Geography Curriculum Statement

Intent

At Leigh Academy Cherry Orchard, we use the philosophy of the International Baccalaureate (IB) as a framework alongside the National Curriculum to provide our children with the tools they need to be lifelong learners. Engaging IB inquiries throughout the school inspire curiosity and a fascination with the world around us, creating enthusiastic geographers and global citizens. Through the study of geography, learners will develop a strong sense of place and scale, allowing them to become globally aware.   

Pupils will build up a bank of contextualised location knowledge which will be used throughout life and which provides important cultural capital. In addition to this, pupils acquire the geographical and map skills needed to investigate places around the world.

Implementation

Geography is taught through transdisciplinary inquiries at Leigh Academy Cherry Orchard as part of the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP). Our key focus documents outline the progression in geography knowledge and skills throughout the school, with specific locational knowledge, map, fieldwork and enquiry skills set out for each year group. In EYFS and KS1, pupils develop the basic contextual knowledge of their local area, Britain and the World which will provide the strong building blocks for the rest of their geography learning. Each key stage teaches the full breadth of the National Curriculum; including The topics are arranged to allow pupils to build upon their knowledge from previous years and to create links with this and knowledge from other subjects. Lessons are engaging and provide frequent opportunities for geographical enquiry, allowing pupils to explore topics in depth. We provide challenges that encourage our pupils to embrace and understand the connections between what they learn in lessons and the real world and become critical and reflective thinkers. Incidental geography teaching in other subject lessons is also encouraged to increase pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the world. 

Impact

Outcomes in Inquiry books, evidence a broad and balanced geography curriculum and demonstrate children’s acquisition of identified key knowledge. Children will also be able to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding through rich discussions and feedback in the classroom. Children review their successes in achieving the lesson objectives at the end of every session and also refer back to overall termly outcomes that are in the front of their inquiry book for each transdisciplinary theme. These are reviewed periodically throughout the term by the pupils to ensure understanding and to identify gaps that need to be filled. At Cherry Orchard Primary Academy, we aim to use teachers’ assessment, diagnostic assessments and effective real time feedback to ensure all pupils progress. Through a well-planned curriculum, linked to the transdisciplinary themes, we will ensure that our children have embedded the knowledge and skills that they need to be successful members of society.