Geography Curriculum Offer
At Crowcombe & Stogumber C of E Primary Schools we strive to deliver a geography curriculum that encourages pupils’ curiosity and fascination about the world and its people. We help children develop a sense of place along with a range of investigative and problem-solving skills, both inside and outside the classroom. We aim to equip them with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As the children progress into Key Stage 2, their knowledge and understanding of different landscapes and environments broadens and they explore the Earth’s features at different scales, appreciating how the Earth has been shaped, interconnected and changed over time.
Our geography curriculum links to our school values of generosity, optimism, determination, curiosity and courage by inspiring our pupils to explore environmental issues, form their values as global citizens and understand their rights and responsibilities, within their locality and wider world. Learning Outside the Classroom is a vital facet of our curriculum and is embedded throughout year groups and subjects. For Geography to be taught effectively it is vital that aspects are experienced in context and in situ and so teaching across the school is enriched through the use of focused external visits. Forest school sessions on the school site as well as fieldwork trips within the local area ensure the children have the opportunity to put their geographical skills and locational knowledge into practice. Each term we gather as in a whole school in a local forestry estate or in the AONB on our doorstep. Here we deliver cross curricular content, often in mixed age groups, but always with a focus on developing our pupils’ sense of place, space, scale and other geographical concepts. As the children continue on their journey through primary school, returning to these outdoor spaces with new eyes and with new skills not only develops their sense of place in this world but also strengthens their bonds with it. We can truly love a thing as we come to understand it, and to understand something we must first know it. We aspire for our pupils to love the world they live in and to appreciate that it will change over =me. They learn that some changes they can influence and others they cannot, and being able to think geographically will give our pupils some of the wisdom required to make good, healthy choices in their lives. Our pupils draw comparisons between their own environment and the wider world, as well as considering similarities and differences between themselves and others and learn to celebrate these and understand how they belong to a global community. We encourage pupils to consider their impact on the environment and how they can care for the world around them through our school ethos, school council, community involvement and geography studies.
Children in our reception class begin to explore basic geographical and fieldwork skills in the form of map reading, following 1 and 2 step instructions and observing their environment. From this early stage we introduce pupils to the diversity of the world we live in, whilst supporting pupils in describing their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fic=on texts and maps. Pupils begin to learn to explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries. An introduction to early map work supports pupils in understanding what a map is and how to use them, ready for later Map and Fieldwork skills in KS1 & KS2. Understanding of their immediate surroundings acts as a precursor to drawing comparisons between different places and helps pupils begin to understand the concepts of climate change, healthy living, caring for the world around us and global citizenship.
In Key Stage One pupils follow a two year curriculum rolling programme that builds on their learning in the early years. In-depth studies of the locality of our two villages, identifying landmarks, exploring physical and human features and devising simple maps and keys enables pupils to engage in hands on experiences that develop their understanding of their immediate location. In-depth study of the British Isles, through focusing on naming, locating and identifying the main characteristics of the 4 countries, provides locational context for pupils, broadening their knowledge and experience beyond their immediate locality. Knowledge of the continents and oceans enables pupils to place themselves in the wider world and begin to draw comparisons between their own lives and those around the globe. Studying cloud types and the Beaufort scale, whilst recording local weather patterns, as well as gaining basic compass skills, introduces key geographical skills that pupils will further develop in KS2. Exploring early settlements through the topic of castles starts our pupils on their journey of understanding societies’ needs for security, trade and resources. As pupils gain knowledge of the wider world they can engage in detailed comparative studies through their work comparing Stogumber and Tanjeh, enabling pupils to draw comparisons and make observations between rural life in England and rural life in our Gambian partner town. The diversity of experiences studied, including cultural festivals, climate, language and settlements, enables pupils to deepen their understanding of their role within our world, introducing geographical comparisons across the globe. Communication with their Gambian penpals helps forge a sense of belonging to our global community and allows information to flow from one “horse’s mouth” to another! Highlighting physical and human features that are similar and different to those in the UK introduces pupils to how physical geography influences human decisions and success and builds on their knowledge and understanding of their role as global citizens.
In Lower Key Stage Two pupils follow a two year curriculum rolling programme, further developing their knowledge and understanding of different places around the world and the geographical significance of the similarities and differences between these places. Pupils deepen their knowledge and understanding of the regions across the UK including exploring the capital city of London, and the pre-historic Scottish village of Skara Brae, which, when combined with local field study, enables pupils to secure their knowledge of settlement, population and diversity. Pupils are provided with the opportunity to look in-depth at similarities and differences between the UK and other European countries by completing a self-chosen geographical enquiry, exploring the environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics and major cities of their chosen place.
Pupils explore a variety of mapping techniques, developing their map and fieldwork skills including the use of compasses and grid references. They develop their use of maps, atlases, globes and digital mapping through an in-depth study of Greece, deepening their understanding of other countries around the world and their understanding of physical geographic features and land pa[erns, how these have influenced aspects of our world and trade & commerce, and how these have changed over =me. Study of tourism and coastal settlements looks at climate change and its effect on the weather. Knowledge of key physical geographical aspects such as volcanoes, mountains and earthquakes, deepens knowledge and understanding of how natural disasters have an impact on the human and physical world and helps pupils to describe and understand key aspects of physical geography and how these impact human geography. Through their geography work pupils will develop their understanding the water cycle, including the study of a local river, which supports their understanding of the relationship between geographical processes, landforms and people, and enables them to draw comparisons between our locality and regions across the UK.
In Upper Key Stage Two pupils follow a two year rolling programme which builds on pupils’ knowledge of a variety of mapping techniques, including digital and computer based mapping, depth of locational knowledge and field work skills essential for a confident geographer. Developing pupils’ understanding of climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts aids their knowledge of the human impact on ecosystems and the influence this has on changing physical environments, both on a global level and in our local hills, The Quantocks. Focusing on developing fieldwork skills through a detailed local settlement study of Watchet, ensures that pupils are able to understand the status of settlements, leaving pupils with an interest and curiosity about how places change over =me and how they are influenced by key national or infrastructure developments, which secures and consolidates their settlement study skills. Expanding knowledge of UK rivers and mountains ensures pupils have a secure overview of the physical features that influence and shape the UK’s landscapes, both in terms of specific locations and general principles, and that they understand the relationship between geographical processes and landforms and people. Pupils engage in a comparison study of the River Tone and the River Nile which ensures that pupils also appreciate the significance of physical features in shaping human geography on a local and global scale. Using 8-point compass directions, the key, four-figure and six-figure grid references, scale and contour lines enables pupils to explore areas of the globe that they have not been to. The use of digital mapping to investigate an area of the world we cannot visit strengthens locational knowledge, including capital cities, rivers and landmarks. This focuses on developing pupil understanding of a range of geographical maps and understanding how geographical information is communicated. Orienteering helps to hone these skills as pupils interpret an OS map to answer questions about our locality. An in-depth study of North and Central America ensures pupils appreciate the diversity of the population and the rich heritage of cultural diversity of the continent, stretching back over centuries. Pupils study features of human and physical geography, including types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water. Through using a range of skills to analyse and interpret data that shows changes over =me, pupils will become confident in geographical enquiry ready for future geography studies in KS3.
Our curriculum builds on the National Curriculum for geography and its aims to ensure that all pupils:
Generosity Optimism Determination Curiosity Courage