Geography

Rationale for the Geography curriculum at Dringhouses

Geography is the study of the world around us. The teaching and learning of geography at Dringhouses Primary School is intended to equip pupils with the skills and knowledge to understand our changing world and aspire to responsibly contribute to its development.

Geography is taught at Dringhouses through the school’s learning projects, with children developing their skills, knowledge and understanding (as laid out in the national curriculum) through these carefully planned projects. By the end of each of the Key Stages, key skills will have been visited and built upon a number of times alongside the acquisition of key banks of knowledge.

Aims of Geography learning at Dringhouses:

• To encourage children to take an interest in, enjoy learning about and develop an understanding of the world in which they live.
• To stimulate the children’s sense of their own identity through learning about where they live and its relationships with other countries worldwide and to foster an awareness and understanding of our diverse world.
• To develop an understanding of physical and human processes and patterns.
• To develop the skills required to interpret maps, plans, photographs and other secondary sources needed to understand geographical ideas and concepts.
• To develop a knowledge and sense of place by investigating: the features and characters of a place; the similarities, differences and relationships between places and how people live in them.
• To encourage children to have pride in and take care of their local environment by making them aware of how they can play an important part in the sustainability of the world.
• To develop an awareness of global issues through critical thinking about global development – all fostered around the Global Learning Partnership (GLP) of which the school is a member.

Children are given a wide range of experiences and resources. Children are encouraged to ask and answer questions, as well as selecting and recording information. Teachers in all classes explore and plan appropriate opportunities for using ICT to enhance children’s learning experiences in geography e.g. using Google Earth.

In the Early Years’ Foundation Stage, geography is taught through the areas of provision and the local area with evidence towards ‘Knowledge and Understanding of the World’ recorded. First-hand experience of geography outside the classroom is encouraged through the use of the school grounds, immediate school surroundings and field trips, where appropriate. Forest School sessions take place every two weeks for EYFS while pupils in KS1 access full days of Forest School provision every half term. In KS2, children take part in residential activities to enrich their learning including a night of camping on the school field with the scouts in Year 4 and two different residential visits to outward-bound centres in Years 5 and 6, where activities are directed by specialists, e.g. orienteering, kayaking, climbing and abseiling.

When the learning projects are built upon a geography theme, the school makes every effort to ensure activities and trips are woven into the learning, eg Goddard’s and the Deep.