Geography
Geography tells us where places are, explains how landscapes developed, how people interact with their environment and how we are all connected by our economies, societies and environments. Our geography curriculum is designed to teach children to learn to question, to investigate and to think critically about issues affecting our planet and people’s lives currently and in the future.
At St Edmund’s, we teach a clearly mapped out journey starting in EYFS and developing through a tailor-made curriculum. Our units follow the EYFS Programme of Study and the National Curriculum. Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding of their local environment, the wider world as well as their place in it. The children are taught the subject knowledge and geographical enquiry and fieldwork skills they need to behave like a geographer. We also aim to promote the children’s interest and curiosity in the world so that they feel inspired to continue learning Geography in secondary school and beyond.
Early Years
In Nursery and Reception, Geography is part of the 'Understanding the World' strand of learning. Children explore the world around them through stories, small world play, visits around the local area and the sharing of experiences of travelling further afield. They talk about how places are similar and different and explore the changing seasons in the UK first hand, as well as discussing how the climate might be different in different places. The children start to become familiar with globes and maps, and are encouraged to draw their own maps of familiar places.
KEY STAGE 1 & 2
The Early Years curriculum lays the groundwork for the National Curriculum, which is covered from Years 1 to 6. Over the course of an academic year, each class studies two or three Geography units which include a mixture of physical and human geographical knowledge, enquiry skills and fieldwork skills Each unit starts with an overarching enquiry question and is broken down into five or six big questions which the children will address over the course of the unit. We ensure that there is a balance between the acquisition of geographical disciplinary skills and substantive knowledge so that at the end of the unit of work, pupils will be able to use this understanding to give a well-reasoned, substantiated answer to the enquiry question.
We have identified four major themes which children will revisit throughout their time at St. Edmund's:
- where we live and why: understanding the physical and human factors which influence where humans settle.
- connections: understanding how people and places are linked.
- sustainable planet: exploring the different ecosystems of the world and understanding how humans impact natural resources and the environment
- shaping the planet: he major physical processes which shape our landscape
The following document lays out our Geography curriculum from Nursery all the way up through the school.
You may also find these documents useful:
Geography Progression Document
National Curriculum for Geography
The Subject Lead for Geography is Mrs Karen Ravenhill. If you have any questions about Geography please contact Mrs Ravenhill via the school office.