Our Subject Leader for Geography is Miss Kippax.
Curriculum Intent
At Gilnow, we are passionate about our children being inspired to be curious and fascinated about the world and the people that live in it. The Gilnow Geography curriculum aims to equip our children with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and human and natural environments. As children progress through the years at Gilnow, we aim to develop a deep understanding of the Earth’s key human and physical processes and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. At Gilnow, we believe that geographical knowledge, skills and understanding provide the outline that help children to understand how the Earth’s features and people change over time. Our themes are taken from the national curriculum and are thoughtfully matched to our children’s needs and understanding of the world, so geographical areas that we study are chosen carefully to both support and complement the countries that many of our children’s families originate from.
Curriculum Implementation
At Gilnow, Geography is taught in blocks throughout the year, so that children can achieve depth in their learning. The topics ensure a progression of knowledge and skills throughout each group across the school. At the start of a topic, children are able to demonstrate what they already know. This advises the teaching of the lessons within the topic and adaptations can be made which take into account children’s different starting points. Geography at Gilnow allows children to develop their understanding of the world and their locality and to develop their map and fieldwork skills.
The Geography curriculum is carefully planned and structured to ensure that current learning is linked to previous learning and that skills and knowledge are built upon and embedded throughout the key stages. Geography at Gilnow follows the topics outlined on the long term overview for each year group. Teachers utilise knowledge organisers which detail key facts and vocabulary. This learning is revisited at the start of each Geography lesson. A pre-learning task determines children’s starting points and a post learning task demonstrates depth of understanding.
Curriculum Impact
The Geography curriculum will make a long lasting and positive impact on the outcomes of every pupil. The design and structure enables us to return to core knowledge and skills throughout the topic, embedding key skills, knowledge and understanding. Key facts are supported by the knowledge organiser which details the key vocabulary and learning points. Teachers endeavour to create strong and appropriate cross curricular links. Each lesson, teachers recap previously taught knowledge which supports pupils to retain the knowledge taught, resulting in an impactful curriculum.
This is measured through:
- Learning walks
- Lesson observation and feedback
- Book looks
- Pupil voice conversations
- Staff meeting training and discussion
- Termly summative assessments
