Intent

At Chorlton CofE, we believe that Geography helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. We strive to create a curriculum that provides opportunities to question, investigate and debate important geographical issues which will impact the immediate locality, nearby regions and the wider world.

Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it. Through our Geography curriculum we aim for our children to:

• Build knowledge of the location of national and globally significant places

• Understand the processes that give rise to physical and human Geography, and the impact this can have on a locality

• Use and develop fieldwork skills that allow for data collection, analysis, observation and recording of key geographical processes

• Interpret a range of sources of geographical information such as maps (including Ordnance Survey and digital), atlases, globes, compasses, diagrams and geographical photographs.

Implementation

At Chorlton CofE we believe Geography, by nature, is an investigative subject. One that helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about natural and human aspects of the world. Geography’s fundamental role is to allow children to understand the world, its environments and places near and far. Children begin by learning about the 'near', their own locality and what makes it unique and special. This expands as they grow and their knowledge deepens. Through field skills and interpretation, we hope our children leave us with a solid understanding of the fascinating and precious nature of the world around us and what we need to do to protect it. 

Chorlton CE Primary has moved to Oddizzi Geography scheme as we feel through pupil voice and scrutiny, there will be greater opportunities for progression and to enhance the Geography experience for everyone, making it more relatable, memorable and enjoyable, with real substance at its heart.

Oddizzi is an e-learning resource and community that immerses children in the real world. It enables children – wherever they are – to ‘break out’ of their own world and join a global community of like-minded children.  Children using Oddizzi can view the world through the eyes of people who are passionate about the places they are sharing. It carefully builds a solid understanding of the people, places and cultures of the world.

Our Geography curriculum enables children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferable to other curriculum areas such as Maths, Science, R.E. and P.S.H.E. Children are given the opportunity to conduct fieldwork both on site and in the local community, which allows them to utilise key mathematical skills such as collecting and analysing data.

Subject specific vocabulary is taught explicitly and referred to throughout the units to ensure children have the cultural capital to discuss key geographical concepts amongst their peers. Children continually immerse themselves in high quality texts linked to the geography curriculum to further embed their knowledge and understanding.

To help with the implementation of our geography curriculum, we have a variety of resources available to all teachers, including:

• Maps (such as world/UK posters, OS Maps and Digimaps)
• Atlases
• Globes
• Fieldwork equipment (such as compasses, trundle wheels, iPads and clipboards)
• The Geographical Association
• The Eco-Schools Programme
• Earth Cubs

The school grounds and local area is also utilised to achieve the desired outcomes, with opportunities for learning outside the classroom, including Forest School lessons. 

In addition to Oddizzi, our Geography curriculum is drawn from:

• Digimaps

• The Geographical Association

We support our children with SEND by pre-teaching subject specific vocabulary where appropriate and scaffolding learning. For example through the use of word banks, templates, visual and sensory resources. We are fortunate to be able to use our school grounds and Forest School to further embed and consolidate learning for our SEND learners, particularly with regards to mapping and fieldwork opportunities.

Impact

Pupil voice tells us that our children enjoy Geography lessons and are confident in talking about landscapes, people, places and environments. Outcomes in books evidence a broad and balanced Geography curriculum.

We monitor and assess the impact of our geography scheme through both formative and summative assessments. Each lesson provides the teacher with the opportunity to assess the children against the learning objective, this may be through discussions with children or a more formal piece of written work.  At the end of each unit children will be assessed on their understanding by completing a short assessment which is evidenced in books.

We expect that the impact of providing high quality Geography lessons is that children will be independent geographers that can recognise and name different places around the world. They will leave Chorlton CofE with a secure understanding of how people and places are connected, from the local to the global, with an appreciation of the Earth and a sense of responsibility in the way in which they manage and treat our home.