Geography

Please click here to see our Geography curriculum map.

Please click on the following links to view our geography curriculum in each year group:

Nursery Reception Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6

Intent

Our Geography curriculum at South Failsworth is designed to develop children’s curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.

Children investigate a range of places – both in the United Kingdom and abroad – to help develop their knowledge and understanding of the Earth’s physical and human processes.

We develop pupils’ knowledge and geographical understanding by first immersing them in the area where they live, by providing children with opportunities to investigate and make enquiries about their school grounds, Failsworth, Oldham and then Manchester, so that they can develop a real sense of who they are, their heritage and what makes our local area unique and special. We then gradually widen their horizons and increase their awareness of the United Kingdom, other lands and continents as they progress through both KS1 and KS2.

Through high-quality teaching, we develop the following essential characteristics of geographers:

A secure knowledge of where places are and what they are like, both in the United Kingdom and the wider world
A comprehensive understanding of the ways in which places are interdependent and interconnected
An extensive base of geographical knowledge and vocabulary
Fluency in complex, geographical enquiry and the ability to apply questioning skills
The ability to reach clear conclusions and explain their findings
Excellent fieldwork skills
The ability to express well-balanced opinions, rooted in very good knowledge and understanding about current issues in society and the environment
A genuine interest in the subject and a real sense of curiosity about the world and the people who live here

Implementation:

At South Failsworth, we have developed a unique creative curriculum entitled ‘Our World’, which ensures high standards of teaching and learning in Geography that is progressive throughout the whole school. We use the National Curriculum as the basis for our planning in Geography, which feeds into detailed curriculum overviews with specific objectives to be included in the Geography topics we teach. These overviews ensure that teachers make links to learning in previous year groups and build upon this to ensure the steady progression of knowledge and skills throughout each Key Stage.

Teachers then prepare:

Knowledge organisers which outline key knowledge and geographical vocabulary all children must master and apply in lessons. These are shared with parents at the beginning of each half term
A cycle of lessons for each topic, which carefully plans for progression and depth concentrating on the geographical skills suited to the age group
Imaginative resources and ICT to build pupils’ knowledge about different places, people, resources and different environments
Challenge questions for pupils to apply their learning in a philosophical/open manner
Trips and visiting experts who will enhance the learning experiences
Fieldwork opportunities in the school grounds and local area for all year groups to provide first-hand experience which will enhance the teaching and learning of the skills outlined in the National Curriculum
Curriculum-themed home-learning tasks which children complete with adults at home. This gives children the opportunity to share their knowledge about a topic in creative ways of their choosing
Summative assessments based on the key skills and essential knowledge outlined in the curriculum overviews

Impact

Our unique ‘Our World’ curriculum will increase pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the world, and will be used to promote excellence and enjoyment. It allows pupils to make links with other subjects through artwork, displays, performances, music and assemblies. Children develop a range of investigation and problem-solving skills transferable to other curriculum areas, which can be also used to promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

We measure the impact of our curriculum using summative assessment to determine children’s understanding and inform teacher planning. At the end of each topic, the children’s learning is assessed against the skills and key knowledge on the curriculum overviews. We also use the knowledge organisers to ensure children can recall key facts and explain geographical vocabulary. Pupils are encouraged to produce concept maps, videos, diagrams and reports to demonstrate their learning at the end of topics.

This is reviewed by the subject leader, who also carries out regular learning walks, pupil discussions about their learning, book looks and lesson observations.