Subject leader: Miss Arrowsmith

Subject intent: 

At Northlands we seek to inspire our children to find out about the world and its people. This is particularly the case given that a significant number of our children have experiences of life beyond the United Kingdom. We aim to ensure pupils retain knowledge about the Earth’s significant physical and human processes as well as to be able to talk about the human and physical features of a range of places throughout the world. Pupils develop a range of progressive skills such as mapping, comparing, contrasting and explaining.

Subject implementation:

Geography is taught along side history and linked to an overarching theme allowing a more purposeful application of geography skills (for example where did the Anglo Saxons rule as part of the Saxons theme or mapping the local area as part of the Homes theme). EYFS and KS1 begin to use maps focussing on physical representations of the local area and slowly move onto abstract representations. Learners begin to compare where they live to places to other places and begin to answer geographical questions. As they move into KS2 they explore more complex maps including grid references and begin to compare countries based on, for example temperature and resources and then comment on how this impacts the human geography of the area. Pupils develop a range of progressive skills such as mapping, comparing, contrasting and explaining.

Subject impact:

Pupils come away with a strong sense of the world and have an understanding of how countries differ in terms of basic geography including climate, resources, and people. They are curious about the world and retain the geographical knowledge and skills they have been taught. Outcomes in books demonstrate clear progression and particularly in mapping skills. 

Pedagogical Approach:

In a typical lesson you are likely to see children referring to geographical data for example graphs and texts. They will explore locations using maps and discussing their significance and also investigate geographical ideas such as why it rains. The children are able to explore this subject through their prior knowledge of countries, areas, places they have travelled and share their ideas and thoughts with peers. Vocabulary is a key area of study as the children develop their language skills when referring to particular aspects of Geography such as equator, terrain and the difference between human and physical geography.