“Geography is the tapestry that weaves the world together.” Gil Grosvenor
At Tywardreath School our vision is to create a safe and stimulating environment where all children feel they belong and are able to challenge themselves, take risks and flourish both academically and socially. To develop our children so that they value and respect their own and others individuality, culture and heritage. We are committed to providing a place of excellence with high standards.
To achieve our vision all our children should:
- Enjoy their primary school years and develop high self-esteem regardless of ‘academic’ ability.
- Feel safe and secure and have a passion for learning and experience success.
- Develop perseverance, flexibility, independence in a wide range of learning skills.
- Be well mannered, respecting themselves, others and the environment.
- Make a positive contribution to the school and the wider community.
- Enjoy equal opportunities to succeed
- Develop lively, inquiring minds and become confident communicators.
- Experience teaching of the highest quality and develop core skills to a high level.
- Appreciate the beauty, the diversity of the world and their duty to protect it.
Intent
At Tywardreath we believe that Geography helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it. The geography curriculum at Tywardreath enables children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferable to other curriculum areas.
Geography is, by nature, an investigative subject, which develops an understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills. We seek to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people; to promote the children’s interest and understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.
The curriculum is designed to develop knowledge and skills that are progressive, as well as transferable, throughout their time at Tywardreath and also in their further education.
Implementation
Our Geography curriculum is designed to inspire and develop high aspirations in all of our children so that they have the confidence and abilities to be the best they can be. Geography at Tywardreath School is taught in blocks throughout the year, so that children can achieve depth in their learning. Teachers have identified the key knowledge and skills of each blocked topic and these are mapped across the school, ensuring that knowledge builds progressively and that children develop skills systematically.
At Tywardreath we believe that Geography helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it. The geography curriculum at Tywardreath enables children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferable to other curriculum areas.
Geography is, by nature, an investigative subject, which develops an understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills. We seek to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people; to promote the children’s interest and understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.
The curriculum is designed to develop knowledge and skills that are progressive, as well as transferable, throughout their time at Tywardreath and also in their further education.
Implementation
Our Geography curriculum is designed to inspire and develop high aspirations in all of our children so that they have the confidence and abilities to be the best they can be. Geography at Tywardreath School is taught in blocks throughout the year, so that children can achieve depth in their learning. Teachers have identified the key knowledge and skills of each blocked topic and these are mapped across the school, ensuring that knowledge builds progressively and that children develop skills systematically.
Prior knowledge is activated at the beginning of each geography topic and at the start of each lesson so that pupils can build upon what they know. By sharing and discussing the sequence of learning with the children and the end point of the topic we are able to be incorporate the pupil's interests and so enhance their engagement.
Tasks are selected and designed to provide appropriate challenge to all learners, in line with the school’s commitment to inclusion. At the end of each topic, key knowledge is reviewed by the children and rigorously checked by the teacher and consolidated as necessary.At Tywardreath geography is an enquiry led subject that seeks answers to fundamental questions such as:
Location- Where is it located?
Place- What is it like there?
Human/Environmental interaction– What is the relationship between humans and their environment?
Movement– How and why places are connected to on another?
As our pupil’s knowledge develops we will also encourage them to ask and debate bigger questions such as:
What could/should the world be like in the future?
What can we do to influence change?
By carefully planning sequences of lessons where there is a clear progression of skills, knowledge and vocabulary pupils are able to build on previous learning by making explicit links and so remember more.
Through their geographical journey we will introduce our children to some of the most influential and inspiring landscapes and settlements and ask questions about the relationship between humans and their environment.
Children will develop their geographical enquiry skills by; collecting and recording information; developing vocabulary and by using fieldwork techniques.
Children are offered a wide range of extra-curricular activities, visits, trips and visitors to complement and broaden the curriculum. These are purposeful and link with the knowledge being taught in class.
Impact
The Geography curriculum is evaluated through a range of measures:
- Teachers assess learning in geography through a range of formative assessments as well as summative assessments at the end of a unit of work, using low stake quizzes and pre-prepared knowledge organisers. Teachers use precise questioning in class to test conceptual knowledge and skills, and assess pupils regularly to identify those children with gaps in learning, so that all pupils keep up.
- Subject leaders will triangulate assessments by scrutinising work from all classes and using outcomes from pupil voice sessions to ascertain the impact of learning in Geography.
- By the end of key stage 1 children will be able to describe the physical and human features of their local environment, know about the features of the UK such as capital cities and be able to talk about the similarities and differences between our local environment and another small area in Africa or Australia.
- By the end of key stage 2 children will have extended their geographical knowledge and skills to compare contrasting places in Europe and then the Americas, concentrating on the study of the human and physical geography of the selected regions. Children will extend their knowledge of physical features from our local environment to the UK and then into the wider world including studies on mountains, volcanoes/earthquakes, rivers, biomes and vegetation belts. Pupils will understand key aspects of types of settlement and land use, economic activity and the distribution of natural resources and the relationship between humans and their environments.