The Curriculum: Geography

Geography Intent

At the Mead Trust we intend to develop young geographers who have a curiosity and fascination with the world and its people.  Our approach provides children with the opportunity to seek answers to enquiry questions and develop their knowledge of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.

Through geographical enquiry, children develop an understanding of the unique environmental and social contexts of the South West of England, whose investigation and exploration open a window to the wider world.  Key to understanding this is the overarching concepts of geography:

• Location
• Place
• Environmental physical and human geography
• Geographical skills and fieldwork

In line with the National Curriculum 2014, our teaching aims to:

• Develop children’s knowledge and understanding of place, both locally and globally
• Encourage children to seek answers to questions such as: Where is this place? What is it like? (And why?) How and why is it changing? How does this place compare with other places? How and why are places connected?
• Support children to use evidence and data to make connections and compare and contrast this with different communities locally and around the world
• Equip children with the knowledge to debate and discuss questions such as: What could/should the world be like in the future? What can we do to influence change?
• Teach children the fieldwork skills that will deepen their knowledge and understanding of geographical processes
• Enable children to understand the interdependence between humans, the natural environment and one another and how human behaviour has shaped the world (culture, economics, communities and global responsibility)

Geography Implementation

To ensure the highest standards of teaching and learning in geography we use carefully sequenced and planned topics. This supports the delivery of the key aims of the national curriculum through engaging and interactive learning opportunities which will ‘Inspire a curiosity and fascination of the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives’.

Key knowledge and skills thread horizontally through year groups and vertically through key stages to enable children to build on and extend their geographical understanding as they move through the school.  Geography is interwoven across other subjects such as history to ensure children are able to make connections with the wider world.  Geography is taught at relevant times of the year to support fieldwork, visits and first hand learning.