Intent

The Geography curriculum at Riverley Primary School has been designed with the intent that all children will have exposure to a wide range of physical and human geographical knowledge. We intend for our children to become mindful of their environment and the world. Lessons incorporate a high level of challenge through the facilitation of learning experiences and opportunities are given to make links between other subjects, such as the STEM and the Arts field, to create curious, critical and self-reflective learners. Furthermore, we have designed a curriculum which is tailored to the needs and interests of our children and reflects the diversity of our community. We want to encourage our students to have a deep understanding of their local environment and the diverse surroundings in the wider world, with appreciation to human and physical characteristics. We value Outdoor Learning as a means of immersing the children in ‘real life’ contexts so that they may discover as well as problem solve. We intend to increase our children’s cultural capital with a vast range of rich experiences, utilizing resources and expertise across the Griffin community.

We will deliver a curriculum that will:

• inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people
• develop cross curricular links and strengthen further links with the local and wider community and global world
• allow children to build on prior learning about physical and human processes and the formation and use of landscapes and environments
• cultivate an understanding that the Earth’s features are interconnected and change over time
• encourage exploration of their own environment and challenges pupils to make connections between their local surroundings and that of contrasting settlements
• use the local area and community to develop geographical skills and knowledge
• equip children with the knowledge about diverse people, places, resources, physical and human environments with a sound understanding of the Earths key physical processes.

Implementation

The Geography curriculum is monitored by the subject lead to promote continuous improvement by reviewing, evaluating, sharing best practice as well as undertaking continuous professional development (CPD) to stay at the forefront of developments within the subject. Teachers are supported by the Geography lead with the planning and delivery of an engaging curriculum. Pupil voice and a collaborative approach are the driving forces to learning walks, book evaluations and discussions around teaching and learning, which take place frequently throughout the academic year.

All planning is informed by two fundamental, complimentary tenets: 1) to develop technical skill and 2) to acquire geographical knowledge. Teachers plan lessons following our progression of skills and detailed medium term planning documents. Through this approach, lessons allow children to build upon prior knowledge. The Curriculum is organised into four main themes: geographic and skills fieldwork; locational knowledge; human and physical; and place knowledge for each year group.

Learning is supported through the use of knowledge organisers which enables children to retain new facts and vocabulary. Knowledge organisers are used for pre-teaching and form a part of our prep for learning tasks, at home. They are also explicitly referenced throughout the unit of work so that pupils connect new and existing facts and develop a fluency of knowledge. Through the facilitation of learning experiences, teachers plan lessons around technical skills and provide opportunities for cross-curricular links in lessons. Children have many opportunities to apply their core subject skills to their Geography lessons as they present their findings in a range of ways such as creating graphs or writing explanation texts. Our children present their learning within their Big Books, filled with A3 blank pages. This develops children’s creativity as they explore and display their learning in a way that is individual to them.

Geography is taught through a teaching sequence that begins with Big Questions linked to our overarching theme. This approach cultivates curious, critical and reflective learners as children make connections between new and existing knowledge. Through the explicit teaching of oracy, our children speak clearly and articulately when discussing and debating topics. The characteristics of effective learning, which we have rebranded as Learning in The Deep, also support the children’s ability to describe their learning as they play and explore, develop active learning and think creatively and critically. As a result, our children value the process of their learning as well as the outcome.

At Riverley, we celebrate and enjoy learning of the diverse communities that make up the planet and how people have used the lands that they inhabit. Children are exposed to a range of different geographical cultures and societies, allowing them to see representation that reflects the wonderfully diverse community we live in. Reaching far and wide across the world, we have partnered with schools in different countries to explore similarities and differences as we collaborate to understand the human geography of the world.

Fieldwork and map work is key in allowing pupils to explore their local area and apply the skills learnt. We utilize the natural outdoors to develop children’s geographic understanding in maps and fieldwork, discovering routes and recognizing landmarks. Regular school trips to museums and our local area are carefully planned for to widen our children’s horizons. From visiting our local marshes to develop map and fieldwork, to visiting the Greenwich Maritime Museum to understand time zones as well as imports and exports, these experiences provide real –life opportunities for children to develop and extend their geographical thinking.

Pupil leaders support the teaching and learning of Geography as our children ensure that our curriculum reflects their needs and interests of our children. Our Creative Arts Pupil leadership team, including a family representative, provides opportunities for our children to develop leadership skills through a variety of projects associated with ensuring High Achievement, establishing Proud Traditions and Widening Horizons for our entire school community. Our children use the power of their voices to describe changes we can make to the world as a result of their geographical learning, channelling this through their weekly Citizenship clubs.

Impact

Our children leave Riverley with a sense of belonging, championing our Riverley values of Creativity, Ambition, Responsibility and Empathy; this is evident in their work as critical thinkers, problem solvers and collaborators in Geography. Children have developed into keen geographers who are fascinated and curious about the world and the careers in the field.

Our children know no limits and feel inspired to understand more about how they can contribute to their community as town planners, conservationists, climatologists or weather forecasters. They are secure in the geographical skills and knowledge that they have acquired during their time at Riverley and this is evident in the high quality work produced.

Protective of their environment, our children value nature and keep up to date with current affairs about the world and how it can change over time due to its ever-changing physical and human geography. Our children leave as responsible global citizens who are ready to apply the breadth and depth of their skills and the knowledge to the next stage of their education as well as equipped with the ability to make positive contributions to society.

Curriculum Documents