Intent
Geography at Mevagissey is designed to increase the children’s knowledge and curiosity about the world around them. In Geography they will deepen their knowledge about Mevagissey and Cornwall, as well as extend their geographical learning beyond the UK to other parts of the world by studying and comparing similar and different places.
We aim to deliver a high quality geography curriculum, not just through experiences in the classroom, but also with the use of fieldwork and educational visits, which inspires in pupils a curiosity about the world and its people.
We wish to instil a love for Geography in our pupils and develop their knowledge of the world, as well as their place within it, and encourage them to undertake new experiences throughout their life.
Through our teaching, we aim to provide all pupils with opportunities to investigate and build geographical expertise from their local area to the wider world. This includes locational knowledge, understanding of human and physical features and geographical and fieldwork techniques.
At Mevagissey, we will encourage pupils to ask questions and propose solutions to environmental problems within the local community and the wider world. Increasing awareness of environmental issues and the impact humans have aims to encourage pupils to become reflective members of society who consider their actions/choices and actively invest in protecting the planet.
By the end of Key Stage One, pupils should develop knowledge about the world, the United Kingdom and their locality. They should understand basic subject-specific vocabulary relating to human and physical geography and begin to use geographical skills, including first-hand observation, to enhance their locational awareness.
By the end of Key Stage Two, pupils should extend their knowledge and understanding beyond the local area to include the United Kingdom and Europe, North and South America. This will include the location and characteristics of a range of the world’s most significant human and physical features. They should develop their use of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their location and place knowledge.
Implementation
In the Early Years it is the first opportunity to see how a child interacts with their environment and how the environment influences them. Staff follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework which aims to guide children, to make sense of their physical world and their community by allowing them to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment – this is the first step of becoming a geographer.
In KS1 and KS2, Teachers maintain strong links to the National Curriculum guidelines to ensure all aspects, knowledge and skills of Geography are being taught across all year groups.
- Geography lessons are planned coherently, using the skills progressions, to build pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the world and the interaction between physical and human processes through quality first teaching.
- build geographical expertise from their local area to the wider world. This includes locational knowledge, understanding of human and physical features and geographical and fieldwork techniques.
- Opportunities to develop their skills and fieldwork using maps and atlases (both physical and digital) will be provided for all pupils. Fieldwork allows pupils to apply geographical skills in a real-life setting and explore their local area and the features within it. We will develop deep subject knowledge and key skills while differentiating work for all abilities.
- From EYFS up to the end of KS2, pupils will be taught various geographical terms both in our local area and worldwide.
- Geography assessment is ongoing and informs teachers with planning lesson activities and differentiation; it will be tracked against the Geography progression of skills objectives.
- All lessons are planned using skills progressions so that knowledge is taught across the year group; skills are progressed across the key stage with connections made to prior learning.
‘Reactive Geography’ informs pupils of worldwide events that are being reported in the news (e.g. natural disasters) and further builds their understanding of physical geography and place knowledge through class discussions and a Geography in the news display board