“A map says to you, read me carefully, follow me closely, doubt me not …… I am the earth in the palm of your hands.” Beryl Markham - Kenyan aviator and author

Intent

At Peel Common Junior School, we aim to ensure that all children receive an inclusive Geography education that enables access to the whole KS2 curriculum and develop transferrable skills that they can use throughout their education. We ensure that progression of skills is clear across the whole school as well as clear, differentiated learning within year groups. We aim to teach our children about the world and we want to support them in developing a sense of the world around them and a curiosity for other countries as well as geographical environments and factors.

Implementation

At our school Geography is taught with units which allow a clear progression of skills throughout the year. We ensure that all of the objectives from the primary national curriculum will have been covered by the time the children reach year 6. Each year group takes into account prior learning of the children, including which skills and topics they have already covered. We ensure we are aware of what has been taught in KS1 to ensure we can extend and develop the knowledge they may already have. Our local area is fully utilised to support the desired outcomes of topics covered, we also ensure that the children are able to explore our school grounds to support them and help them to develop their learning journey.

Impact

The children are made aware of their learning journey of the topic they are studying and what the outcome is going to be. We ensure that plenaries are held at the end of each lesson to discuss what has been learnt. The children record what they have learnt in a variety of different ways in their topic books, including through independent, group and whole class work and images and pictures of their learning. Formative assessment takes place during all geography lessons and subsequent lessons are planned in order to ensure progress. At the end of each topic, a formative assessment is completed where the children are able to discuss and assess their own understanding. This is then checked and a teacher assessment takes place. We strive to create a supportive and collaborative ethos for all children in our school.

"Geography was the lesson I always looked forward to most. It was a form of escapism. It could be bleak midwinter outside but inside you're learning about African farming methods or the Great Lakes. No other lesson had that excitement."  Ben Fogle - Broadcaster for the BBC