Intent:

Our Geography curriculum is designed to develop children's curiosity and fascination about the world and its people.

Children will investigate a range of places – both in Britain and abroad - to help develop their knowledge and understanding of the Earth’s physical and human processes. We are committed to providing children with opportunities to investigate and make enquiries about their local area of Hastings, so they can develop a real sense of who they are, their heritage and what makes our local area unique and special. By starting each unit with a question, it allows children to investigate and discuss different perspectives, opinions and outcomes. We are also developing the children’s ability to apply geographical skills to enable them to confidently communicate their findings and geographical understanding to a range of audiences.

Through high quality teaching and a scheme that shows skills progression, we will develop the following essential characteristics of geographers:

• An excellent knowledge of where places are and what they are like, both in Britain and the wider world;
• A comprehensive understanding of the ways in which places are connected;
• An extensive base of geographical knowledge and vocabulary;
• Fluency in complex, geographical enquiries and the ability to apply questioning skills, as well as effective presentation techniques;
• The ability to reach clear conclusions and explain their findings;
• Fieldwork skills as well as other geographical aptitudes and techniques;
• The ability to express well-balanced opinions, rooted in very good knowledge and understanding about current issues in society and the environment.
• A genuine interest in the subject and a real sense of curiosity about the world and the people who live here.

Implementation:

At St Paul’s we ensure high standards of teaching and learning in Geography through the implementation of the Connected Geography scheme throughout the school.

We maintain a high level of subject knowledge of Geography in our school through staff training and, by providing a bank of Knowledge Organisers which include building on prior knowledge, skills, vocabulary and questioning. Front covers will be used in all Geography subjects with 2 key questions and success criteria included. Children will complete both questions and the start and end of the topic to show progress and access themselves against the success criteria of each unit.

Where possible, Geography is linked to class topics. Geography is taught as discrete units and lessons where needed to ensure coverage. Teachers use assessment for learning to plan lessons around the needs of our pupils and, to help us plan for the next steps. At St Paul’s, we strongly encourage all pupils to use specific topic related vocabulary. This vocabulary is progressive as pupils move through the School.

Regular monitoring of Geography shows that our children understand key geographical terms and are building on prior skills learnt. At St Paul’s, we have rigorous monitoring procedures which are kept up to date. These include both pupil and staff voice surveys. Monthly book looks ensure that the curriculum is being followed and there is clear skills progression throughout the year groups. This also allows time for any support needed to be given.

Impact:

Our Geography Curriculum is high quality, well thought out and follows a clear skills progression.

Marking and feedback from teachers has impact on our pupils, with next step questions and challenges each term to show their understanding and to push learning on.

Children’s work shows a range of topics and evidence of the curriculum coverage for all Geography topics.