Curriculum Intent:
Our RMS geography curriculum is ‘for all’. We do ‘all the good we can’ to inspire pupils with knowledge, understanding and curiosity about the world, as well as their place in it. It allows pupils to develop a 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. Children’s increasing geographical knowledge will help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. The curriculum is designed to have a balance of core knowledge (facts, location, vocabulary) and a sense of place (senses, emotions, values, opinions). This allows children to develop a knowledge and understanding of real places as well as how people affect the environment and are influenced by it. At RMS we strive ‘to do all the good we can’ to enable children to develop a deep understanding and appreciation of their locality, and their place withing the wider world, that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.
Implementation
Geography is taught in blocks throughout the year, so that children achieve depth in their learning. Teachers have identified the key knowledge and skills of each topic and consideration has been given to ensure progression across topics throughout each year group across the school. Our curriculum has been sequenced to enable pupils to gradually widen their sense of scale from their immediate geography to the global. In EYFS children begin to gain an understanding of their immediate environment and the people and communities around them. In KS1 children will begin by looking at the local environment before moving on to study and compare the wider world. In lower KS2, children explore the United Kingdom and Europe. In upper KS2, pupils will look at the world on a global scale, including studying how the landscape is shaped by both the environment and by peoples’ actions. Throughout KS1 and KS2, map and fieldwork knowledge is developed through a series of fieldwork enquiries. Children will have opportunities to interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes and aerial photographs.
Impact
Over time, our children will develop a contextual knowledge of globally significant places, both terrestrial and marine, including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide geographical context for understanding the actions of processes. They will understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring variation and change over time. Our children will be competent in the geographical skills needed to: collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes. They will be able to interpret a range of sources of geographical information and communicate their geographical information in a variety of ways. Our children will be equipped to appreciate the wonderfully, diverse world around them, both now and throughout their lives, to continue ‘doing all the good they can‘ to protect our Earth and to preserve it ‘for all‘.
Curriculum Design and Progression Framework
Our curriculum is structured using Developing Experts so that pupils’ understanding, subject knowledge and enquiry skills build progressively as they move through the school.
Click to view geography progression of knowledge document
Click to view geography map skills progression
Click to view Y1-2 geography curriculum map
Click to view Y3-4 geography curriculum map
Click to view Y5-6 geography curriculum map
Further details about Geography in EYFS can be found in the Understanding the World area of our EYFS curriculum plan
Rolling Programme
We have recently updated our curriculum and adopted the Developing Experts scheme of work. We will be using the rolling programme below, but are in a transitional year, so this cycle may be adapted slightly to ensure comprehensive coverage of all elements.
Click to view the geography rolling programme
Click to view geography on a page