St. Finian's Catholic Primary School

To support our delivery of the Geography curriculum, we follow the Kapow Primary Geography curriculum. 

Our curriculum aims to inspire pupils to become curious and explorative thinkers with a diverse knowledge of the world; in other words, to think like geographers. We want pupils to develop the confidence to ask questions about their locailty and the wider world; observe the human and phyical geography of places; measure and record data from geographical fieldwork and analyse and present their findings. We aim to build an awareness of how Geography shapes our lives at multiple scales and over time. We encourage pupils to become resourceful, active citizens who have the skills to contribute to and improve the world around them, with respectful attitudes as stewards of God's creation.

Our curriculum encourages:  

• A strong focus on developing both geographical skills and knowledge.  
• Critical thinking, with the ability to ask perceptive questions and explain and analyse evidence.  
• The development of fieldwork skills across each year group.  
• A deep interest and knowledge of pupils’ locality and how it differs from other areas of the world.  
• A growing understanding of geographical concepts, terms and vocabulary 

Our Geography curriculum meets the aims of the National Curriculum through the following key strands: Location Knowledge, Place Knowledge, Human and Physical Geography, Geographical Skills and Fieldwork.  

Our curriculum is implemented in the following ways

• Children are introduced to the following key substantive topics: Location, Place, Environmental, Physical and Human geography.
• Geographical key concepts are woven across all units rather than being taught discretely. 
• Locational knowledge, in particular, will be reviewed in each unit to coincide with our belief that this will consolidate children’s understanding of key concepts, such as scale and place, in Geography
• Children develop the following disciplinary knowledge: Space and Place, Scale Connection, Proximity and Distance, Collecting and Interpreting, Earth Systems and Environment, Relational Thinking 
• Open ended enquiry questions form the basis for our learning, meaning that pupils gain a solid understanding of geographical knowledge and skills through application.
• Each unit contains elements of geographical skills and fieldwork to ensure that fieldwork skills are practised as often as possible, following an enquiry cycle that maps out the fieldwork process of question, observe, measure, record, and present.
• Fieldwork includes smaller opportunities on the school grounds to larger-scale visits to investigate physical and human features. Developing fieldwork skills within the school environment and revisiting them in multiple units enables pupils to consolidate their understanding of various methods.
• Learning is enriched with local fieldwork opportnities through organised trips, for example to Rushall Educational Trust.
• We make use of the local human and physical environment, inlcuding regular visits to Bovingdon Farm in Cold Ash, as an additional resource for geographical studies, enabling children to learn more about topography, land use, conservation and sustainability.

By the end of their time at St Finian's, pupils should leave school equipped with a range of skills and knowledge to enable them to study Geography with confidence at Key stage 3. Children are shaped into curious and inspired geographers with respect and appreciation for God's world around them alongside an understanding of the interconnection between the human and the physical.

Children will:

● Compare and contrast human and physical features to describe and understand similarities and differences between various places in the UK, Europe and the Americas.
● Name, locate and understand where and why the physical elements of our world are located and how they interact, including processes over time relating to climate, biomes, natural disasters and the water cycle.
● Understand how humans use the land for economic and trading purposes, including how the distribution of natural resources has shaped this.
● Develop an appreciation for how humans are impacted by and have evolved around the physical geography surrounding them and how humans have had an impact on the environment, both positive and negative.
● Develop a sense of location and place around the UK and some areas of the wider world using the eight-points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and keys on maps, globes, atlases, aerial photographs and digital mapping.
● Include a paragraph that explains your assessment models (AfL), tracking and evidencing progress processes in Geography.
● Identify and understand how various elements of our globe create positioning, including latitude, longitude, the hemispheres, the tropics and how time zones work, including night and day.
● Present and answer their own geographical enquiries using planned and specifically chosen methodologies, collected data and digital technologies.
● Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Geography by the end of Year 2 and Year 6.

Assessment

• Children's progress is constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities.
• Each unit has a skill catcher and knowledge assessment quiz which is used at the end of the unit to provide a summative assessment.
• Opportunities for children to present their findings using their geographical skills will also form part of the assessment process in each unit.