Intent: What we want to achieve

• To develop open minded, tolerant, respectful and aspirational world citizens who appreciate difference and value diversity
• To develop children’s curiosity and fascination about the world and its people.
• To stimulate and develop geographical knowledge and understanding and show clear progression throughout the school. 
• To develop enquiring minds and an ability to observe, question, discuss and record their findings using geographical terms.  
• To understand the interdependence of people, animals and plants.    
• To know about measures being taken to protect the environment both locally and globally.

Implementation: We will:

• Plan progressive lessons which are rooted in the National Curriculum and Early Years foundation stage curriculum and which are regularly reviewed and developed to ensure they motivate pupils; build on experience and previous study and expand a pupil’s knowledge and understanding of human and physical geography, locations, places and geographical vocabulary.
• Support teachers to access a range of resources and planning materials eg. the Geographical Association, National Geographic kids. 
• Ensure high levels of confidence and knowledge are maintained, through regular discussions with the geography lead, whole-school moderation, staff meetings, and CPD.
• Geography is taught for at least half a term every term for one hour per week.  The subject is explicitly taught in years 1 to 4 and units are blocked to allow children to focus on developing their knowledge and skills, studying each topic in depth.
• Link learning to high quality literacy texts.
• Link learning in Geography to other areas of the curriculum to develop depth of understanding (History, Art, Design, Writing, Computing)
• Develop high quality resources that are tactile, IT based, written graphic and photographic
• Allow children to handle sources, use maps/globes and develop research skills
• Use fieldwork as often as possible in order that children learn in the real environment
• Provide multisensory activities and a wide variety of learning experiences to motivate deep learning, curiosity and investigation
• Visits and visitors are used where possible to enhance and consolidate learning
• Provide opportunities for pupils to work independently in pairs, in small groups and as a whole class inside and outside the classroom
• Use precise tracking and assessment to move pupils’ learning forward
• Develop their ability to evaluate their own and their peers work.
• Regularly monitor the teaching of Geography through lesson visits, book looks and pupil voice.

Impact: The intended outcomes of the geography curriculum

By the end of the Foundation Stage most children will be able to: 

• Observe, find out about and identify features in the place they live and the natural world.
• Find out about their environment, and talk about those features they like and dislike. 

By the end of KS1 most children will be able to: 

• Name the 7 continents and the 5 oceans.  
• Describe the main features of localities and recognise their similarities and differences.
• Be able to name the capitals and countries of the UK. 
• Recognise changes in the environment of localities and how people affect that environment
• Find out and express views about people, places and environments by asking and answering questions and by using their own observations and other geographical skills and resources.
• Use geographical language to describe places.  
• Use maps and an atlas to identify UK  
• Use compass language such as North, East, South and West

By the end of Year 4 most children will be able to: 

• Explain the physical and human characteristics of places and their similarities and differences and know the location. 
• Describe how people can damage and improve the environment. 
• Undertake geographical enquiry, identifying and explaining different views. 
• Locate Europe and surrounding countries on maps and be able to talk about local features. 
• Identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones  
• Talk about similarities and differences between regions of the UK and other countries
• Describe elements of human geography such as different settlements over different places 
• Use the 8 points of a compass and grid references