Geography

Geography at Dunston Hill is designed to excite our children and stimulate an interest and a sense of wonder about our world. We are extremely passionate in our belief that all children should be given to skills to become capable geographers by helping them to make sense of our complex and dynamically changing world. We have a shared vision in delivering an exciting curriculum that inspires children to want to learn more and to ask questions that challenge and provoke deeper thinking.

Intent

Our aim at Dunston Hill Primary School is to inspire children’s curiosity, interest and appreciation for the world that we live in, by creating a curriculum that generates excitement and provides opportunities for children to develop their resilience by being challenged and motivated to learn.

Through a carefully designed curriculum that develops key themes and skills from EYFS, a foundation will formed that develops into Key Stage 1. Our curriculum dovetails with our History studies and children will acquire the geographical skills to develop their knowledge through studying places, people and natural and human environments. As pupils progress through the school, they will develop an insight into the links between physical and human processes and how landscapes and environments have changed and continue to change.

Carefully planned opportunities will be created for children to recall their prior learning, in a low-stakes, high challenge environment, to build fluency and embed concepts. This will support pupils in recalling critical knowledge easily and automatically. As a result, children will be inspired to be motivated learners, with an ability to articulate their learning with pride and interest.

Implementation

Our curriculum has been designed to ensure that not only are the aims of the National Curriculum met, but that lessons are planned to create an exciting learning environment, through the use of a wide range of resources both in the classroom and outdoors in our school grounds and the local area. Progression has been carefully considered, enabling children of all abilities to find success by the development of accessible learning so that they are able to take risks and use a problem-solving approach. Where classes are mixed-age, structured long-term plans avoid content repletion whilst ensuring that there is a progression in skills. Every lesson has an ‘enquiry focus’ so that children are challenged to consider the deeper impacts of their area of study, creating an empathetic and enriching learning environment. There is a strong focus on perseverance towards reaching a well-considered conclusion so that children can use their developing skills to set themselves ambitious goals for their future learning.

Teachers understand the key knowledge, skills and progression throughout each year group across the school, with an insight into the full learning journey from Early Years through to Year 6.

By creating a buzz for learning, children will have a wide range of opportunities to investigate and report their findings by collecting, analysing and communicating in a variety of ways.

Impact

High quality and well-planned lessons encourage progression through a clear achievement pathway. Carefully considered geographical questioning helps pupils to gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of the world and its people. Retention is developed by using a range of retrieval techniques to ensure that knowledge is embedded. Children learn key geographical vocabulary that will be built upon year on year, to develop a strong foundation for learning and provide security in their knowledge and develop resilience to be the best that they can be.

The curriculum is regularly reviewed and teachers are cognisant of the need to be flexible and to follow children’s interests. This is done by carefully tweaking activities within the learning environment to create an enriching and engaging experience which maintains children’s love of learning. Lessons include ongoing assessment opportunities, such as questioning, retrieval practice and interactive activities. These enable teachers to assess understanding in real time and adapt their teaching accordingly.

Pupil voice is an essential component within our curriculum design and children are regularly asked to share their learning and feelings about their studies, which helps us to further improve our offering.

Achievement towards intended outcomes is closely monitored by effective marking and feedback which gives children the best chance of success. Staff receive appropriate guidance and direction to keep their subject knowledge up to date and the subject leader benefits from the sharing of good practise within a wider cohort of schools, which can then be implemented to deliver maximum impact across our school.