At Bacton, we believe that the learning of Geography should inspire children to have a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.

David Attenborough – Wonderful World – BBC – YouTube

Geography is at the heart of our curriculum and is taught discretely and within other subjects. Each topic starts with a Key Question that provides a wide range of learning opportunities incorporating general skills e.g. reasoning, explaining or evaluating but also subject specific skills like map reading and fieldwork.

Throughout KS1 and KS2 our Geography curriculum is planned and taught using guidance from the 2014 National Curriculum document for Geography. Geography in Reception is taught using guidance from the EYFS document. 

Intent:

At Bacton Primary School, we believe that Geography education should be fully inclusive to every child. We aim to fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum for Geography; to provide a broad, balanced and differentiated curriculum and to ensure the progressive development of geographical concepts, skills and knowledge. We aim to create young geographers and foster a lifelong love for this important subject.

More specifically, the aims of teaching Geography in our school are:

• To inspire children’s curiosity to discover more about their world;
• To enable children to know about the location of the world’s continents, oceans, countries and cities;
• To develop children’s skills of interpreting a range of resources of geographical information such as maps, globes, aerial photographs etc;
• To help children understand physical and human features of a variety of places and how these shape those locations and can change over time;
• To provide opportunities to use their Geography skills and knowledge to study other subjects such as maths and English.

Implementation:

At Bacton Primary School, we are committed to ensuring high standards of teaching and learning in Geography by implementing a curriculum that is progressive throughout the school. Geography teaching focuses on enabling children to think as young geographers, thus fostering both knowledge and skills progression.

More specifically, the principles underpinning our Geography provision are:

• ​Collective responsibility (EYFS to Y6);
• National Curriculum coverage in all year groups;
• Ongoing formative assessment about children’s knowledge, understanding and skills;
• A spiral approach to fascilitate acquisition, consolidation and progression;
• Interweaving of both general and subject specific skills across all learning;
• Use of school trips to enhance learning opportunities and provide hands-on experiences;
• Use of seasons, natural environment and significant events to promote relevant and creative learning.

Useful Geography Links KS1

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks1geography.html

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Interactive.aspx?cat=90

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zcdqxnb

Useful Geography Links KS2

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Interactive.aspx?cat=96

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2geography.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zbkw2hv

Useful Geography Links KS1 & KS2

http://primarygamesarena.com/Subjects/Geography

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/links-geography.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/4_11/site/geography.shtml

SMSC in Geography

Spiritual Development

In Geography, there are many occasions when we can give children the opportunity to develop spiritually and to reflect on their own values and beliefs and those of others. For example, children can think about the feelings of a child living in a slum, or the victims of a natural disaster. Children can reflect on the beauty of a landscape or the richness of a particular environment. They can be encouraged to explore their own feelings on the places and people they are learning about.

Moral Development

A lot of geographical issues have a moral dimension. Environmental relationships, for instance, provide opportunities for a moral discussion and reflection. Should the rain forest be exploited? Should children collect rubbish for a living? Activities such as role-play, hot-sitting and court proceedings can allow children to explore morality and -in doing so- learn about views held by society, leading to the children developing their own attitudes, values and moral compasses.

Social Development

Most aspects of Geography teaching foster good social behaviour and self-discipline i.e. group work, role-play. Fieldwork, in particular, lends itself for nurturing good relationships and collaboration amongst children, hence contributing to the social development of the whole class. Furthermore, learning about local, national and international issues develops an understanding of citizenship and fosters a sense of interdependence of people and places. Through Geography, children can place themselves in a wider social network and strive for the wider good.

Cultural Development

The study of real places and people from an early age makes a great contribution to children’s cultural development. They learn to compare their local area with other places understanding the similarities and differences and the reasons for those. Understanding cultural traditions within a society or place enhances the knowledge of the wider world, making people more tolerant and sympathetic towards others. Geography provides a natural vehicle towards exploring our own multicultural society. For example, the history of local place names can give a sense of different cultures that shaped our modern lives.