GEOGRAPHY
Intent
At Maltby Manor Academy, we deliver a unique and bespoke curriculum to suit the needs of individual learners. We believe that Geography helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the physical and human aspects of the world. Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it.
The geography curriculum at Maltby Manor enables children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferable to other curriculum areas, and which can be used to promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Geography is, by nature, an investigative subject, which develops an understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills.
We seek to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people which will remain with them for the rest of their lives; to promote the children’s interest and 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. The curriculum is designed to develop knowledge and skills that are progressive, as well as transferable, throughout their time at Maltby Manor and to their further education and beyond.
Implementation
Geography lessons are planned using the National Curriculum and progression of skills documents, where a subject does not link with the inquiry it is taught discretely.
Geography in KS1 includes learning about the children’s locality and school in Y1 and moves on to studying the United Kingdom as a whole and the 7 continents of the world in Y2 and into Y3. In KS2 Geography introduces the children to Europe in Y4 and the wider world in Y5 and Y6.
Geography lessons in KS1 and KS2 are structured in a way that helps children to recall previous learning through sharp starts. Vocabulary for new learning is explained explicitly, then the lesson moves on to clear examples to deepen understanding. Children are then given a chance to attempt a task with teacher support and guidance to develop their confidence before they move on to applying the new learning independently. A challenge is provided to deepen understanding further.
In EYFS, Geography presents itself within the ‘Understanding the World’ ELG. Children are expected to observe the natural world around them and be able to talk about similarities and differences of their immediate environment. Geography is taught through short inputs followed by a structured task to develop and deepen understanding. Bespoke learning opportunities are also set up during continuous provision, and adults model and scaffold accessing these activities to optimise the learning taking place.
Fieldwork is an important aspect of Geography and children are expected to progress from using their senses in EYFS to comparing human and physical features in KS1 and KS2. By the end of Y6, our children are expected to use fieldwork skills to carry out a focused in-depth study in the local area.
The teaching of Geography is supported by the progression of skills document which is year group specific, including concepts such as location and place from Nursery – Year 6. Key geographical vocabulary is on the progression document, linking to the skills being taught. As many children have not experienced life outside of Maltby, the National Curriculum is further supported through carefully researched and chosen residential and school visits such as the Y3 visit to the Mining Museum, fieldwork in Bamburgh in Y5, and studying the locality of Maltby and its land use in multiple year groups. We aim, particularly with Geography, to widen the children’s understanding of the wider world around them and increase their cultural capital. Each year group creates their own knowledge mat to support the teaching of their geographical learning journey, helping the children to understand and embed vital subject-specific vocabulary and knowledge.
Impact
The Geography curriculum that we provide at Maltby Manor gives children the confidence and motivation to further develop their skills into the next stage of their education and life experiences. We ensure that the skills and knowledge are progressive and embedded. Children can recall facts and create links between their learning and geographical understanding. When the children leave Maltby Manor, they are confident, inquisitive, and resilient learners who are equipped with skills to help them answer geographical questions about the world around them. The children are global citizens through developing a greater understanding, knowledge, and respect of the wider world, as well as their place in it.
In Geography, children are assessed regularly in relation to their year group expectations. Formative assessment is carried out weekly to check children’s progress after each lesson. Summative assessment is completed at the end of each unit so teachers can clearly see who is on track and who is working towards expectations. Pupils are assessed through teacher judgement at the end of each unit, using the key objectives for Geography in the National Curriculum. At the end of the year, teachers make a final judgement against the entire year group curriculum to determine where each child is working.