Geography

Geography Learning Pathway at St John's

At St John’s CE Primary School our Geography curriculum supports children to gain a broad and deep understanding of the world and the places and spaces within it. Geography is an investigative subject which inspires children to be curious about the world and their place within it. Our aim is for children to understand how places and spaces are influenced and changed by human activity.

As pupil’s progress through the school their growing knowledge about the world helps them to see how physical landscapes and features are formed. They discover how human environments are created and how physical and human processes interact with each other to create the world we live in. Children are encouraged to notice how human activity can damage the physical environment and consider what actions and limitations are required to support a healthy future for our planet.

Geographical skills are taught progressively to allow pupils to investigate physical and human environments. Mapping skills are developed using paper and digital maps which help to gain an understanding of the world at different scales. Field work opportunities, both locally and further afield, are utilised to encourage a wide range of skills to be used with purpose. These help children to answer enquiries and draw conclusions from a range of data, information, images and experiences.

In ensuring high standards of teaching and learning in Geography, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school. Starting with the early Years Foundation Stage who lay the foundations for all children to have an ‘Understanding of the World; people, culture and communities, the natural world and how the world changes from past to present’.

This is followed by Key Stage One exploring and investigating the local area of Tunbridge Wells, the SE of England and the United Kingdom and contrasting it with a non- European country.

In Key Stage Two we build on from these early skills, learn about wider ranging environments both locally, nationally and from around the world.

By the end of Year Six we have confident and well-rounded geographers who can use the skills they have learnt to read maps, investigate different places, locations and physical processes. Children who can present arguments and conclusions found in human geography, and who are aware and have opinions on in the moment, real life issues e.g. climate change. Year Six children will leave St John’s as responsible citizens with a set of core values, an appreciation of local, international and global issues and a passion to be active in protecting the world in which they live.