GEOGRAPHY CURRICULUM​​​​​​​

What is our vision for geography?

At WHPS, we provide a broad and balanced curriculum across all subjects, which develops the individual child according to their age and ability. We want all of our children to leave WHPS as:

• Fluent readers with a love of books and excellent comprehension.
• Fluent mathematicians, with a confidence in problem-solving and reasoning.
• Clear and engaging writers who can communicate their thoughts and feelings.
• Happy, healthy, interested children with a range of experiences, memories and knowledge of a broad and deep-rooted curriculum.

The curriculum in geography supports this by inspiring children’s curiosity and their interest in exploring the world that we live in and its people. We intend to equip children with the geographical skills to develop their knowledge through studying places, people and natural and human environments. Through our teaching, we intend to provoke thought, questions and to encourage children to discover answers to their own questions. They achieve this through exploration and research, which enable them to gain a greater understanding and knowledge of the world and their place in it.

Intent

What are our aims in the teaching of geography?

We believe that children learn best through a curriculum that has rigour, challenge, depth and breadth, and which connects all areas of learning. At WHPS, we intend our students to:

• Stimulate pupils’ interest in their own surroundings and other localities, both in the United Kingdom and the rest of the world.
• Give pupils the opportunities to make observations and to form opinions about their immediate environment and other localities.
• Understand how physical features such as climate, rivers, and volcanoes affect the lifestyles of different peoples throughout the world.
• Foster pupils’ sense of wonder at the beauty of the world around them.
• Develop an understanding of the relationship between people and the environment and how people’s actions affect the quality of the environment.
• Enhance the pupils’ sense of responsibility with regard to caring for the Earth.
• Develop an awareness and appreciation of cultural and economic diversity.
• Acquire and develop skills necessary for making geographical enquiries.

This links to the National Curriculum for geography, which aims to ensure that all children:

• Develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places – both terrestrial and marine – including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes.
• Understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time.
• Are competent in the geographical skills needed to:
  • Collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes.
  • Interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS).
  • Communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.

How have you designed the curriculum for geography to ensure that it covers the National Curriculum?

The curriculum for geography has been carefully planned to ensure coverage of the National Curriculum aims and objectives.

Geography learning in the EYFS is centred on the children, their personal experiences and the immediate environment. This then broadens to exploring the local environment, London, the U.K, Europe and then the world.

Our units from Years 1-6 focus around water, as London has developed around the Thames. Locations studied represent our school community (Somalia, Bangladesh, Dhaka,) and the requirements of the National Curriculum (North America - Tornado Valley, New Orleans; Europe: Heraklion, Tromso, Naples, Rotterdam; Non-European: Sydney, Mogadishu, Japan, Bangladesh).

Implementation

What is the content of geography at WHPS?

Our curriculum is designed to:

• Be clear about what knowledge children will learn, and in which order, throughout their time at our school.
• Provide regular opportunities for children to review and apply prior learning to interrupt forgetting.
• Provide enrichment opportunities that enhance and develop children’s learning.

The curriculum map provides further details on the objectives covered in geography and the progression of knowledge and skills in each year group.

How is geography taught at WHPS?

Geography lessons are taught by class teachers, using planning developed alongside subject leads. Children take part in regular lessons throughout each term which focus on:

1. Understanding that geography is the study of planet Earth and how the people who live on Earth interact with it. (Physical and human characteristics.) Understanding that studying geography is about being curious about the world and its people.
2. Being able to use maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs, a compass, grid references, symbols, ONS and other geographical information sources with accuracy to build their understanding of locational knowledge, human and physical geography.
3. Being able to carry out age-appropriate fieldwork (observe, measure, record) using relevant tools for measurement and associated geographical observational techniques e.g sketch maps, digital technologies, drawing plans.
4. Being able to name and locate specific and significant places, regions and features on a variety of maps – initially within the local area and then broadening to the wider world.
5. Commenting on the types and impact of human geography e.g. settlements, land use, economic activity, distribution of natural resources.

At WHPS, we believe that high-quality teaching and learning in geography includes children:

• Having access to and understanding when to use aerial photos, digital maps, atlases and globes.
• Undertaking fieldwork in a variety of settings.
• Having access to and being able to use sources such as weather data, reference materials and videos.
• Have visitors come in to talk about personal experiences of the world.
• Listen to and interact with stories from around the world.
• Are provided with opportunities to work independently or collaboratively, to ask as well as answer geographical questions.

We also recognise that there are many elements of excellent practice that are consistent across all subjects, which are included in our WHPS Teaching Standards for teachers to refer to and implement.

How are planning and resources for geography organised?

Every year group has a Year on a Page Overview, which provides an overview of units covered throughout the year, and a Foundation Subject Overview, which includes all of the objectives covered in each subject each term. Planning for all subjects is saved in the WHPS Curriculum folder for teachers to access.

Links to resources for children and adults are included in the planning and our knowledge organisers highlight the key learning to take place.

How do we ensure that all children have access to the geography curriculum?

At WHPS, we aim to provide equal access to the curriculum for all children. We believe that all children can achieve and we value and promote each child’s achievements across every subject. We give our children every opportunity to achieve their best by taking account of our children’s range of life experiences when planning for their learning. We regularly review our curriculum and the resources we use to ensure that our teaching reflects equality and respects diversity. All teachers will adapt lessons and resources to provide support for individuals with SEND or other needs.

In geography this support may include:

• Word banks with Widget symbols.
• Identifying the most important learning to highlight in teaching (see knowledge organisers).
• Considering approaches to recording which reduce cognitive load.

How do we assess learning in geography?

Assessment for learning is an important part of every lesson at WHPS in order to check children’s knowledge and understanding. Lessons are carefully planned to provide opportunities for teachers to assess children’s knowledge in a range of ways, which can then support them to adapt future lessons appropriately. Any written work is recorded in geography books and is clearly marked with the subject name and learning objective. However, we also recognise that a more active or practical approach may be relevant for some objectives, which is detailed in the unit plans developed by teachers and the subject lead.

In geography, assessment opportunities include:

• An age appropriate assessment task, which requires children to draw on and apply their learning from the unit. The recording of this task may include sorting activities, annotated drawings or a longer written explanation.
• ‘Do Now’ tasks and opportunities for retrieval practice throughout the unit of work.
• Observation and questioning.

What opportunities are there for enrichment in geography?

Our aim at West Hampstead Primary School is to ensure that every child is able to take part in a range of inspiring and exciting opportunities during their time at school. Enrichment opportunities are carefully planned as part of the curriculum in order to:

• Bring children's learning to life in a new or different context
• Cover or revisit key knowledge and skills from across the National Curriculum
• Providing an inspiring or aspirational experience for children
• Develop children's confidence and self esteem in a new environment

In geography, we provide the following enrichment opportunities throughout children’s time at school.

Year Group	Enrichment Opportunities
Nursery	Opportunities to read and share stories from around the world
Reception	A train ride to Hampstead Heath to explore the local area
Year 1	Fieldwork in the Science Garden and a visit to Hampstead Heath
Year 2	A boat ride along the Thames
Year 3	Local area walk and study
Year 4	Orienteering session at Hampstead Heath
Year 5	Residential stay at Kench Hill
Year 6	Residential stay at The Mill and an orienteering and mapping session at Hampstead Heath.

Impact

How do we monitor the impact of our teaching in geography?

Leaders regularly monitor teaching and learning across the subject throughout the year. Monitoring takes place through:

• Planning scrutiny to ensure that planned lessons match the learning objectives and outcomes provided in unit plans
• Book looks to ensure that outcomes reflect those provided in unit plans and check that children are making good progress within the subject
• Pupil voice to understand children’s perspectives on their learning in the subject and explore whether they have remembered the knowledge identified in the curriculum maps
• Learning walks to see teaching and learning in action across the school and ensure highquality teaching is taking place
• Teacher surveys or informal conversations to ensure that teachers are confident in their subject knowledge and identify any support needed

Strengths and next steps identified during monitoring are recorded on our monitoring overview document and discussed with SLT.