St Anne's Catholic Primary School

In Geography, children are given the opportunity to learn about their local environment and the wider world. We believe that this is important so that the children can develop an understanding of how they fit into the global community and can carry out their Catholic duties of being stewards of the Earth. Adaptations are made to Geography lessons to ensure that all children are able to access the curriculum and are not disadvantaged by Special Educational Needs or Disability. We focus on:

• Locational knowledge
• Knowledge of different places
• Human and Physical Geography
• Geographical skills and fieldwork

Catholic Ethos, Catholic Social Teaching and Geography

Our intent in the teaching of Geography is deeply rooted in Catholic Social Teaching.  

We believe 

- in Stewardship: that God has entrusted us with the responsibility to look after the God-created Earth and every living thing in it.  In Geography the children learn about the physical world of God's creation and how to look after it, for example, through sustainable living and the use of renewable energy.

- that through education about the dangers of pollution, the use of fossil fuels and deforestation the Common Good is built.

- that solidarity is built through Geography by learning about the lives and experiences of peoples living in different regions around the globe.  

- that the dignity of work is promoted by teaching our children about Fair Trade.

- in the option for the poor.  We aim to teach children about the lives of those living in less developed countries so that they might deepen their understanding of the hardships faced by others both in the UK and abroad and so grow in compassion for those in need.

We also communicate awe and wonder at God's creation for example when we study the physical world, climates and natural disasters.

As a school we have chosen to adopt Kapow Primary’s Geography scheme of work. This curriculum inspires pupils to become curious and explorative thinkers with a diverse knowledge of the world; in other words, to think like a geographer. We want pupils to develop the confidence to question and observe places, measure and record necessary data in various ways, and analyse and present their findings. 

Our scheme encourages:

• A strong focus on developing both geographical skills and knowledge.
• Critical thinking, with the ability to ask perceptive questions and explain and analyse evidence.
• The development of fieldwork skills across each year group.
• A deep interest and knowledge of pupils’ locality and how it differs from other areas of the world.
• A growing understanding of geographical terms and vocabulary.

Kapow Primary’s Geography scheme of work enables pupils to meet the end of key stage attainment targets in the National curriculum. The aims align with those in the National curriculum,  where attainment targets are organised within four strands:

• Locational knowledge
• Place knowledge
• Human and physical geography
• Geographical skills and fieldwork

Within these strands, Kapow Primary’s Geography scheme has a clear progression of skills and knowledge across each year group. The Progression of skills and knowledge shows how children's learning is underpinned and developed, "bumping into" previous learning before moving on to new challenges as they move through the school from Saplings to Oaks. 

This ensures that children are continuously given opportunities to revise and build on their previous learning, helping children to make links, to draw on their own experiences and to support learning retention within the long term memory. 

Lessons incorporate various teaching strategies from independent tasks to paired and group work, including practical hands-on, computer-based and collaborative tasks. This variety means that lessons are engaging and appeal to those with a variety of learning styles. Differentiated guidance is available for every lesson to ensure that all pupils can access learning, and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are available when required.

Through the Kapow scheme of work, we aim to build an awareness of how Geography shapes our lives at multiple scales and over time. We hope to encourage pupils to become resourceful, active citizens of our community who will have the skills as geographers to contribute to and improve the world around them.