Geography Intent, Implementation and Impact 

Geography Intent

At Greatfield Park Primary School, we have developed our geography curriculum in order for our pupils to gain a knowledge and understanding of the environments in which they live and the wider world around them. We aim for our pupils to be inquisitive, curious and concerned about their planet. As a school, we want to motivate them to learn about Earth; how it is formed of vast differing physical environments and the diverse range of cultures which inhabit our globe.

During their geography learning within their projects, we aspire to support our pupils to learn through a variety of experiences which include observing, collecting and interpreting information from a range of sources, as well as from practical activities of field work and visits. 

Children in Reception begin their geographical learning within the early years by developing their understanding of the world around them and beyond, through exploration. Throughout Key Stage 1, pupils are taught directional and positional language to describe routes around them and they will learn how to identify features from maps, draw their own maps and locate landmarks. They will explore the world’s seven continents and five oceans, the different seasonal weather types and hot and cold environments.  We aim for them to develop knowledge of human and physical geography both locally and across the planet. They will build on this through Key Stage 2, where they will develop their physical geography by examining contrasting physical environments across the world to include earthquakes and volcanoes, mountains, rivers and seas. This will give them the opportunity to make progress with their mapping skills using more detailed atlases and ordnance surveys with grid references. Pupils will explore human features of different land uses and settlements; naming cities and countries across the globe. They will find out about different climates and how the types of weather systems across the world work. Throughout our curriculum we encourage our pupils to use subject specific vocabulary and develop their reading and writing skills through geography with the use technology to research online as well as with non-fiction books. SEND pupils will be supported with greater use of visual and physical resources. 

Pupils at Greatfield Park are given time to reflect on experiences and draw conclusions from them.  Global awareness and cultural understanding underpin our approach at Greatfield Park. We aim to teach pupils about the world in which they live, learn from it and its issues, and their place in contributing towards it as British citizens. Therefore, in geography we encourage our pupils to be active, mindful learners by asking questions and reflecting on the actions of themselves and others. We aim for our pupils to be respectful towards our planet and current world issues. We aspire for them to develop an active role in taking responsibility to look after our world.

Geography Implementation

At Greatfield Park, geography is taught through the following big ideas;

• Humankind; human features and landmarks, settlements and land use
• Processes; climate and weather, physical processes
• Investigation; geographical resources, data analysis, fieldwork
• Materials; natural and man-made materials
• Nature; physical features, environment and sustainability
• Place and space; world, UK, location, position, maps
• Comparison; compare and contrast features of places
• Significance; location of significant places
• Change; geographical change of physical and human processes

Each class has their own geography themed curriculum project for the whole of their Spring term (see our long-term overviews for the projects). Prior to this, in the Autumn, children are taught a unit project about the world around them, which allows them to build on their map skills and place knowledge each year. During the Summer term, they revisit, learn and consolidate key geographical facts. All projects have identified vocabulary for children to learn and apply.

Geography Impact

Much of the impact of children's geographical learning is seen through their exercise books, writing tasks, progression through Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, and pupil voice. At the end of each project, there are quizzes and assessment questions for teachers to use with their classes.