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Learning Intention
“Geography is the subject that holds the key to our ever changing, complex and diverse world; inspiring curiosity, wonder and enquiry. It allows us to investigate and search for adventure whilst equipping each one of us for our role as a global citizen.” Miss Cross, Geography Leader
Geography at Meadowbank will enable and empower children to be curious and compassionate individuals. Our learners will be offered an enriched curriculum which encourages them to interact with and appreciate their local area, Britain and the wider world, enabling them to acquire a connectivity to the world around them. We are committed to providing children with exceptional opportunities to enquire about their local area and establish a real sense of who they are and what makes our local area unique and diverse. Children at Meadowbank will experience meaningful and purposeful geographical opportunities which will bring their learning to life and allow them to be able to confidently articulate their learning. Our learners will be immersed in global issues and will be empowered to develop geographical skills and to become leaders of change for our future world. Learning at Meadowbank will inspire children to develop a sense of curiosity and wonder of the world around them. Children will have a strong sense of ambition for themselves and their planet that enthuses them to be compassionate and responsible global citizens.
Aims
- To have an equal balance between the children acquiring key knowledge and having a strong sense of place.
- To facilitate the children’s learning as they shape their own opinions, values and actions; encouraging them to be reflective, enquiring and open minded.
- To Increase children’s knowledge of other cultures and, in doing so, teach a respect and understanding of what it means to be a positive citizen in a multi-cultural country.
- To develop an understanding of our role in the world, equipping our children to be global climate ambassadors.
- To build children’s geographical capital by acquiring the geographical knowledge, understanding and skills that are needed to take advantage of opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.
- To support the children to use distinctive investigative tools such as maps, fieldwork and the use of powerful digital communication technologies as they seek to find answers to their own questions and enquiries.
- To develop oracy through discussion, debate and exploration.
Learning Journey
The Geography Leader has a strong understanding of the EYFS curriculum, and the seven areas of learning and development that shape the educational programmes in our Early Years Foundation Stage. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected, and the experiences, opportunities and activities which are planned enable children to develop a broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundations for good future progress through school and life. As children move into Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, Geography is planned, for Years 1 to 6, using the Geography progressive skills, knowledge and vocabulary maps which enable teachers to ensure that they are always planning to develop the children’s geographical skills and building on prior knowledge. At Meadowbank, we are invested in ensuring that learners have a comprehensive understanding of their place in the world both locally and globally. They will understand what changes have occurred over time and how these changes have impacted on our lives today and will do in the future. The children will develop values and form opinions that will contribute to their responsibility of supporting our planet and environment in the future.
Within Geography, we strive to create a supportive and collaborative ethos for learning by providing investigative and enquiry based learning opportunities. Emphasis is placed on investigative learning opportunities to help children gain a coherent knowledge of understanding of each area covered throughout their time at school. Children will deepen their understanding of: the interaction between physical and human processes and how this affects landscapes and environments; location and place knowledge beginning with their locality then spreading to the wider world. The geography curriculum is taught in response to driving questions which are aimed to be challenging, exciting, creative, nurturing and encourage active learning. The children will revisit geographical skills and knowledge in order to embed and deepen understanding and build upon geographical vocabulary, wherever possible, this will be facilitated through high quality field work and sensory experiences. We ensure that educational visits and visiting experts enhance the learning experiences for the children and promote their curiosity and questioning.
Learning Environment and Immersion
Learning environments across the school are rich with geographical stimuli to encourage learners to explore geography for themselves using key questions, high quality texts and real life experiences, as well as access to a variety maps and globes. Children are supported to become lifelong learners through independent enquiry, discussion and debate alongside the development of oracy skills. Cultural capital is built through educational visits to various sites within the local area, as well as opportunities to explore and ask questions about real life artefacts and photographs, to support learners to identify the impact of geography on lives today and for the future.
Assessment for Learning
Geography assessment is evidenced through the use of progression of skills, knowledge and vocabulary maps and each year group’s planning curriculum journals. These are used to inform the medium term planning and learning journey across a half term and map coverage across the year as well as including the children’s agency and their questions, interests and experiences. Learners are provided with opportunities to record their learning in a range of ways to demonstrate their understanding and application of skills through video clips, annotated photographs, extended writing and artwork to ensure that their understanding can be accurately assessed. Feedback is given individually within a lesson to ensure that learning is progressing and misconceptions are addressed at the earliest point. Short term planning is personalised and planned for using the progression of geography skills, knowledge and vocabulary map to ensure next steps for learning are addressed promptly and learning is accelerated.
Monitoring and review
The Geography leader is responsible for ensuring that the geography curriculum is continuously being monitored and reviewed. This is organised through lesson ‘pop ins’, subject book looks, gathering pupil agency and through whole school CPE throughout the academic year. Ongoing analysis of outcomes enables the Geography leader to identify vulnerable groups, as well as groups of children who are expected to achieve age related expectations at greater depth, in order to provide feedback for teaching staff to enable them to target particular groups in their future planning. Children’s views of geography, interests and learning experiences are valued across the school and are reflected through the curriculum planning journals, which empower the children to share their learning, as well as using their own books during pupil voice opportunities. These are a useful tool to enable children to identify links and make connections with prior learning and knowledge and to celebrate and enjoy sharing what they have learnt.
