Geography

At St John's we want every child to be happy and enthusiastic learners of Geography, and to be eager to achieve their very best in order to fulfil their God-given talents. We firmly believe that the recipe for success is high-quality first-wave teaching in Geography, which is central to the life of our happy, caring school.

Intent – What we are trying to achieve?

• Our principal aim is that children leave St. John's CE (VC) Primary School with a wide range of happy and rich memories in Geography formed through interesting and exciting experiences driven through vehicles that enhance a child’s awareness of their own abilities and strengths as a learner; thus ensuring that children see learning in Geography as an on-going process, not a one-off event.

• Children will meet the National Curriculum expectations in Geography which will be taught by highly qualified, enthusiastic staff who will support children to develop mastery of concepts and inspire enthusiasm and interest in the subject.

• Opportunities will exist for children of all ages to experience learning beyond the classroom. This will allow them to broaden their knowledge by, for example, visiting places they may not normally consider or places of geographical interest or conducting geographical surveys within the local area to gain relevant information 

• Children will develop a deep understanding of the subjects they are studying. They will increasingly use their prior knowledge to solve problems and develop the sophistication of Geography.

• In Geography, children will develop the skills to consider human and physical geographical characteristics, gain appropriate working knowledge of the locality and conduct meaningful fieldwork.

Implementation – How do we translate our vision into practice?

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• The subject leader for geography will meet with other schools within the cluster and will discuss the curriculum on a termly basis to evaluate its provision in order to ensure that teaching and learning in Geography is outstanding. This is led by the Geography Subject leader in school. Where necessary, staff will receive coaching and training in Geography.

• Carefully designed schemes of learning in Geography ensure consistency and progress of all learners.

• Success criteria in every Geography lesson are set in order to guide children to achieve their potential. This ensures work is demanding and matches the aims of the curriculum.

• High-quality teaching responds to the needs of children. Spaced learning is a key focus of all formative and summative assessments with teachers actively assessing work in lessons in order to identify misconceptions early.

• High-quality input from experts and educational resources complement the delivery of specialist learning admirably. 

Impact – What is the impact of our curriculum on the students?

• Children experience a wide range of learning challenges within the subject and know appropriate responses to them, such as informed choices regarding current environmental issues e.g. limiting the use of plastics.

• Through Geography, children deepen their appreciation of their faith and fulfill their God-given talents. Following Christian values, they understand that they are called to look after and protect the world God has given us.

• Children of all abilities and backgrounds achieve well in Geography reflected in outstanding progress that reveals a clear learning journey. Children talk enthusiastically about their learning in Geography and are eager to further their learning in the next stages of their education.