Geography
Intent
At New Brancepeth Primary Academy, we believe that Geography helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. All children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it. The geography curriculum at New Brancepeth Primary Academy enables children to develop knowledge and skills which are transferable to other curriculum areas (e.g. our Design & Technology curriculum through a study of Italy and preparing an Italian Feast in Y3&4 and local landmarks in Y5/6,) and can be used to promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Geography is, by nature, an investigative subject, which develops an understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills. This supports our whole school priority linked to communication and language as children develop their understanding of new subject specific vocabulary and its application into dialogic activities, with a clear oracy outcome within each unit of work.
The curriculum is designed to ensure that teaching equips 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 through the school, their growing knowledge about the world helps them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Substantive and disciplinary knowledge in geography is sequenced progressively to provide the framework and explanation of how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.
The EYFS framework is structured very differently to the National Curriculum as it is organised across seven areas of learning rather than subject areas. The most relevant statements for Geography are taken from the following areas of learning:
- Maths
- Understanding the World
Within our EYFS, children’s geography skills are challenged through ongoing, levelled continuous provision and targeted implicit and explicit challenges linked to the EYFS framework starting with children’s simple understanding of themselves and their immediate environment.
All children will have the opportunity to participate in a range of visits and develop their understanding of fieldwork and map skills e.g. ‘Your own Back Yard’ Outreach workshops through Durham University or Tour of Newcastle focusing on Landmarks etc. which are linked to our program of enrichment opportunities that run across our curriculum. Many of our disadvantaged children do not have wider life experiences, therefore, activities are targeted across our curriculum to support this. Parents are also invited to support with any visits to facilitate their engagement with children’s learning. We have plotted resources boxes from Durham Learning Resources to ensure children have access to artefacts and texts to support them in geographical enquiry and contextualising their learning. Staff knowledge is supported through a subscription to the Geographical Association and Digimaps.
Our whole school curriculum is planned on a two-year cycle, and this year (2023/24), we are covering Cycle B. This allows us to support mixed-age classes across school. Our curriculum is also linked, where appropriate, to our core themes of family, community and the wider world through targeted Project Outcomes across the whole curriculum, which again aim to boost parental engagement in learning. These are identified within each topic. e.g. fundraising linked to a specific country and issue. We encourage parental engagement with our geography curriculum by inviting parents to join and support their children in local area studies, visits and by sharing knowledge organisers with parents termly. We seek to inspire children’s ongoing curiosity and fascination about the world and its people, equipping them well for further education and beyond. To reflect this, we have recently achieved the Primary Geography Quality Mark in Silver.
Geography Long-Term Plan
