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Geography

Statement of Intent - Geography 

“Geography explains the past, illuminates the present and prepares us for the future. What could be more important than that?”  - Michael Palin 

'Geography prepares young people with the knowledge, skills and understanding to make sense of their world and to face the challenges that will shape our societies and environments at the local, national and global scales'. - Dr Rita Gardner, Director, RGS-IBG quoted in A Different View (GA, 2009) 

 At St. John the Baptist Primary School, we believe the children should leave our school fascinated by the wonders of our amazing planet and with a curiosity to further explore its human and physical features. We aim to develop children's curiosity in both their immediate surroundings and in places and environments in the wider world that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Geography plays an important part in this as it can inspire children to think about their own place in the world, their values, and their rights and responsibilities to other people and the environment. Our purpose is to spark and instil an interest to investigate a variety of human and physical characteristics of different places, both local and distant, through research and careful questioning. 

To be well-rounded citizens, we believe children need to understand the differences between places and their cultures and be able to recognise how these change over time. Geography will teach our children to appreciate the diversity in the world among its people and environments, developing tolerance, respect and compassion towards their global community.  

 We provide children with many opportunities to use a range of geographical skills to help them understand, present, analyse and communicate a range of information either collaboratively or as an individual. These skills are put into practice both inside and outside the classroom through local fieldwork and trips. 

 The aims of teaching geography at our school are:  

  • To provide our pupils with a deep understanding of the Earths key physical and human features and processes. 

  • To provide opportunities for children to undertake geographical enquiry and skills by investigating and expressing their own views about people, places and environments, both in and outside the classroom.  

  • To develop the skills of interpreting a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and digital technology.  

  • To discuss world news items as they arise in our class assemblies. 

  • To help children understand how the human and physical features of a place can change over time and teach children to collect and analyse evidence and draw conclusions. 

  • To enable children to develop their geographical skills (including fieldwork) throughout their school journey.  

  • To gain enjoyment and curiosity for finding out about places, patterns and processes. 

IMPLEMENTATION

We teach the National Curriculum Key Stage One and Key Stage Two, supported by a clear skills and knowledge progression. This ensures that skills and knowledge are built on year by year and sequenced appropriately to maximise learning for all children. Key geographical knowledge and language (such as, the name and location of continents, countries, capital cities and oceans) is revisited frequently, to make learning memorable, relevant and easy to retrieve. The Early Years Foundation Stage framework is followed by our reception children. 

It is important that children develop the skills of a geographer by fully immersing them in all areas of the subject. The local area is utilised to achieve desired outcomes, with opportunities for learning outside the classroom embedded in practise. School trips and fieldwork are provided to give first hand experiences, which enhance children’s understanding of the world beyond their locality. 

Through our geography curriculum, children have opportunities to investigate and interpret a range of geographical locations in Britain and across the wider world. We encourage children to become geographers through collecting, analysing and communicating through discussion using our findings.  

IMPACT

By the time children leave St John the Baptist school they will:  

  • Have a growing knowledge of the world and their place in it. 

  • Have an excellent knowledge of where places are and what they are like. 

  • Have a wider vocabulary of geographical terms. 

  • Develop their geographical skills, such as, evaluation, creativity, problem solving and enquiry. 

  • Have an excellent understanding of the ways in which places are interdependent and interconnected and how much human and physical environments are interrelated. 

  • Be fluent in geographical enquiry and the ability to apply questioning skills and use effective analytical and presentational techniques. 

  • Be highly developed and frequently utilised fieldwork and other geographical skills and techniques. 

  • Have a passion for and commitment to the subject, and a real sense of curiosity to find out about the world and the people who live there. 

  • Have the ability to express well-balanced opinions, rooted in very good knowledge and understanding about current and contemporary issues in society and the environment.