Summary of Intent

We want our children to experience a broad and balanced curriculum, developing a sense of place underpinned by core geography knowledge.

We want our children to develop their understanding of big geographical ideas, their values, and attitudes.

We want our children to be able to encounter a rich variety of experiences and a range of environments to widen their horizons and make learning memorable.

We want to inspire our children to have a lifelong love of learning and to understand the broad range of opportunities that are available to them.

We want our children to become active global citizens, contributing to their communities and the wider society.

What (subject name) looks like at Casterton Primary Academy

At Casterton, we have an enquiry led approach to learning, where students engage with questions about people, society, environment and the planet. Children will be taught to explore place and space, recognising the great differences in cultures, political systems, economies, landscapes and environments across the world, and explore the links between them.

We have developed our curriculum content using the programmes of study from the National Curriculum. Bigger concepts are developed through our teaching so that as students deepen their knowledge, they gradually gain understanding and learn to think geographically. Positive values and attitudes are also embedded in our learning.

Concepts, knowledge, skills, values and attitudes are planned in a progression from Reception to Year Six, with the aim of developing children with a love of Geography and inspired to be curious, interested and knowledgeable about the World.

Our students have opportunities to make sense of new information through active construction of new knowledge, relating it to what they already know.

Our enquiry led approach requires children to use a range of information sources, with an emphasis on maps, photographs and the outdoors. Children are encouraged to consider the usefulness of different types of information and gradually move towards choosing their own sources. Lessons require students to identify, assimilate, analyse and communicate data of various kinds, including maps, diagrams, numbers, graphs or images, using information technology, contributing to structured talk and writing for a variety of purposes.

Our children are encouraged to produce the highest standards of work, including reading, writing and maths skills within geography as well as the knowledge and skills required for the subject itself.

School showcases the achievements of parents, pupil’s siblings and other members of our community to inspire and promote a love of lifelong learning.

How Geography develops in EYFS and transitions into KS1

In EYFS, children are guided to make sense of their physical world and their community

through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places and the environment.

They begin to develop their geographical knowledge by exploring features of our school to gain a secure knowledge of distance, orientation, space and positioning.

Maps, images, video and stories are used to investigate different places as we begin to compare and contrast different environments.

Children transferring to KS1 will have a firm foundation of geographical skills and vocabulary with a developing knowledge of the wider world.

Planning Expectations

The Long Term Plans

These show the topics we have to cover, grouped into a 2-year cycle; Year A and Year B.

The long term plan also identifies a ‘big question’ for each topic that the children will work towards answering during the unit of work.? The geography topics cover 3 half terms during the year.

The Medium Term Plans

For each unit taught, the Medium Term plan will identify prior learning, vocabulary to be taught, key learning, geographical skills, links to the ‘World of Work’ and opportunities for enrichment. Teaching and Learning will closely reflect these plans.

Non-negotiables

• The ‘Big Question’ at the beginning of each unit of work.?
• A knowledge organiser is needed for each topic to show the story of the topic and to facilitate recall.
• Each week a smaller question will help to focus that lesson’s work.
•  High standards of presentation.
• Work is recorded in topic books. Practical work can be noted in a sentence with the learning objective.
• Objectives linked to geographical learning.? Work needs to be marked against geographical objectives.?

Adapting the (subject) curriculum for children with SEND

Children with SEND access the same areas of the geography curriculum as their peers.

• In some activities, pupils with SEND will be able to take part in the same way as their peers.
• In others, some modifications or adjustments will need to be made to include everyone.

For some activities, teachers may need to provide a parallel activity for pupils with SEND so that they can work towards the same lesson objectives as their peers but in a different way.

For example, for children with specific difficulties with reading, writing and mathematical skills, resources are adapted to overcome possible barriers to learning. Peer working or support staff may be used to assist pupils with different ways of recording and presenting their ideas and understanding such as scribing, annotating photographs or making short video or audio clips.

Specific vocabulary may need to be taught prior to the lesson.

For example, a child with visual impairment may use texts that have been enlarged or produced in braille and diagrams that have been embossed. Where possible, real things will be used rather than pictures.

• Some pupils with SEND will have to work on different activities or towards different objectives from their peers.

Children Who Require Different Objectives

Before teaching a new unit, teachers will always check that the children have the prior learning needed to undertake new learning.

For pupils who are working significantly below year group expectations, teachers will identify the prior learning using the progression of knowledge in geography and the progression of working scientifically skills. Class teachers select appropriate objectives and ways of working for individuals and design learning tasks to match these. Objectives selected will build on the prior learning of the child and will provide challenge to move the children’s learning forward.

Assessment

Teachers will be using formative assessment, using the learning objectives from that lesson, to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used to inform the next steps of learning.

Summative assessments are made at the end of each topic, using the assessment criteria for that topic. The assessments are recorded on the MT plan and then on the Target Tracker. This information is used when planning the next topic.

Curriculum Enrichment

We want our children to be able to encounter a rich variety of experiences to widen their horizons and make learning memorable. Fieldwork goes some way towards providing this we also ensure we visit a range of environments, use a wide range of objects, visitors, books and visual resources.