Subject Champion for Geography - Jeanette Ashby

Geography Intent Statement

At Millfield Primary School we believe our Geography curriculum should excite and inspire curiosity about the world we live in and instill in our pupils a sense of compassion to enable them to become responsible global citizens and ensure such fascination will remain with them for the rest of their lives.  We encourage our children to be deep thinkers by provoking them to pose and answer big questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world by exploring their own place in it, their values and responsibilities to other people, to the environment and to the sustainability of the planet.

At Millfield Primary School we aim to build a geography curriculum which enables children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferable to other curriculum areas including promoting their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Our pupils often lack an awareness of the wider world so we seek to broaden their horizons and prepare them for adult life by enhancing their role in becoming responsible global citizens with a deeper 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.

Implementation

We achieve this through our careful planning using the National Curriculum, our progression grid, subject specific content and appropriate connections to other curriculum areas; areas of study covered will be in-depth or overview units. Units of work will be carefully sequenced so prior knowledge and content are built upon from previous year groups/units and teachers will make reference to these in their delivery of lessons. We recognise at Millfield that many pupils have limited experiences of the wider world beyond Norfolk and we seek to raise awareness and aspirations through our regular whole school ‘geography spotlights’ where children will experience a ‘place’ taster and discover more about another part of the world. Our geography experiences will also be enhanced with the use of high quality resources, regular fieldwork and outdoor learning opportunities, educational visits and references made to current issues/news which are either local, national or international this may/may not be directly linked to units taught.  We have identified at Millfield that many pupils enter Reception with poor communication skills, so we ensure through our geography progression a high importance on exploring questions about the world and promoting discussion as well as teaching key geographical and subject specific vocabulary which are continually referred to, applied and built upon as the children progress through the school.

When planning and teaching geography, teachers will ensure that all children have equal access to the curriculum by implementing the following: adhering to pupil support plans, structured questioning, adapting resources and using a variety of teaching strategies to ensure engagement and address differing learning styles.