Geography

Our subject Coordinator is Mr M. Ali

Why do we teach what we teach? (Our intent)

Geography is perhaps one of the most versatile and cross curricular subjects there is. We can find links to geography in most areas of the curriculum from poetry, music and art to maths, science and even P.E.! Simply put, Geography is about everything we do and see. From studying the natural world around us to understanding our impact on, responsibility and role in shaping the world in which we live. Geography opens eyes and minds to enable children to grow into caring and responsible members of the world.

At St Mary’s our aim is to create geographers that are inspired, curious and fascinated by the world they live in. To create inquisitive and resilient learners, empowered and equipped to deal with the challenges that lie ahead. We have a collective responsibility and commitment to think of alternative, creative yet sustainable futures, for people and places that we may not have visited or met, ensuring we leave this place better than when we arrived.

Our aim is to create well-rounded global citizens, who are compassionate yet optimistic and respect the complexity of our ever-changing physical world, whilst appreciating the diversity of cultures that exist across continents and using the knowledge gained to bridge divides and bring people together. Our aim is for children to leave St Mary’s with an abundance of transferable skills, with the ability to think critically about the issues facing the world and apply them across a range of geographical scales.

How do we teach it? (Our implementation)

The Geography curriculum has been created to explore big enquiry questions, linking the children’s knowledge and learning across the curriculum and across the key stages.

The golden threads for geography at St Mary's are:

Space
Scale
Interdependence
Physical & Human Processes
Environmental Impact
Sustainable Development
Cultural Awareness
Cultural Diversity

The National Curriculum objectives are split into overarching topics. A detailed progression map has been produced to support teachers to effectively plan and assess Geography. It sets out the learning in key, manageable chunks and details vocabulary that children should be exposed to. It breaks skills from the national curriculum down into each year group and shows how the golden threads are covered.

Our children enjoy learning, both inside and outside of the classroom. In Early Years this might look like exploration of the natural world as well as observation and exploration of the local environment. In KS 1 and 2, we use books and online research in various topics, as well as hands-on practical learning, both in our local environment (school grounds, local parks and town etc.) and in different locations around the country (e.g. Littlehampton and The Seven Sisters Country Park, Sussex).

Children also use a wide range of resources to compare our locality with those that may be different or similar around the world.

What is the difference that this makes? (Our impact)

The impact that learning in Geography makes on children at St Mary’s is not only knowledge gained during their time at school, but also an impact on their lives and roles in society and the world as they leave our school and progress beyond. We want them to understand the complexity of the natural world as well as their own individual, and our corporate roles as stewards of the world we live in. Year-on-year children will be building on prior knowledge and skills to equip them to live in an ever-changing world.