INTENT

Geography is essentially about understanding the world we live in. It helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. At Bracebridge Infant & Nursery School, children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it. The geography curriculum enables children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferrable to other curriculum areas. Geography is an investigative subject, which develops an understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills. It is our intent, when teaching geography, to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and people within it; to promote the children’s interest and understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes, so that they can begin to think like a geographer.

IMPLEMENTATION

At Bracebridge Infant and Nursery School the children love learning about their surroundings right from the Early Years Foundation Stage. They begin by looking at their school surroundings and environment. Here they investigate areas they like and dislike and what they could do to improve their local area.  Children also explore the natural world around them noting similarities and differences between their natural world and contrasting worlds, as well as understanding simple changes in the world. Children begin to discover where their environment fits in with the wider world as they look at simple atlases.

In Key Stage 1  these skills are further developed. The children broaden their environment investigation into the local area and beyond. They begin to understand the impact on the environment and carry out traffic surveys. The children then further their investigations to look at the areas and landmarks within the British Isles, the seven continents and surrounding oceans.

Our Geography curriculum is implemented through a cross-curricular topic based approach to engage and immerse our children within topics which they may have limited experience of.

• Our spiral curriculum is progressive in skills and knowledge with key vocabulary underpinning topics, which is subsequently built upon through topics and year groups.
• Key areas of learning are revisited regularly and links are made within and between topics which supports our children’s learning through spaced repetition and learning flashbacks. 
• Teachers plan a sequential journey of learning using progression grids which are used to support the assessment of children, ensuring appropriate next small steps of learning are planned for.
• Vulnerable groups of learners are supported through appropriate support and stretch challenges based on assessment for learning, to ensure the needs of all learners are met.
• Enrichment opportunities are used to help support the learning of key geographical areas of the national curriculum, such as local fieldwork studies and trips to the coast to support the understanding of key physical and human features and key geographical features and related vocabulary

IMPACT

In EYFS, progress is recorded on ‘Tapestry’ in line with the EYFS framework.  Through observations, adults will record evidence of children using geographical related vocabulary related academic vocabulary.  Through talking to the children and observing their learning, leaders will be able to identify the impact of our language rich geography curriculum.

In KS1, children will be able to retain knowledge that is pertinent to geography in a real-life context.

Children will understand how geography happens in their local area, will have a good understanding of the world around them and how it has been shaped and will know more, remember more, and understand more, through specific teaching of knowledge, skills and vocabulary, and by regularly accessing low-stakes quizzes.

The impact and measure of this is to ensure that children are curious about the world around them, its influences and their role in taking care of it, while being equipped with geographical skills and knowledge that will enable them to be ready for the curriculum at Key Stage 2 and for life as an adult in the wider world. 

As a result of studying Geography, children are also equipped with:

• Becoming global citizens, and understanding the part they can play, both now and in the future, within a global society
• Knowledge of their own and other societies and cultures and the similarities and differences between them
• A developing knowledge of geographical skills and facts