Intent:

At SPWP, we have designed our Geography curriculum with the intent that it will inspire our children with a curiosity, fascination and appreciation of the world around them. It will equip them with a diverse knowledge and understanding of people, places, natural, human and physical geography. The curriculum progression will expand outwards from the immediate locality to the global but with a comparison and contrast to the touchstone of the local at each step. The curriculum will engage our children and facilitate and inspire them to become inquisitive, resilient, independent, challenging thinkers and active global citizens with the confidence to use, and build on, their cultural capital, learning and experiences - both inside and outside of the classroom.

We will deliver a curriculum that:

• Will create confident geographers and prepare them for the journey beyond.
• Is scaffolded by excellent teaching practices.
• Allows children to develop key geographical skills, including the gathering, communication and critical analysis of data and sources of information.
• Creates deep-seated learning and skills, as a permanent foundation for the next steps in progression.
• Promotes higher order analytical and creative thinking, in considering real world features, problems and solutions.
• Will challenge children to research information and think for themselves, give reasoned answers, work independently, be socially aware of local and global geographical issues, and develop good resilience and attitudes to learning.
• Creates fun, enjoyable, engaging, memorable learning experiences.
• Gives children the opportunity to consider and apply cross curricular learning.

Key geographical themes taught at SPWP:

Implementation

The Humanities Curriculum Leader leads and oversees the subject, to promote sustainable, continuous improvement by leading a regular programme of monitoring, evaluation, review and sharing of good practice. They undertake regular self-improvement and development activities, to inform subject and teacher development. The curriculum incorporates the statutory requirements of the Geography programmes of study and other experiences and opportunities, which best meet the learning, and the developmental and aspirational needs of the children in our school.

The teaching, learning and sequencing of the Geography curriculum will follow and include:

• A stepped progression that will build on and consolidate prior knowledge and skills, arching across the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, though the Key Stage 1 (KS1) and Key Stage 2 (KS2) National Curriculum. This should be a foundation for the Key Stage 3 (KS3) curriculum.
• A deliberate progression scale, from the immediate local geography of Tower Hamlets, to the city wide, regional, national, European and global, with reference back to the local at each step.
• Cross-curricular links to the wider SPWP curriculum, providing opportunity to re-visit and expand on prior learning, facilitating greater knowledge and skills retention.
•  A blocked curriculum map detailing two blocks of Geography activities per annum.
•  • Medium Term Plans for each block and year group, which identify hooks, vocabulary, prior learning, learning objectives, skills and knowledge to be incorporated into each block of work.
• Knowledge Organisers for each block of work and year group, which identify key vocabulary, target embedded ‘sticky’ knowledge, links to local geography, environmental sustainability as well as suggested fiction texts linked to each cycle. These will be used as an aide-memoire for teachers and students throughout the block.
• Forged links with parents and local groups who may have a career, specialist interest or skills associated with areas of the Geography curriculum.
• Utilising local resources and the locality to bring the outside world into the children’s classrooms and make teaching and learning experiences engaging, varied and memorable, including the use of our outdoor space.