At Woodcote Primary we strive to enthuse all children with a desire to understand who they are, their place in the world and their impact upon it. They should develop the investigative skills necessary to find out about and understand the similarities and differences between peoples, including those from other lands and cultures, human and natural environments and key physical and human processes.
It is our intent that a sequential learning experience will build upon the knowledge and skills previously taught and acquired, through quality first teaching supported by both classroom and field-based learning. Learners will investigate and enquire about the locality of Woodcote and its people, giving students a secure basis from which they can not only understand their place in the world but to be begin making comparisons to other places and peoples around the world. The teaching of geography will provide children with opportunities to grow the transferable skills of questioning, exploration and research which will be required across the breadth of curriculum. By encouraging enquiring minds and fostering curiosity, we hope to ‘build’ global citizens with an appreciation for travel and exploration, whilst respecting those peoples and landscapes they visit.
At Woodcote Primary School, all children will cover the Geography curriculum, predominantly through cross-curricular study with areas such as English, History and maths allowing for greater immersion. The study of geography will begin in FS2 via Understanding the World in the EYFS framework, where our youngest learners will cover the Early Learning Goals: People, Culture and Communities and The Natural World, with the scope of study progressively widening as the pupils move up through KS1 and into KS2.
In the EYFS children will look at cultural celebrations to engage in their learning as they celebrate Diwali and Chinese New Year. They will learn more about their own locality by exploring maps of the village allowing them to begin to learn the skills for map reading. Our EYFS children begin their exploration of Understanding the World by learning about space and planet Earth. They then focus in on the village of Woodcote as a place in England. Stories, discussion and observations will support the children in exploring these Specific areas of learning. Experiential learning will see the children undertake walking trips within the village and a journey beyond the village to broaden their horizons.
Through Key Stage 1 children will extend their knowledge of the locality by using aerial views and maps, identifying important buildings and walks through the village guided by map reading. Field work, in the form of walks around the locality, will allow children to make observations about the physical and human features of the school and the village. Children will learn about the countries that make up the UK, through celebrating the Patron Saint’s Days throughout the year. Pupils will develop their geographical understanding beyond the UK through a contrasting study between the locality and a non-European country. The breadth of study here will allow children to explore all strands of knowledge. Opportunities to explore further methods of mapping will lead to the use of atlases, maps and globes to aid their understanding of the UK, continents, oceans and habitat zones. Digital and interactive technology, for example Google Earth, a virtual world cruise and Street View, will be introduced to enhance the children’s understanding of these places.
As the children progress through the school they will deepen their knowledge of the locality using a range of maps, including digital mapping. Digital mapping will also contribute to the children’s research of countries around the world. Atlas work will be used to support an understanding of changes in the geographical landscape via topic work on Vikings, Anglo-Saxons and World War II. Before pupils leave Woodcote, they consider mature themes such as environmental destruction through natural disaster, and changes made at the hands of humans through deforestation and climate change.
Autumn | Spring | Summer | |
EYFS | Community Me in the World; my family, school and village | Closest Town, Links with Woodcote | Wider World, hot and cold countries compared to UK |
Year 1 | Our school and local area | Wonderful Weather | The UK |
Year 2 |
| Our Wide World Tulum, Mexico |
|
Year 3 |
| Countries of Europe; the continents and oceans | |
Year 4 | Local Study | Rainforests Deforestation Rivers | The Rise of the Roman Empire |
Year 5 |
| Human Planet | WW2 |
Year 6 | Restless Earth | ||
Impact
The Geography curriculum that we have developed at Woodcote will equip our pupils with:
The impact of our curriculum is progressive; we aim to equip pupils with the skills and confidence to understand and interpret the different strands within the geography curriculum. This is achieved through a combination of fieldwork skills, comparing and contrasting different locations, an ability to interpret key sources and a deepening vocabulary.
Our Geography curriculum creates aware citizens with a desire to know their place within the world, and who want to know more about the world in which they live. They will appreciate similarities and differences between environments around the globe, and how the communities within them live. Our curriculum fosters a sense of curiosity about different places and environmental issues that affect us locally and globally. We empower pupils with the belief that they will be able to make a positive impact on their world in the future.
Assessment
Children are given regular and meaningful written and verbal feedback. Teachers make use of good questioning to provide informal assessment opportunities throughout lessons and to assess individual and whole-class understanding. Moderation of pupil books is used with the whole staff team to ensure consistency and progression of skills across the school.