At Ordsall Primary School we follow the National Curriculum when teaching Geography. It is our intention that Geography will inspire our children with curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them throughout their lives.

As the core of our work in geography we aim to offer opportunities for children to explore the world in order to develop an understanding of the human and physical world in which they live and their place within it. We aim to promote the children’s interest and understanding about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments together with a deep understanding of the earth’s key physical and human processes. We encourage the children to ask questions about the world, and provide opportunities for them to develop geographical skills and knowledge to be able to answer them by looking at aspects of geography which occur both now and in the past and the impact of these for the future. Through our geography curriculum, and beyond, the children are encouraged to think and learn about the issues which face them. Our dedicated  geography curriculum work provides the central pillar to this however other opportunities to study other relevant areas are used to develop their thinking, such as the use of Pope Francis' letter to the world "LAUDATO SI’" as a whole school transition project.  

At Ordsall Primary School the curriculum in Geography is closely aligned to the schools overall intent because it uses, whenever possible, first hand experiences, the locality and the application of skills, knowledge and understanding to support the children’s learning about what they are studying. The children experience as much of the Geography curriculum as possible first hand, through real, vivid experiences in school or visits within the local and wider area .These have included: 

• visits to local nurseries to look at food production and land use in connection with the science curriculum,
• studying areas of the curriculum such as Chocolate or Survival and the use of land and natural resources
• looking at the Stone Age Period of History and the links to a places and countries in Europe, the United Kingdom and those close to the school, 
• visits to Northumbria to look at the physical and human geography of the area and a contrasting environment to their own, in connection with learning in History about the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons,
• a residential visit into the unique geography and features of the Peak District to consolidate and build upon prior learning about rivers and connect to their learning in Physical Education and Outdoor and Adventurous Activities.

Within the Early Years Foundation Stage the children develop their knowledge and understanding of the world in which they live by finding out about different parts of the local, national and international world connected to stories, places and people and events such as Chinese New Year.

Wherever possible the staff in school ensure that the learning in geography is connected to children's learning in other areas of the curriculum such as their reading and writing for information and purpose and whenever this does not connect effectively discrete lessons are planned to develop specific geographical skills, knowledge and understanding.  The curriculum in geography is sequenced and coherent with clear milestones set for the end of each term and year of learning. Through our contextualised Geography curriculum we aim not only to develop skills and knowledge that will prepare them for life in modern Britain but also build their cultural capital by supporting them to develop life-long skills, knowledge and understanding that they can use, including:

• Developing age appropriate, accurate knowledge of the location of a wide range of globally significant places and develop skills in describing the physical and human characteristics of these places.
• Using their locational knowledge to provide a geographical context in which to study and understand important geographical processes.
• Developing an understanding that these key processes play a vital role in the development of key physical and human geographical features of the world.
• Discussing the interdependence of physical and human geography and how they bring about variation and change to the geographical landscape of an area.
• Developing their ability to use and interpret a wide range of sources of geographical information including maps, atlases, globes, aerial photographs and geographical Information systems.
• Developing skills to collect, analyse and present a range of data, gathered through experience of fieldwork, to deepen their understanding of key geographical processes.
• Developing the skills to be able to communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills at writing.

It is our intention that the Geography curriculum at Ordsall Primary School will be both stimulating and motivating in order to capture the children’s curiosity and fuel their motivation to learn so that they continue to have a curiosity of the world throughout their life. Learning, Playing and Growing Together in Geography provides the children at Ordsall Primary School with exciting learning opportunities so that they can enjoy acquiring and developing their skills, understanding and key knowledge so that they can commit it to long-term memory and apply it fluently in a range of contexts.

How do we measure the impact of our work in Geography?

At Ordsall Primary School we measure the impact of our work in Geography in a variety of ways. The school uses its knowledge and vocabulary progression map for Geography to compare the work that the children are doing with key points on the maps. This allows the staff to assess where the children are, and check which elements are evident from the progression on the maps. In Geography this is done by observing the children in their work, through pupil discussion (when the children are asked about their work)  the work in the children's books and on display, a scrutiny of social media posts about Geography as well as evaluating any internal assessment information we have that is shared with parents and carers, for example in the End of Year Report (Record of Achievement).   

If you would like to see some of the work that we do in Geography please see our Twitter feed @Ordsallschool or our website, which are both used to share the work that we do in Geography with parents and carers, the local community and the wider community of Bassetlaw, Nottinghamshire, the region and the United Kingdom.
 
If you would like to know more about the Geography curriculum at Ordsall Primary School please see the documents below. If you have any questions about the work we do in Geography please contact the Geography Subject Leader at the school.