Purpose of Study: A high-quality geography education should inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Teaching should equip 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, their growing knowledge about the world should help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Geographical knowledge, understanding and skills provide the framework and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.

Aims: The national curriculum for geography aims to ensure that all pupils: •develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places – both terrestrial and marine – including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes

•understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time

•are competent in the geographical skills needed to:

• collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes
• interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
• communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length

Intent: At Grange Junior School, Geography is taught both as a standalone subject whilst also often intertwined within other subjects such as Literacy and Numeracy to enrich the curriculum and provide high quality outcomes through whole year group topics. Through Geography, children are given opportunities to develop and enrich their understanding of both the local area and provides ample opportunities to increase their knowledge of an increasingly global world. The children are exposed to relevant and memorable topics which include opportunities to visit the local environment and develop a sense of personal identity; reflecting on their relationship with the world around them and their individual impacts on the environment. It provides stimulating content which leads to greater independence and celebration of learning

Implementation: The Geography long term plan ensures that across the whole of the Key Stage, a coherent, broad and balanced curriculum is followed to ensure Geographical skills are taught and developed year on year. Units of work are planned by both the subject manager alongside year teams to ensure subject knowledge is shared and best practice can be discussed. This leads to the delivery of high quality lessons and successful progression of learners leading to high quality outcomes. Sequences of lessons are built upon specific skills which are assessed at the end of each unit providing children with the skills required to meet the national curriculum. A planned yearly Geography day to promote the personal identity of different nationalities within the school enriches the whole school experience and helps to develop respect of others and relationships with the wider world. Trips and special events are used to support geographical topics which enrich and provide memorable experiences for children. Where possible, through displays of children’s learning, celebrations with parents and the wider local community are shared.

Impact: The Geography subject manager carries out termly monitoring of work based around when specific year groups are delivering the subject. This is completed through book monitoring and scrutiny of samples of work which is used to establish the effectiveness of units of work, delivery of teaching and the content taught. This also provides opportunities to provide meaningful feedback and provide any support to develop subject knowledge for others. It also gives opportunities to share best practice and celebrate great examples of learning and success within the subject. These reviews provide points for further professional development within the subject at both an individual, cohort or whole school level. Additionally, pupil conferencing is used to gauge opinion on topics and ensure that it remains stimulating, engaging and provides sufficient challenge to all. When assessing children’s progress, they’re assessed against a number of specific skills. Children evaluate their understanding at the beginning of a unit and then again at the end to provide self-reflection of the progress they have made. This is followed up by teachers providing both oral and written feedback against their progress. This self-evaluation informs AFL and provides opportunities for potential next steps and identifies any areas of development against the key skills taught. Planning can then be adapted as necessary.  Children have planned opportunities to share and celebrate work with family and friends and written reports on their progress are produced annually.