Geography

At Denmead Infant School we believe that through enquiry-based learning, geography helps to facilitate and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. Our teaching equips children with knowledge about places and people; physical and human processes and the formation and use of landscapes. In Key Stage 1, we follow the Programmes of Study in the National Curriculum and in Year R, our provision for Geography falls within the Educational Programme for Understanding the World from Development Matters.

Our curriculum ensures that our children’s substantive and disciplinary knowledge is built upon year on year. They gain a deeper understanding by referring to what has already been taught – making connections with the new learning taking place. We want children to enjoy and love learning about geography by gaining this knowledge and skills, not just through experiences in the classroom, but also with the use of fieldwork and educational visits. Children develop their geographical skills through collecting and analysing data, using real and digital maps, globes and photos of the local area and of more global places.

As part of our implementation, we aim to challenge, enthuse and involve all learners through an enquiry-based cycle of learning. Children are taught the disciplinary skills they will need to investigate the world around, they use their growing substantive knowledge to explain what they have observed and make simple connections and comparisons. Alongside our cycles of enquiry we react to events in the news to ensure that the geography remains current, relevant and up-to-date and it is very real for the children; ‘bringing the subject alive.’ 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.’

Teachers ensure that children are engaged in geography through carefully planned challenging questions, hooks and enquiries that require the children to develop the use of their thinking skills to extend their own knowledge and understanding, drawing on what they know and have experienced already.  Their ability to investigate, recognise, describe and explain enables them to develop a detailed understanding of people and places. The children are encouraged to use their understanding of similarity and difference when comparing and contrasting areas, and they will ask and answer challenging geographical questions that make links between natural and man-made features, cause and effect, people and periods in time.

In order to ensure equity and high quality outcomes for children, our approaches to learning are sensitive to the needs of them all, especially those who are vulnerable. We use a range of flexible and responsive teaching strategies, alongside effective assessment to ensure all children receive the support and challenge they need to be successful.

At Denmead Infant School we believe that the provision of a language rich geography curriculum is essential to the successful acquisition of knowledge and it is therefore carefully planned for progressively across the school.