Geography Learning at Batchley First School
Vision Statement
Our geography curriculum incorporates fundamental geographical knowledge, allowing pupils to build on a firm foundation in future years, and teachers continuously assess how well children are improving to inform subsequent planning.
Knowledge organisers are shared at the start of every unit and throughout. Vocabulary is taught explicitly with opportunities provided for deliberate practice. Units move outwards from the familiar to the less familiar.
Each year group builds upon concepts, vocabulary and knowledge that is capitalised on in subsequent years, laying important foundations of much of their future geographical learning. An awareness of the geography diet they will encounter at middle school has also influenced our design.
The units taught in each year develop from previous learning, so pupils can approach these complex topics with a great depth and breadth of knowledge.
Progression is a cumulative experience of developing substantive knowledge (the “know what”), whilst using and applying disciplinary and procedural knowledge (the “know how to”) gained and made secure by repeated practice in different contexts.
Learning is further embedded by the application of, and the developing forward from, what has previously been learned and remembered into new concepts and contexts, whilst also revisiting key concepts previously studied.
Our Batchley Geographers…
- Are curious and fascinated by the world.
- Have a sense of their own place through studying the local area and their ancestry.
- Develop an appreciation for, and knowledge of, various places.
- Can determine the uniqueness of places.
- Understand how places connect to one another.
- Gain knowledge of how human and physical features affect the environment.
- Can expertly think, explore, interpret, present, and apply their knowledge of geographical processes.
At Batchley, we want our children to show inquisitiveness that will be with them for the rest of their lives; to ask questions and to learn about the diversity of people, places, natural and human environments around them. This vision is achieved by:
- Promoting curiosity and a fascination of the world
- Encouraging children to become responsible, global citizens
- Equipping children with the skills to navigate and explore
In the Early Years, it is the first opportunity to see how a child interacts with their environment and how the environment influences them. Staff follow the Early Learning Goals (ELG), which aim to guide children to make sense of their physical world and their community through exploration, observation and understanding of people, places, technology, and the environment. This is the first step to becoming a geographer.
In Key stage 1 & 2, staff follow the National Curriculum, and the meticulously planned Medium Term Plans created for each year group, to provide ways in which they can help the pupils meet their expected goals by providing:
- Knowledge that they need to understand geographical concepts.
- Vocabulary they need to articulate their understanding of geography.
- Deliberate Practise that will help them to make progress towards the milestones.
Knowledge