Intent
At St Matthew’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 Matthew’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. The curriculum is designed to ensure that teaching equips pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As pupils progress through the school, their growing knowledge about the world helps them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Geographical knowledge and skills are progressive and are sequenced to provide the framework and approaches that provide explanation of how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time. 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, equipping them well for further education and beyond.
Implementation
Geography at St Matthew is taught in two main blocks throughout the year, so that children can achieve depth in their learning. Teachers have identified the key knowledge and skills of each blocked topic and these are mapped across the school, ensuring that knowledge builds progressively and that children develop skills systematically. Existing knowledge is checked at the beginning of each topic and then at the start of each lesson through a ‘3 questions in 3 minutes’ activity. This ensures that teaching is informed by the children’s starting points and that it takes account of pupil voice, incorporating children’s interests. Tasks are selected and designed to provide appropriate challenges to all learners, in line with the school’s commitment to inclusion. At the end of each topic, key knowledge is reviewed by the children and rigorously checked by the teacher and consolidated as necessary. Cross curricular outcomes in geography are specifically planned for and these are indicated on the whole school Geography Knowledge and Skills Progression Map. The Geography provision is also well resourced and specific resources are mapped to specific year groups and topics to support effective teaching and learning. The local area is fully utilised to achieve the desired outcomes, with the aim of providing extensive opportunities for learning outside the classroom within the next couple of years
Impact
Outcomes in Geography books, evidence a broad and balanced geography curriculum and demonstrate children’s acquisition of identified key knowledge relating to each of the identified national curriculum strands, as appropriate to key stage; locational knowledge, place knowledge and human and physical geography. This is in addition to the development and application of key skills, supported by fieldwork. 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 in addition to developing their spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills. This aspect of the work of the school is also supported through specific drives. These include looking at different languages and celebrating different cultures from around the world. This is touched upon in other subjects. For example, making dishes from other countries in DT. The children also look at the local and wider community, with initiatives such as visiting careers fairs and providing shoe boxes for children in poorer countries. They think about how they can support others in need – for examples the families of Ukraine.
Please see our Geography curriculum documents below:
Bishop Chadwick Trust documents
Geography Curriculum Map Final
5 Geography Teacher Guide 2021 (5)
St Matthew’s documents
