Geography

Intent

At St Joseph's, we believe that Geography helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it. The geography curriculum at St Joseph's enables children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferable to other curriculum areas and which can and are used to promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Geography is, by nature, an investigative subject, which develops an understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills. We seek to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people which will remain with them for the rest of their lives; to promote the children's interest and understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth's key physical and human processes. The curriculum is designed to develop knowledge and skills that are progressive, as well as transferable. Pupils are explicitly taught geographical vocabulary so they can verbalise what they have learnt. At St Joseph's we use fieldwork to enhance learning to make it more memorable. These trips help give children real first-hand experiences of places such as the River Thames and the urban landscape of London.

Implementation

KS1 and KS2 Geography at St Joseph's is taught based on each half-term's topic. This is to ensure that learning is memorable, makes sense and is cohesive with what is being taught across the curriculum. In KS1 and KS2, pupils have 3 half-term Geography units throughout the year. In the EYFS , geography is taught through Birth to Five. Consideration is given to how all pupils will be taught, included and engaged in-line with the school's commitment to inclusion. Cross-curricular outcomes in Geography are specifically planned for, with strong links between geography and Science with fieldwork and investigation. The local area is fully utilised to achieve the desired outcomes, with extensive opportunities for learning outside the classroom embedded in practice. The ability to communicate and verbalise geographical phenomena is essential to enhance learning therefore specific vocabulary is taught and built upon over a unit of work. Currently, we at St Joseph's are in the process of determining progression of vocabulary across the year groups.

Impact

The impact of Geography is measured from pupil's topic and literacy books as well as using teacher judgement from what is verbalised within lessons. Evidence of a broad and balanced geography curriculum demonstrate children's acquisition of identified key knowledge. Teachers assess how well pupils have met each lesson objective in pupil's books using the school's feedback policy. As children progress throughout the school, they develop a deep knowledge, understanding an appreciation of their local area and its place within the wider geographical context. Well-planned school trips provide rich memorable experienced and contextual learning, which enables the children to do more and remember more.