Intent:

At Corpus Christi, we want to develop our pupil’s understanding of the world around them through the study of place, space and environment. Our curriculum has been developed to ensure we fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum for Geography; providing a stimulating, engaging and challenging curriculum; ensuring the progressive development of geographical concepts, vocabulary, knowledge and skills. Furthermore, we aim to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.

We intend to provide all pupils regardless of ethnic origin, gender, class, aptitude or disability with a broad and balanced Geography curriculum. Through the teaching of Geography, we endeavour to increase pupil’ awareness, knowledge and understanding of other cultures; develop pupils’ skills to draw, interpret and use maps; promote an awareness of environmental problems at a local, national and global level; encourage pupils to commit to sustainable development and develop cultural capital that highlights and develops an understanding of the role that Great Britain has to play in the global landscape of a modern world.

In Geography, we aim to support our learning and develop interests through our ‘Curriculum Drivers’. These drivers are used to underpin the direction and development of our curriculum and to ensure that Geography is enriched and personalised in order to meet the needs, interests and ambitions of our pupils and families. We want our pupils to:

Communicate – acquire and use the rich vocabulary they will learn as they progress through the school and to be able to communicate geographical information in a variety of ways.

Opportunity – to research the careers within the scope of Geography and build their understanding of their opportunities to study and work with this field and become Geographers of the future.

Responsibility – sustaining a ‘healthy lifestyle’ by recognising the importance of consuming fresh fruit and vegetables and how sourcing food contributes to a healthy well-balanced diet.

Perseverance –understand the importance of continuing to try and not give up. Learn from the examples of Geographers who have shown resilience and perseverance in their field of work.

Understanding –  gain knowledge that will be built upon in each year group and enable pupils to know more about the world in which we live.

Service – build an awareness of environmental and sustainability problems at a local, national and global level and know how they can have a positive impact on our community and the wider world. We also want our pupils to understand Fair Trade and the products relating to Fair Trade.

 

Implementation:

At Corpus Christi, Geography is taught on a rotated timetable each half term, so that pupils achieve depth in their learning and are given time to consolidate and build on prior knowledge, especially when focusing on key concepts. The key knowledge and skills of each topic is identified through the use of unit markers and consideration has been given to ensure progression of skills and vocabulary across each phase of the school.

Cross-curricular outcomes in Geography are specifically planned for, with strong links between the Geography curriculum and other subjects, enabling further contextual learning. Cross-curricular opportunities are provided through Maths in all year groups, where data handling skills are used to interpret data and draw findings. Wolverhampton is situated in the Midlands and is fortunate enough to have a selection of places of natural beauty bordering our county, which are fully utilised for opportunities for learning outside the classroom for fieldwork on educational visits.

Early Years

We teach Geography in Early Years as an integral part of the topic work covered during the year. We relate the geographical aspects of the pupil’s work to the objectives set out in Development Matters. Geography makes a significant contribution to the development of each pupil’s understanding of the world.

In Early Years, pupils should be able to: –

  • know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials & living things.
  • talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another.
  • make observations of animals & plants & explain why some things occur, and talk about changes.
  • ask questions to gain information about the world around them.

Key Stage 1

Pupils should develop knowledge about the world, the United Kingdom and their locality. They should understand basic subject-specific vocabulary relating to human and physical geography and begin to use geographical skills, including first-hand observation, to enhance their locational awareness.

The four geographical strands taught in KS1 are:

  • Locational knowledge
  • Place knowledge
  • Human and physical geography
  • Geographical skills and fieldwork

Key Stage 2

Pupils should extend their knowledge and understanding beyond the local area to include the United Kingdom and Europe, North and South America. This will include the location and characteristics of a range of the world’s most significant human and physical features. They should develop their use of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their locational and place knowledge.

The four geographical strands taught in KS2 are:

  • Locational knowledge
  • Place knowledge
  • Human and physical geography
  • Geographical skills and fieldwork

Impact:

Pupils will have developed the geographical knowledge and skills to help them explore, navigate and understand the world around them and their place in it. Pupil’s knowledge and skills will develop progressively as they move through the school, not only to enable them to meet the requirements of the National Curriculum but to prepare them to become competent geographers in secondary education, in their future careers and to equip them with essential life skills.

 

Please click on the links below to find out more about our Geography planning.

 

Geography Documents

Please view the additional documents in school:

  • Geography Knowledge and Skills Progression
  • Geography Vocabulary Progression
  • Geography Unit Markers

Please click on the images below for further information: