Geography
At St Peter & St Paul Carbrooke Academy and Nursery, we believe that geography is a subject in which a curiosity and fascination about the world is promoted.
Intent
Geography is a subject that is unique in the fact that it promotes curiosity and fascination about the world which can develop into a love of learning across all subjects, as well as geography itself. Geography is part of our everyday lives, so developing a geographical knowledge and understanding allows us to make sense of the world we live in beyond our immediate surroundings. This geographical understanding of how the world is interconnected translates into an appreciation of nature and humans. Therefore, allowing children to become sustainable citizens.
Our aim is for pupils is to enjoy and enthuse about their learning in geography. We wish for geography to be a catalyst for deeper interest about the world around them. Having curiosity gives pupils motivation to learn and therefore enthuse about it.
Implementation
As a school we ensure that geography is taught across all years. In EYFS, it is taught as ‘Understanding the World’. Across KS1 and KS2, half of our class topics throughout the year are geography based.
We ensure the effective high quality teaching through lesson observations, pupil voice, book looks, feedback on planning and collection of teacher views. This ensures a consistent approach across the school, so that all children receive a high quality geography education.
Geography knowledge and skills are taught in our topic lessons, according to the National Curriculum. Our class texts for literacy allow children to become immersed in their geography learning.
Furthermore, we ensure that there are links to global learning across the whole curriculum, not just geography. This ensures there are opportunities to learn about physical and human geography in other contexts, to embed an understanding of the world across the whole curriculum.
We also ensure that children are given the opportunity to acquire geographical skills in addition to the knowledge taught. This involves learning how to read a variety of maps, including OS maps and digital maps. Children also learn other skills through school trips and trips to the Millennium Green for forest schools learning. This is where we begin to learn simple fieldwork skills such as observing the geography of the area, including human and physical features.
Impact
The approach to learning geography at St Peter and St Paul Carbrooke Primary Academy and Nursery results in an engaging and informative geography curriculum for everyone. Our approach allows children to be curious about the world around them, allowing them to form their own worldviews and make their own judgements.
Exploring the local environment in Forest Schools and as part of geography lessons allows children to gain a lived experience of their local area. Going on school trips provides hands on experience of other environments different to their locality, thus increasing their cultural capital.
As children progress throughout the school, they develop a deep knowledge, understanding and appreciation of their local area and its place within the wider geographical context.