Geography

Curriculum Intent

At Perrymount, ourgeography curriculum is designed to develop geographical concepts, knowledge and skills. By providing carefully sequenced lessons, learning will be revisited, deepened to support progress. These knowledge centred activities are designed to inspire and ignite children’s curiosity, provoke and answer questions about the natural and human worlds, using different scales of enquiry.

The geography curriculum will be fully-inclusive curriculum allowing for the individual needs of pupils in each class. In this way, disadvantaged children, or children with SEND or EAL are able to develop their geographical knowledge and skills, applying what they know and can do with increasing fluency and independence. Children also learn and revisit the importance of our world and how it should be treated through our Values and PHSE teaching.

The explicit teaching of key geographical knowledge and language is revisited frequently, to make learning memorable, relevant and fixed in pupil’s long-term memory. This will enable the children to support our aim of helping children remember more, understand more and constantly build on previous knowledge.

Our Geography curriculum celebrates our diverse community and its different culturally significant places. Children will relate locational knowledge to the impact not only of their immediate lives and cultural identity, but to their community and our British values. We also focus on current world events to develop knowledge of the world and all the things that might affect pupil’s lives.

Curriculum Implementation

Although cross-curricular links are often made, geography is taught as a discrete subject so to ensure coverage. Lessons are carefully planned in terms of progression, depth, appropriate geographical skills, knowledge and understanding suited to each age group      

Knowledge organisers are produced which outline the progressive and sequential knowledge (including rich vocabulary) all children must master and apply during each block of lessons so to ensure previous learning is revisited and new learning is retained.

Planning and delivery ensures:

• Where appropriate, links with other areas of the curriculum are used to provide a more meaningful, enhanced learning experience.
• Teachers have identified the key knowledge and skills of each blocked topic and theses are mapped across the school, ensuring that knowledge builds progressively and that children develop skills systematically. 
• A ‘hook’ is created at the start of the topic so to create a learning buzz.
• Lesson starters include ‘sticky knowledge quizzes’ so to support learners’ ability to retain information.
• Moral Challenge questions enable pupils to apply their learning in a philosophical/open manner.
• Where possible, arranging field trips and visiting experts to enhance the learning experience.
• Children work independently, in table groups, peer support or with 1:1 adult support given where required.
• A range of equipment and resources are available to ensure success for all pupils.
• Teacher assessment to quickly identify any child who requires additional support in specific skills.