Geography Vision Statement

Intent

At Stoke Park Junior School we aim to develop children's curiosity in both their immediate surroundings and in places and environments in the wider world. As geographers our children will learn to value the world around them as well as their more immediate locality through questioning, understanding and appreciation. Our purpose is to foster an interest, fascination and desire to investigate a variety of human and physical characteristics of different places, both local and afar, through purposeful research and careful questioning.

As geographers, pupils are exposed to a rich and balanced curriculum that provides them with essential component knowledge and new vocabulary. They will deepen their knowledge of people, places, human and physical geographical features through progression of skills and knowledge. To be well rounded citizens, we believe children need to understand the differences between places and their cultures and be able to recognise how these change over time. We provide children with many opportunities to use a range of geographical skills to help them understand, present, analyse and communicate a range of information either collaboratively or as an individual. These skills are put into practice both inside and outside the classroom through local fieldwork and trips.

Implementation

We aim to offer all children enquiry led learning opportunities, fieldwork, map work and experiences, which help them to grow and develop as individuals and as members of our wider community. Our geography curriculum encourages children to value and be curious and fascinated about the world and its people.

Children are given the opportunity to travel the globe; visiting continents through carefully planned half-termly units. It aims to equip children with the knowledge and understanding of the world, people, places and environment and develop respect and appreciation for all cultures. It enables children to extend their knowledge beyond the United Kingdom and develop an insight into the links between physical and human processes and how landscapes and environments around the world have changed and continue to change over time. It will help them to make progress in terms of geographical knowledge and skills during their time at Stoke Park Junior School. Our geography curriculum includes purposeful links (where appropriate) to our history curriculum.

Impact

Through our geography curriculum, we  offer high quality, well planned and progressive lessons. Geographical questioning supports pupils to gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of the world and its people.  By introducing children to conceptual themes through ‘Key Questions’, we assess children’s geographical understanding and identify areas to encourage deeper learning. Through our curriculum, pupils learn to think critically and ask perceptive questions. In order to ensure our aims and intent have been met, we scrutinise what children have learnt through:

• Assessing children’s knowledge of key component learning
• Assessing the quality of children’s responses of ‘Key Questions’
• Assessing children’s understanding of topic linked vocabulary
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice conversations)
• Moderation and scrutiny of pupil’s books and professional dialogue between teachers to assess the quality of children’s learning
• Sharing good practice in staff meetings
• Marking and purposeful feedback of written work in books using the school’s marking policy

Our aim is for children to leave Key Stage 2 competent in the geographical skills needed to collect, analyse and communicate data, and to interpret a range of geographical sources, including maps, globes and aerial photographs. Through the breadth and depth offered within our geography curriculum our children are provided with a broad knowledge of the world they live in, and understand (as responsible citizens) how they need to care and preserve the planet for future generations. This will help them aspire to protect the environment around them and in the wider world.