and the environment;
• A genuine interest in the subject and a real sense of curiosity about the world and the people who live here.

Implementation:

Teachers are to plan their curriculum. As part of this planning process, teachers need to include in their plans the following:

• A knowledge organiser which outlines knowledge (including vocabulary) all children must master and apply in lessons;
• A cycle of lessons for each subject, which carefully plans for progression and depth concentrating on the geographical skills suited to the age group;
• A low stakes quiz which is tested regularly to support learners’ ability to block learning and increase space in the working memory;
• Challenge questions for pupils to apply their learning in a philosophical/open manner;
• Trips and visiting experts who will enhance the learning experience;
• Appropriate curriculum themed home learning tasks which children complete with adults at home;

Impact:

Our Geography Curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression. If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress. In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes;
• A celebration of learning for each term which demonstrates progression across the school;
• Tracking of gains in each quiz;
• Pupil discussions about their learning.