Subject Rationale:

The Geography curriculum at The Wilfred Owen School is designed to give children the opportunity to explore and understand the processes and systems of the physical and human environment.

Children should have the opportunity to use resources and field study opportunities to experience geographical enquiries and evidence.

Priority is to give opportunity to use maps, atlases and globes to identify patterns, trends and features.

Geography is an area of study which supports our key curriculum drivers:

As a geographer, we will expect children to develop:

• An excellent knowledge of where places are and what they are like.
• An excellent understanding of the ways in which places are interdependent and interconnected and how much human and physical environments are interrelated.
• An extensive base of geographical knowledge and vocabulary.
• Fluency in complex, geographical enquiry and the ability to apply questioning skills and use effective analytical and presentational techniques.
• The ability to reach clear conclusions and develop a reasoned argument to explain findings.
• Significant levels of originality, imagination or creativity as shown in interpretations and representations of the subject matter.
• Highly developed and frequently utilised fieldwork and other geographical skills and techniques.
• A passion for and commitment to the subject, and a real sense of curiosity to find out about the world and the people who live there.
• The ability to express well-balanced opinions, rooted in very good knowledge and understanding about current and contemporary issues in society and the environment.

Subject Intent:

Through the Geography curriculum, each child will develop the following key concepts:

• Investigate places

This concept involves understanding the geographical location of places and their physical and human features.

Develop 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.

Interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems.

• Investigate patterns

This concept involves understanding the relationships between the physical features of places and the human activity within them, and the appreciation of how the world’s natural resources are used and transported.

Understand 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, collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes

• Communicate geographically

This concept involves understanding geographical representations, vocabulary and techniques.

Communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.

Alongside History, Geography is quite often a focus for our themes on the long-term plan.  The design of our geography curriculum is repeating the key concepts and skills in different contexts to further embed and develop children’s understanding.

Geography is generally taught weekly in a block of at least an hour, however, during a block where the main focus is a different curriculum area, geography work may be blocked and is treated as a supplementary unit.

Geography links with a great deal of our cross curricular work, with classes using debate on environmental issues in English, investigating rocks and soils linked to coastal erosion in science or exploring settlements and defensive natural features in history.

Geography is a good opportunity to offer  practical and hands-on enquiry.  Children are given the opportunity to take part in field studies in a variety of environments and can apply measure, observations and statistics to their practical work.  Often there is a problem-solving aspect of geography, which is supported by our Enquiry driver for the curriculum.

We give children opportunities to visit a wide range of locations to look at human and physical features.  This has included visits to forest sites, residential centres such as Bryntisilio which is located in the heart of the Welsh countryside, visits to the local area such as Reebrook, the river and our own school grounds.  It is important we can experience different localities through out planning.  Children will visit the coast so they are able to go on the beach, have visited the docks in Liverpool, walked around Chester city to look at the impact of human features and developments and Cardingmill Valley to explore rivers and streams. 

We want to inspire children to take responsibility for the future of the planet, so offer opportunities to investigate environmental impact and changes which they can have an influence on.  We have held the Eco-School Green Flag Award for a number of years and have run a successful eco-council, who take responsibility for monitoring our energy use, water use, food waste and rubbish production.  Children have taken part in a number of fund raising activities to support charities and organisations who have an impact on environmental issues such as Water Aid and the World Wildlife fund.   

Geography is assessed by teachers in class, using a variety of sources, such as work in books, contribution to class discussion, engagement in field work and pre and post assessments as part of the process to identify misconceptions.

At the end of each term, staff complete an assessment grid using the objectives from the National Curriculum.  Children will be banded as Working towards, expected and greater depth.