Geography

Subject Lead: Sally Elwick

Intent

The Geography curriculum at Le Rondin School has been designed to be exciting and challenging for all learners, regardless of their abilities or backgrounds and places the child at the very centre of everything.

We have chosen to base our curriculum on the Bailiwick Curriculum and Chris Quigley curriculum. It is organised into a cyclical progression model that builds progressively towards pupils acquiring a key knowledge and skills.  It also provides learners with subject-specific vocabulary, ‘sticky knowledge’ and a variety of first-hand experiences which aids in sparking their interest, relate new learning to their own experience and to reflect upon and respond to the things that they see and hear and touch. 

The content and coverage of our curriculum is carefully organised by each year group through a long-term plan. Content knowledge, vocabulary and skills will then be planned for at a greater level of detail in the medium-term plan

The intent of the geography curriculum is that our pupils have a deep understanding of their local environment and the diverse surroundings in the wider world, with appreciation to human and physical characteristics. Our curriculum allows children to build on prior learning about physical and human processes and the formation and use of landscapes and environments

Implementation

Our Geography curriculum is planned and sequenced so that new knowledge and skills will build upon what has been taught before.  All learning starts by revisiting prior knowledge and staff explicitly model the subject specific vocabulary, knowledge and skills relevant to the current learning to allow the pupils to integrate new knowledge into larger concepts. 

In order to develop understanding our children need to connect new knowledge with existing knowledge and then develop fluency and unconsciously apply their knowledge and skills. Lessons develop long term memory by allowing for repetition of learning within the year and year on year.

Presentation of subject matter is sequential, purposeful and clear. Understanding is systematically checked and informs future activity. Work is of good quality and is pitched at a level of appropriate challenge that allows pupils to achieve well.

Staff have a good awareness of each child’s needs and tailor their learning accordingly and focus on the engagement of pupils by emphasising processes and not over-concentrating on outcomes.

In Geography lessons we use concrete resources alongside visual representations, virtual and physical visits and visitors to excite and intrigue our children to find out more about events, people and places from the past and the current world around them

Continuous CPD for teachers ensures that their skills and knowledge is developed to teach both History and Geography skills, knowledge and vocabulary confidently and accurately

Impact

Our Geography curriculum is designed to help children develop the geographical knowledge and skills that enable them to explore, navigate and understand the world around them. 

It also helps them to understand the impact humans have on the world, both locally and globally as well as developing a real sense of curiosity to find out about the world and the people who live there.  

As Geographer’s the children will gain an excellent knowledge of where places are and what they are like. Alongside this they will develop an extensive base of geographical knowledge and vocabulary. 

Through pupil voice children will be able to talk about the skills and knowledge they have acquired. Work will show that a range of entitlements is being covered and differentiated work is set appropriately within each year group.

Assessments and monitoring will show standards in Geography will be high and will match standards in other subject areas.