Geography

General Statement

Within the Christian context of the Blue School, we perceive Geography to be concerned with the study of places, the human and physical processes which shape them and the people who live in them. At the Blue School children study their local area, contrasting localities within the United Kingdom and other parts of the world. Through their growing knowledge and understanding of human geography, children gain an appreciation of life in other cultures. Geography teaching also motivates children to find out about the physical world and enables them to recognise the importance of sustainable development for the future of mankind. The National Curriculum Handbook 2014 describes the importance of Geography thus:

This page provides prospective parents and visitors with a glimpse into our curriculum. Parents of Blue School pupils are provided with detailed guides to subject planning in the form of ‘Knowledge Organisers’ in Parent Zone.

Geography Sequence

Vision Statement

‘As a young geographer, I’m an explorer.’ Through our geography curriculum, pupils at the Blue School will be provided with opportunities and experiences to explore their local area and the wider world around. The geography curriculum incorporates fundamental geographical knowledge and skills, allowing pupils to build on a firm foundation in future years. It will help pupils to make sense of their surroundings and to gain a better understanding of the variety of physical and human features on the earth’s surface.

Pupils will learn about both their local area as well as a variety of localities throughout the world. They will explore how people manage, adapt and survive in different environments. They will also consider the impact that people have on their environments both in a positive and negative way. In addition, they will also learn how their own personal actions and the actions of others can have an impact on the environment.

Their understanding of Progression within the curriculum is clear: it starts with what is familiar to children and extends outwards. Progression in fieldwork skills is built across units, with the London units in Year 1 and Map makers unit in Year 2 and the field work unit in year 6 ‘Our Local Area’

Key technical and tier 2 vocabulary is mapped onto each unit, allowing children to build a rich bank of geographical language.

EYFS

Our children will be exploring the similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They will talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another.

Key Stage 1

At the end of KS1, children will have developed some understanding of geographic location and place knowledge starting with the familiar and slowly builds outwards, from London to the UK and comparing and contrasting it to another country. They will explore the difference between human and physical geography and begin to use geographical skills, including first-hand observation, to enhance their locational awareness. Progression in fieldwork skills is built across units, with the ‘Exploring Isleworth’ unit in Year 1 and ‘Map Makers’ unit in Year 2.

Lower Key Stage 2

In LKS2, the children will extend their knowledge and understanding of geographical location and place knowledge where they focus on units that explore human geography in Europe, South America and the Middle East. They have the opportunity to use digital resources, globes, atlases and Geographical Information Systems to explore regions. They will continue to build upon their understanding of physical geography where they learn how different physical features are formed over time from ‘Mountains and Volcanoes ’ in Year 3 and ‘Rivers’ in Year 4.

Upper Key Stage 2

By the end of UKS2, the children should further develop their use of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their locational and place knowledge of the wider world. All children will have opportunities to explore the location and characteristics of a range of the world’s most significant human and physical features. They should have an understanding of the ways in which places are interdependent and interconnected and how much human and physical environments are interrelated. Each child will have rich opportunities to develop their fieldwork skills from mapping, technical drawing and exploring their environment in a concrete physical way.