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Geography at Southery Academy 

Intent:

At Southery, our aim is for our children to channel their inner Geographer both within their Geography lessons and across the curriculum and their everyday life. We intend for our children to be intrigued and interested in geographical findings and be inquisitive to find out as much as they can. The subject of Geography must teach an understanding of places, people and environments. It must motivate our children to find out about the physical world, enabling them to recognise the importance of sustainable development, and how we live, for the future. Our Geography curriculum is designed so that it is ambitious for all learners. Knowledge, skills and concepts are clearly outlined in an age-appropriate, progressive way from the Early Years Foundation Stage through to Year 6, so that the children’s understanding can be built upon, year-on-year.  We aim for a good understanding and conceptual development for all learners, giving access where necessary by scaffolding, supporting with staff or adapting the learning tasks so that all children develop as geographers. Stretch tasks and stretch questions are also included in line with our other subjects at Southery to challenge and support all children and those with a will to go that extra mile.  There are close links with science and maths, by way of surveys, local studies and collection and management of data. 

Implementation:

In Geography, children learn about their local area and compare their life in this area with that in other regions in the UK as well as the rest of the world. They learn how to draw and interpret maps, which leads on to their personal development in terms of the skills of research, investigation, analysis and problem-solving. Through their growing knowledge and understanding of human geography, they gain an appreciation of life in other cultures.  In addition, we teach the growing realisation of the impact of climate change on our lives both now and in the future and therefore, we react to these changes as new information comes to light. Where possible, we make geography practical and hands-on, starting from what the children already know and can see in our local community, as well as moving further afield.

Impact:

At Southery, we strive for all pupils to achieve their maximum potential, by having high expectations and high standards. Our stimulating Geography curriculum in line with the Primary Knowledge Curriculum (PKC) ensures the children develop a love of learning, which can then encourage them into becoming life-long learners. Through our monitoring schedule, feedback is given to staff to ensure the consistency of our approach. We have seen that all learners are able to access our teaching and learning activities and show a growing knowledge and application of geographical skills. Through our regular use and implementation of gaining feedback directly from our pupils, it is clear that Geography is a subject that intrigues our children and therefore promotes this love of learning that we strive for daily at the academy.