Geography

We aim to develop and nurture a love of Geography and equip children with the tools to find out about and be inquisitive about the world around them.

Intent

The intent of the geography curriculum at Academy 360 is to instil in children a sense of their place in the world.  We want children to be familiar with not just their immediate locality of Pennywell, but also the surrounding area.  A strong sense of locality and a sense of identity lies at the centre of our Geography curriculum. We intend that all children are immersed in a wide range of geographical experiences, equipping them with skills that can be used in the real world. Geography is essential in ensuring that our children are prepared for life and work in modern society.

Implement 

At Academy 360, our implementation focus for geography is the acquisition of skills which can be used by the children and transferred into everyday life. We have planned a range of enrichment visits and real-life experiences to help us achieve the vision of geographers who are inquisitive about the world around them.

In Reception, children access a range of tactile and real-life experiences and communication. They enjoy exploring the world around them and making links to their own lives.  The EYFS goal ‘Understanding the World’ is a key focus area for Geography provision in EYFS.

In KS1 and KS2, Geography objectives have been taken from the National Curriculum and planned to ensure progression within and between year groups and key stages. This ensures that children are ready for the next key stage. Geography is to be taught in an immersive way within a cross-curricular topic unit.  For example, the topic of ‘Ancient Egyptians’ includes a study of Egyptians and the physical and human geography of the Nile, which then leads into a unit of work studying local rivers.  This ensures that children can make relevant links between different subject areas.  Our KS2 curriculum has been carefully mapped out in conjunction with subject specialists from KS3 to ensure that it is fit for purpose and adequately equips children for the transition to secondary school.

Children are also exposed to a continuous geography provision whereby maps and non-fiction books are consistently accessible in classes and around school. Themed projects such as International Days ensure that geography is a school-wide subject that goes beyond classroom work and is linked to real life. Children will communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.

Displays and continuous provision help to ensure that geography remains high profile within Academy 360. All classrooms are equipped with a globe and world map, whilst shared corridor areas allow the children to access bespoke aerial maps of the local area. The geography curriculum has been carefully planned using Subject knowledge organisers to ensure that staff have the appropriate subject knowledge and help to map out prior learning and progression throughout the school.

Impact

The impact is that the application of geographical skills and knowledge is apparent in books and in talking to children. It is also important that there is a logical and clear progression between key stages so that the full range of required skills is both taught and understood. Our bespoke knowledge organisers have been designed to include a short quiz to test children’s prior knowledge. This is then compared to the ‘post-unit’ results to ascertain the impact of teaching and learning.

Impact will be measured by class teachers during termly data drops. Teachers will use children’s books, as well as their knowledge of how children respond in lessons to assess their learning of the year group milestones based on the following grades: Emerging, expected or exceeding. This is then calculated into the percentage of children achieving at each level.

Inclusion

Inclusion lies at the centre of the Academy 360 vision. Teachers plan and adapt lessons and activities to ensure that all children can access them and be successful. This is achieved through a combination of teacher support, paired and team work and scaffolded activities. Our differentiation is meaningful and with this in mind, some activities will be differentiated by outcome only, whilst others will be via a range of concrete or visual methods such as simpler atlases and vocabulary banks.