Curriculum statement for the teaching and learning of Geography
Intent
At Church Walk C.E. Primary School, our geography provision aims to teach our children to engage in an ever-changing world where it is increasingly important to have an understanding of our local environment as well as the world around us. It is our intention to enable children to create thought-provoking questions about the world around them, as well as facilitating them to find out the answers to questions about both 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 Church Walk is designed to enable children to develop knowledge and skills that are progressive and transferable to other curriculum areas. 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. Geography skills are a major factor in enabling children to be confident, creative and independent learners and it is our intention that children have every opportunity available to allow them to achieve this.
Church Walk pupils will be taught how to use a range of geographical resources which will enable them to develop a range of skills, such as mapping and investigative skills. Pupils will use a range of maps as well as technology to explore the world around them. The skills the pupils learn will be transferrable and will support them as they look at a wide range of resources which are key to the study of the subject.
Pupils are given regular opportunities to apply the skills that they have been taught to support their learning in our other curriculum subjects. Throughout their time at Church Walk, children will apply their geographical skills to a range of maps that will become more complex and detailed. They will also apply their expanding knowledge of geographical vocabulary to practical, investigative and written tasks.
Pupils will understand and use a range of appropriate geographical vocabulary, including what is associated with human and physical geography,
e.g. trade, distribution, environment, biomes, longitude and latitude.
                                                                                                   
      
                         

We often use the grounds at Ford Park
 
Implementation
Curriculum Approach
Pupils engage at regular opportunities within geography lessons and are guided, supported and stretched through the topics which build upon previously learned knowledge and skills.
Pupils working at greater depth are able to broaden their knowledge and skills within these units. They will be encouraged to use a wider range of geographical language, as well as being given opportunities to form their own opinions on a location or debate, using the geographical facts they have learned.
The geography skills for each year group are best linked to the topics that are being studied and links are often made across the wider curriculum. Skills established in geography lessons are used throughout the curriculum to support and enhance the learning, e.g. using language for debate when studying rainforests and the use of directional language in maths.
External resources
Pupils are taught about the local environment and are given opportunities to investigate and make links to the wider world. Children are encouraged to compare different localities as well as identifying similarities and differences between them.
Links to external agencies/trips/visitors:
- Visits to the local area as part of a study about Our Town, linked with history (Year 1/ 2)
- Visits to Walney and Coniston Coppermines Year3/4)
-Viking visitor to Year 3/ 4
- Use of map reading skills at Coniston Water Park residential trip (Year 4 / 5)
- Orienteering Units in P.E. (Juniors)
- Cross-curricular links with history – children visit the local area to develop understanding of local surroundings and how they have changed over time.
-Residential trip to Liverpool (Year 6), including a trip on the River Mersey and International Slavery Museum (links to both physical and human geography).
-Trip to Roanhead, linking with work about Coasts (Year 5/6)
-Link to Dandii Boru School, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia through the Connecting Classrooms project. Children are supported in working collaboratively on identified Sustainable Development Goals.
-Links to CDEC and use of their resource boxes.
-Links with church and the wider community, particularly through our Fairtrade work.
SMSC
Our geography curriculum develops the pupil’s knowledge of the local community and the wider world. We provide an opportunity for learners to
establish their place within the world whilst developing an understanding of other cultures and a tolerance for those that are different to ours. Pupils
have a sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them, with a willingness to reflect on their
experience.
Thoughtful Questioning
Questions are woven through the planning for the units of work allowing pupils to think deeply and logically about their work at hand. Pupils working towards the learning expectations are supported through careful questioning and peer support. All pupils ask questions at the beginning of a unit and are encouraged to ask questions as their knowledge and skills develop throughout a unit.
Local Context
Our curriculum weaves local geography through all year groups. Reception locate local landmarks and carry out geography work on our field. Year 1 and 2 look at Our Town and find about about features of the locality, including the canal, Hoad Hill and Sir John Barrow monument. Year 3  & 4 learn about Walney, Coniston and River Ure (The Gill).  Year 5 study coasts to understand links between physical and human geography. Pupils can develop their learning from previous year groups.  Year 1 and 2 pupils can compare areas in Kenya to Ulverston. Year 3 and 4 visit Walney island and Coniston Coppermines. Year 6 pupils are able to compare and contrast the geography of Liverpool to our local area, in their residential trip and compare areas in Eastern Europe and USA.
Residential opportunities, where students are immersed in new environments are offered in Y4,5 and Y6. Opportunities will be provided where students will navigate new surroundings and will learn to apply map reading skills.
 
 
Resources
Pupils are able to access a selection of resources including maps, atlases and digital tools, such as Google Earth & OS teaching resources. We have resources available that allow children to investigate the local area and identify how the community has changed. Children are supported in navigating new resources and are then encouraged to use resources with increasing independence and with more critical judgement and awareness as they progress through the school.
Sharing work
Pupils’ work in geography is recorded in geography books and is shared between pupils and staff.  Occasionally, geography work is shown in assemblies alongside other curricular subjects. Learning can be responsibly shared online with parents, by using Tapestry, Microsoft Teams and Purple Mash platforms. Work on our whole school Connecting Classrooms project is regularly shared with our partner school in Ethiopia and members of our local cluster schools. This has also been shared in local media.
Children get a chance to work on projects using a range of media, and are able to share their findings using word processing and PowerPoint skills.

Impact
By the end of the key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the subject of geography programme of study.
 
KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
Pupils understand where their knowledge fits into the outside world and why it is important to develop their geography knowledge and skills.
Pupils are able to articulate themselves using acquired vocabulary from the geography unit modules. Pupils are provided with opportunities to discuss their knowledge verbally as well as presenting what they know in written forms too.
Pupils are able to apply their skills to investigate new geographical locations and explain how and why they have reached that conclusion. Pupils are confident at explaining their work to people and their work is at an expected or greater standard. Within the Geography curriculum, there are opportunities for all to demonstrate their skills, including through written evidence, as well as more practical and investigative tasks.
Pupils have developed their ideas to and beyond the expected standard for the end of unit expectations. Pupils are confident in explaining their thoughts and feelings about their work and are reflective about their working process. Some children are then able to use their skills and knowledge and make links across other topics and other curriculum areas. Through reflecting on the subject, children are then able to self-identify what skills they would then like to improve and develop.

Geography Scheme of work

 

Planting bulbs in the Church yard for the Spring garden.

 
Resources
Pupils are able to access a selection of resources including maps, atlases and digital tools, such as Google Earth & OS teaching resources. We have resources available that allow children to investigate the local area and identify how the community has changed. Children are supported in navigating new resources and are then encouraged to use resources with increasing independence and with more critical judgement and awareness as they progress through the school.
Sharing work
Pupils’ work in geography is recorded in geography books and is shared between pupils and staff.  Occasionally, geography work is shown in assemblies alongside other curricular subjects. Learning can be responsibly shared online with parents, by using Tapestry, Microsoft Teams and Purple Mash platforms. Work on our whole school Connecting Classrooms project is regularly shared with our partner school in Ethiopia and members of our local cluster schools. This has also been shared in local media.
Children get a chance to work on projects using a range of media, and are able to share their findings using word processing and PowerPoint skills.
Impact
By the end of the key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the subject of geography programme of study.
 
KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
Pupils understand where their knowledge fits into the outside world and why it is important to develop their geography knowledge and skills.
Pupils are able to articulate themselves using acquired vocabulary from the geography unit modules. Pupils are provided with opportunities to discuss their knowledge verbally as well as presenting what they know in written forms too.
Pupils are able to apply their skills to investigate new geographical locations and explain how and why they have reached that conclusion. Pupils are confident at explaining their work to people and their work is at an expected or greater standard. Within the Geography curriculum, there are opportunities for all to demonstrate their skills, including through written evidence, as well as more practical and investigative tasks.
Pupils have developed their ideas to and beyond the expected standard for the end of unit expectations. Pupils are confident in explaining their thoughts and feelings about their work and are reflective about their working process. Some children are then able to use their skills and knowledge and make links across other topics and other curriculum areas. Through reflecting on the subject, children are then able to self-identify what skills they would then like to improve and develop.

Global Awareness - Connecting Classrooms

Fairtrade

 We are becoming more fairtrade aware and hold events during Fairtrade Fortnight.