At Newburgh Primary school, we believe that a high-quality geography education should inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. We should equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.
As pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the world should help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Geographical knowledge, understanding and skills provide the frameworks and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.
We have developed a rich and varied curriculum this includes: the development of contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places; collecting, communicating and analysing data and interpreting a range of geographical sources.
Here at Newburgh Primary School pupils follow our geography curriculum that gradually develops learning, the outcome being the acquisition of knowledge and skills that enable each pupil to enquire, research and analyse. Pupils will have a coherent understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Children will know more, remember more and understand more.
We embed key concepts that underpin the teaching of geography which develops from Early years to key stage two. These include the environment, change and diversity.
We use the National Curriculum as the basis for our curriculum planning in geography, but we have adapted this to our local area. Our long-term geography plan ensures that the substantive knowledge of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes is built upon systematically to embed their understanding.
We have a long-term plan that divides the progression of geographical skills or disciplinary knowledge into four areas of learning; location knowledge, place knowledge, human and physical geography and geographical skills and field work. We have planned progression into the development of these geographical skills so the children are increasingly challenged as they move through the school. Each year group develops their own long-term and medium-term plan.
The Early Years Foundation Stage:
At Newburgh Primary School we develop the children’s understanding of the world so that they can make sense of their physical world and their community. We ensure they frequently have personal experiences – from visiting parks, libraries and museums to meeting important members of society such as police officers, nurses and firefighters. In addition, they listen to a broad selection of stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems will foster their understanding of our diverse world. Drawing on these experiences help to aid in their understanding of the similarities and differences between the past and now. As well as building important knowledge, this extends their familiarity with words that support understanding across domains. Enriching and widening children’s vocabulary will support later reading comprehension.
Resources:
There are sufficient resources for all geography teaching in the school. The library contains a good supply of topic books to support children's individual research. We enrich our curriculum through practical learning making use of the natural environment.
Assessment for learning
Children demonstrate their ability in geography in a variety of different ways. Younger children might, for example, colour in locations on a map, whilst older pupils may produce a PowerPoint presentation based on their investigation. Children are given the opportunities to share their ideas and views on events and sources. Teachers assess children through different formative assessment styles. These include quizzes, questioning and observation of children. Written or verbal feedback is given to the child to help guide his or her progress. Older children are encouraged to make judgements about how they can improve their own work.
At the end of a whole unit of work, the teacher makes a summary judgement about the work of each pupil in relation to the National Curriculum. We use these grades as a basis for assessing the progress of the child, and we give a summative assessment grade in the Yearly report to parents and we pass this information on to the next teacher at the end of the year.
