Geography

Intent

At Keevil CofE Academy  we see Geography as the study of ‘places.’ It includes the study of human and physical features and processes which shape locations and the people who live in them. It is not limited to learning about countries and what the climate is like. Skills developed through Geography help pupils to make sense of their surroundings and the wider world.

Our curriculum is organised as a progression which facilitates the re-visiting of learning through recurrent themes, such that knowledge and understanding becomes embedded in children’s long term memory.  For details of this see the document below ‘Keevil CofE Academy Geography  Knowledge and Skills Progression’.

We ensure our Geography Curriculum is rooted in the vision and ethos of the school, through ensuring that as well as delivering scientific knowledge and skills lessons also develop the Keevil Characteristics.

Children learn to appreciate and respect the value of other people from both their own and different communities, as well as understand the processes of the natural world and how we can work to protect and sustain these.  They develop their communication through demonstrating good listening and speaking skills in lessons.  Children show team-work when allowing everyone’s ideas and opinions to be acknowledged through working together.  Children develop their resilience through learning new geographical skills and learning about stress and hardship other communities face from the natural world and disasters.  They develop their problem-solving skills through investigating big questions to do with the Earth they live in.  Finally the children have the opportunity to further their diligence by producing work and displaying their findings to the best of their ability.

Implementation

At Keevil Academy, we teach Geography in a creative way, making links with many other areas of the curriculum. In the Foundation Stage and KS1, children have lots of exposure to the outdoors, by local walks, trips and discussion about familiar events, such as visiting the seaside. This allows familiarity with the local area and beyond, and begins to develop their Geographical vocabulary. In KS2 children build upon this firm foundation by beginning to study places further afield, both at home and overseas. They gain opportunities to understand the importance of both human and physical factors in Geography. In all key stages, there are many trips built into to the curriculum, and work is supported by the use of many different resources including on-line ones.

Geography is delivered through specific units of work, as well as by exploring and developing links and topics that children encounter in their learning of other subjects.  The ‘Keevil CofE Academy Geography Curriculum Overview’ below, shows how these are carefully mapped to ensure that the National Curriculum is successfully delivered in a way that builds on prior knowledge and promotes long-term retention of learning.

All teaching in the school follows our Teaching and Learning non-negotiables and expectations to ensure a high standard of provision.

Impact

Through the delivery of our curriculum children are equipped with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and environments, as well as developing a secure understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.  They are inspired to develop a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people, which will remain with them as they move forwards in their lives.  They develop skills to interpret, analyse and explain processes and explore the interaction and effect of these on one another.