Geography Subject Intent Statement

“The study of geography is about more than just memorising places on a map. It’s about understanding the complexity of our world; appreciating the diversity of cultures that exist across continents."

(Barack Obama)

At Abbey Primary School, the teaching of Geography capitalises on pupils’ innate curiosity and fascination about the world. The progressive curriculum increases in complexity and ambition, beginning with familiar places and concepts that are tangible, before broadening its scope to locations further afield; enabling pupils to develop their understanding of more abstract concepts by building on secure knowledge. By learning about the diversity of the world; the places, the people, the cultures, the resources, the landscapes and the environments, pupils make sense of the world in which they live; appreciating its beauty, as well as its fragility. They learn to recognise and value their place and significance, alongside a developing sense of responsibility towards  preserving the planet for future generations.

A considerately designed curriculum incorporates the knowledge, understanding and skills that enable pupils to comprehend how the Earth’s features, both human and physical – at different scales – are shaped, interconnected and change over time. Pupils at Abbey Primary School receive a relevant learning experience that considers their needs and interests within our unique community, as well as those of our ever-changing world.

Emphasis is placed on the National Curriculum’s four strands of substantive geographical knowledge:

Locational Knowledge

Place Knowledge

Environmental, Physical and Human Geography

Geographical Skills and Fieldwork

In lessons, pupils gain important knowledge and skills through the study of carefully chosen locations; by finding the answers to thought-provoking questions and exploring key issues at a range of scales – local to global.

Key concepts are revisited in increasing depth, enabling pupils to draw upon deeply embedded prior knowledge.

These are:

Space – Place – Cultural Understanding and Diversity –

Interdependence – Sustainability – Scale – Change

Beautiful school grounds, the local area and a range of educational visits, alongside our unique residential programme provide the context for first-hand fieldwork experiences. All pupils are provided with the opportunity to visit a range of contrasting localities. These include: exploring the formation of natural features such as Treak Cliff Cavern in Castleton in Year 3, observing coastal erosion at Robin Hood’s Bay in Year 4 and experiencing the impact of humans in highly populated cities during a visit to the capital city of London in Year 6.

Our Geography curriculum develops pupils who:

• Enjoy Geography and are inspired to pursue enquiries as a result of their growing curiosity and fascination

• Develop locational knowledge of globally significant places – terrestrial and marine - including their defining physical and human characteristics

• Can explain the processes that provide the catalyst for key physical and human geographical features within the world, including the changes these bring about

• Collect, analyse and communicate data gathered through fieldwork, thus deepening their understanding of geographical processes

• Interpret a range of sources of geographical information e.g. maps, diagrams, globes etc.

• Communicate their geographical understanding in a range of ways