Geography POLICY

Chapel St TrustMission Statement

As part of the Chapel St family of schools, Benedict Primary strives to provide an attractive, safe, well-ordered, child-centered place of learning within a broad, generous and inclusive Christian ethos. Maintaining and sustaining the highest standards of teaching and learning is the key concern of governors and staff. The school seeks to work positively with parents and carers to fulfill the school's expectation that all learners are enabled to achieve at the highest level of which they are capable.

Chapel St welcomes children and families from all faiths and none to work together towards the good of the whole community through Grace, Love and Fellowship. There is a daily act of collective worship, which encourages spiritual development and a mutual understanding of life together.

Our School Vision

Inspire, Think, Enrich

“To develop an emotionally intelligent learning school, where everyone is inspired and has a belief in their life long learning goals; feel valued and are empowered through thinking to learn; work together to develop positive self esteem and enrich individual, team and whole school success through Grace, Love and Fellowship.

Geography is the study of Earth’s landscapes, peoples, places and environments. It is, quite simply, about the world in which we live.

Philosophy:

Geography is a valued part of the curriculum at BenedictPrimary School. Geography provides a means of exploring, appreciating and understanding the world inwhich we live and how it has evolved. It explores the relationship between the Earth and her people.Geography stimulates curiosity and imagination. At Benedict, we aim to build upon thechild's "personal geography" by developing geographical skills, understandingand knowledge through studying places and themes. We encourage children to learn by experience and we value fieldwork as anintegral part of learning. Geography develops knowledge of places and environmentsthroughout the world, an understanding of maps, and a range ofinvestigative and problem-solving skills, both inside and outside theclassroom. As such, it prepares pupils for adult life and employment.

Geography is a focus within the curriculum for understanding andresolving issues about the environment and sustainable development. Itis also an important link between the natural and social sciences. Aspupils study geography, they encounter different societies and cultures.This helps them realise how nations rely on each other. It can inspirethem to think about their own place in the world, their values, and theirrights and responsibilities to other people and the environment.

Aims:

Through our teaching of geography we aim to:

Stimulate pupils' enthusiasm for, and curiosity about, their surroundings and the wider world

Increase their knowledge and understanding of the different communities and cultures within Benedict, Mitcham, London, Britain and the world - and how these relate to each other

Increase their knowledge and understanding of the changing world

Encourage pupils to ask questions and propose solutions to environmental problems within BenedictPrimary School and the wider world

Develop pupils' competence in specific geographical skills (such as use of maps, secondary sources, ICT, aerial photographs, data logging equipment and considering evidence from a range of sources).

Foster a sense of responsibility and respect for our school grounds and wider neighbourhood environment, the earth, her people and her resources.

Through Geography we can also:

Improve pupils' skills in literacy, numeracy and ICT

Develop pupils' thinking skills

Promote pupils' awareness and understanding of gender, cultural, spiritual and moral issues

Develop pupils as active citizens.

Role of Subject Leader

  • To take the lead in policy development.
  • To support and advise colleagues.
  • To lead staff in their continuing professional development.
  • To monitor progress in geography through learning walks, monitoring children’s work, analysis of teacher assessment.
  • To take responsibility for the choice, purchase and organisation of central resources for geography , in consultation with colleagues.
  • To liaise with other members of staff to form a coherent and progressive scheme of work, thus ensuring both experience and capability in the subject of all staff.
  • To be familiar with current thinking concerning the teaching of geography, and to share information with colleagues.
  • The subject leader will be responsible to the Headteacher and will liaise with the named link Governors.
  • The subject leader will work with other members of the senior leadership team to monitor the geography planning within our school.

Planning and Strategies:

Learning and Teaching in Geography will be in line with new National Curriculum, the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and the school’s Teaching and Learning Policy, where provision is made for all learning styles. The geography curriculum at Benedict Primary is designed to provide children with learning opportunities that reflect the breadth and balance of contexts outlined in the new National Curriculum. A long term map is provided for all year groups to ensure coverage is spread throughout the school. We ensure that there are opportunities for children of all abilities to develop their skills and knowledge in each unit and we build planned progression into the scheme of work so that the children are increasingly challenged as they move up through the school.

We carry out curriculum planning in Geography in three phases (long-term, medium-term and short-term). The long-term plan maps the geography topics studied in each term during each key stage and the children study geography topics in conjunction with other subjects, especially at Key Stage 1. Some topics have a particular geographical focus and in Key Stage 2 we place an increasing emphasis on independent historical study. We teach the knowledge, skills and understanding set out in the National Curriculum through the corresponding programme of study.
As the basis for our medium-term plans, we use the national scheme of work which gives details of each unit of work for each term.

The geography subject leader keeps and reviews these plans on a regular basis.
The class teacher writes an outline for each geography lesson which may be integrated with other subjects (short-term plans). These list the specific learning objectives of each lesson.

As an integral part of the teaching and learning of Geography, children will be given the opportunity to undertake purposeful fieldwork, communicating their findings in a variety of ways. We regularly use our school groundsto help children learn geographical skills and to respect the school grounds and wider environment. We hope to hold an annual Green Day/Earth Day (International Earth Day: April 22) which we hope will heighten the awareness of the school community to issues related to looking after our Earth.

By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study. Teachers will use their professional judgement to determine the most effective methods of gathering evidence of pupils’ progress, which will form the basis of an annual written report to parents. Gathering evidence of pupils’ attainment allows teachers to identify what has been learned and identify ways of overcoming difficulties and establish a basis for further planning. Formative assessment can be made from a range of sources, including

 Written work  Spoken activities  Maps, plans and sketches  Group activities

 Fieldwork  Audio and video recording  ICT materials e.g. emails, desk top publishing  Models  Photographs  Comments from other people e.g. helpers on fieldwork

Thinking Hats

Thinking hats is used as a tool to encourage creative thinking across the curriculum. Thinking hats will be used in Geography to support children to think in different ways particularly in problem solving activities. The use of thinking hats will be stated on the weekly planning. The subject leader will monitor the use of the thinking hats and their effect on teaching and learning. Thinking hats will be displayed in each classroom to support children when using this learning tool.

Partnership with Parents

We endeavour to involve parents/carers as much as possible across the curriculum, throughout the academic year. We encourage home learning and parental involvement in school, whenever appropriate. Using effective channels of communication and getting parents involved in personal learning helps to build strong relationships and encourages involvement in the child's learning and progress. Effective home-school partnerships are essential to ensure that each child gets the most out of their school and the education system.

Equal Opportunities

Children of all ethnic and cultural groups, races, genders and abilities, have equal access to the Geography Curriculum. Positive images in terms of all groups are promoted throughout the school, both in the use of language and in the provision of resources.

Approved
Review Date
Signed (Principal) / Name
Signed (Chair of Local Governing Body) / Name
Signed (Company Secretary) / Name

Written by Barbara Timoney

March, 2015

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