Geography Curriculum
Mr Arrandale
Geography Subject Leader
Our aims for Humanities are driven by the ‘Aldridge Operating Norms’. Our standard is excellence; we lead by example and believe that every moment matters. Our curriculum consists of five key drivers. We want our children to experience a curriculum that is rich in knowledge and skills, experiences, culture, career readiness and our Aldridge Attributes.
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 frameworks and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.
Intent
Kapow Primary’s Geography scheme of work aims to inspire pupils to become curious and explorative thinkers with a diverse knowledge of the world – in other words, to think like geographers. The intention is for pupils to develop the confidence to question and observe places, measure and record necessary data in a variety of ways and analyse and present their findings.
The scheme aims to build an awareness of how Geography shapes lives at multiple scales and over time. The hope is to encourage pupils to become resourceful, active citizens who will have the skills to contribute to and improve the world around them.
The scheme supports teachers in developing their subject knowledge and skills, enabling the delivery of engaging, well-informed lessons with confidence. The curriculum is designed to be both accessible and ambitious, ensuring all learners’ full participation and potential achievement.
Implementation
Kapow Primary’s Geography scheme is designed to be taught for one hour per week, alternating with History every half-term. This approach is based on market research, which showed that most schools structure their curriculum this way.
Timetabling Geography in this way ensures the needs of the National curriculum are met.
Impact
To monitor the impact of our Geography curriculum, we assess the children using both formative and summative assessments during each unit of work.
Kapow Primary Geography lessons include ongoing assessment opportunities, such as questioning, retrieval practice and interactive activities. These enable teachers to assess understanding in real time and adapt their teaching accordingly.
Each unit provides an Assessment quiz and Knowledge catcher, which allow teachers to measure pupils’ understanding at key points. These tools help gauge how well pupils have retained key knowledge and skills over time.
The National Curriculum guidance is always our starting point when planning our curriculum. This guidance from the Department of Education sets out clear aims and course content for each subject.
We ensure we cover each aspect of this, then apply it to our own Curriculum approach.
Click on the link below to see our progression of skills in Geography across school.
For each subject, we have identified a set of Core Key Skills. These are the skills which underpin the children’s learning across the curriculum and enable them to progress and deepen their learning each year.
They show a clear progression in skills within each curriculum area and act as the building blocks for success.