Alsager Highfields Geography
Intent
At Alsager Highfields Primary School we provide a nurturing environment where every child can believe in themselves and achieve. We aim to fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum for geography by providing a broad and balanced curriculum. This involves providing children with knowledge about places and people; resources in the environment; physical and human processes; formation and use of landscapes. Through the curriculum, children are given opportunities to develop their geographical skills e.g. through collecting and analysing data; using maps, looking at globes and aerial photographs. At Alsager Highfields we aim to provide a curriculum which is progressive in the development of geographical concepts, knowledge and skills. Through our Geography curriculum we aim to prepare our pupils for life after primary school, providing them with the strategies and knowledge to carry out their duties as citizens in our town.
Implementation
At Alsager Highfields Geographical skills are taught progressively across year groups leading to knowledge building over time. We use the rising stars Geography scheme of work as a tool to support us in delivering the objectives. The scheme of work is coherently planned, sequenced and has rigorous progression to enable children to reach their full potential as geographers and gain the knowledge and skills they require. The curriculum encompasses all areas of learning and aim to provide learning which makes links across all subjects to give children a clear rationale for completing their work. In order to allow children to remember key skills, children revisit certain skills during the course of a key stage using methods that are familiar to the children in our school. Wherever possible, reading, writing and Maths activities are linked across lessons and reading is used continuously to discover and explore, developing vocabulary and speech and language at all times. The same quality of work is expected across all subjects which leads to higher standards and outcomes whilst promoting independence. Topics are taught through tasks which encompass the full primary curriculum. This gives learning purpose ensuring the work carried out is memorable and where possible meaningful links are made between different areas of the curriculum. Trips/ visitors booked for the children will be of high quality. The intention of such trips is to provide the children with cultural capital and to give them experiences that enhance their learning such as trips to UK cities such as Liverpool and London.
Impact
By the time they leave Alsager Highfields, the majority of pupils will have developed contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places – both terrestrial and marine – including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes. Pupils will demonstrate an understanding of the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time. Most pupils 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. The majority of pupils will be able to interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems. The majority of pupils will be able to communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length. All children will have had the opportunity to attend trips to locations throughout the UK where they can experience places first-hand and use their Geography skills practically.