Normanton Altofts Junior School

Geography

Intent

At Altofts Junior School, we strive to enrich our children with an education that inspires, encourages and nurtures children to have a fascination and curiosity about the world we live in. We want to teach our children about the rich diversity of people, places and environments both locally and beyond. Over time, children will develop a greater understanding of the world, as well as their place in it. We want our children to improve their knowledge and show inquisitiveness about the Earth’s key physical and human features as well as developing their map and fieldwork skills. Throughout school, our progressive curriculum is designed to encourage children to grow their knowledge and deepen their understanding of the world around them. We aim to inspire our children to have a sense of environmental responsibility and encourage them to become responsible, global citizens.

Implementation

In order to ensure high standards of teaching and learning in Geography, we follow a progressive and inspiring curriculum. This broad, balanced and differentiated curriculum focuses on the knowledge and skills stated in National Curriculum for KS2.

A blocked curriculum approach has been implemented to ensure a good coverage of knowledge and progression, as well as the development of the key geographical skills of fieldwork and mapping.

A knowledge organiser is used to ensure children can see and refer to the learning that will take place over the unit. Each child has a copy in their book which is referred to when the learning takes place. The knowledge organiser also includes subject specific and age appropriate vocabulary that the children are expected to be able to use.

Teachers use of a wide range of sources to inspire our children. These include maps, globes and atlases as well as fiction and non-fiction books. The school also subscribes to Digimaps which enables staff to use high quality resources to plan and deliver the Geography curriculum. Our cross curricular approach means that the Geographical learning can often be seen in other pieces of work, for example English.

A wide variety of teaching approaches are used, including the use of external providers and fieldtrips where appropriate. The aim of this is to foster in our children an interest and appreciation for the world around them, develop their cultural capital, as well as enhance their learning and progression.

Working walls are used within the classroom to provide an inspiring and supportive learning environment.

Impact

Work in books evidences a broad and balanced geography curriculum and demonstrates children’s acquisition of identified key knowledge.
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.

The impact of the curriculum is monitored through a combination of discussions with pupils and staff, scrutiny of workbooks and lesson observations in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of the quality of the curriculum and highlight areas for further development.