Curriculum Intent
Loughborough Primary School’s geography curriculum is designed to teach learners geographical knowledge and skills through structured and sequenced lessons. Geography at Loughborough Primary follows the National Curriculum giving our children opportunities to explore their surroundings, communities and wider geographical issues through engaging lessons coupled with exciting opportunities, both theoretical and practical. Our geography lessons allow for a broader, deeper understanding of the areas of geography identified in the curriculum (geographical enquiry, human and physical geography, locational and place knowledge and geographical skills and fieldwork). These lessons will allow our children to develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places and understanding of the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, along with how they bring about variation and change over time. We recognise the importance of raising children as responsible, curious thinkers who are able to process new information, reflect on it, think critically, and apply knowledge and skills to overcome challenges in our ever-changing world. Understanding both human and physical geography will enable our children to have a better understanding of themselves and the wider society they live in as they grow up to be caring, responsible adults who can influence the future of our planet.
Our Offer
At Loughborough Primary School, we teach geography in a planned, coherent way which is sequenced logically, ensuring that children learn and remember a rich body of geographical knowledge and acquire progressive geographical skills. Geographical skills are covered in depth throughout a pupil’s time at Loughborough. We provide a range of motivating experiences to engage our learners, including: visiting experts, outdoor learning in and around the school’s grounds, fieldwork trips, class trips and workshops.
In Key Stage 1, the children learn about local and national geography, acquiring basic map reading skills, learning what a city is, weather monitoring and exploring their local environment. Children will begin to compare where they live to places outside of Europe and ask and answer geographical questions. In Key Stage 2, we expand further to international geography and delve deeper into human and physical geography. Map skills are developed further using digital maps, an increase in keys and symbols and children will also begin to use more fieldwork skills. Children will learn about geographical processes such as how mountains are formed, the journey of a river, the water cycle, erosion and deforestation. Through revisiting and consolidating skills, children build on prior knowledge alongside introducing new skills and challenges. All children expand on their skills in local knowledge, place knowledge, human and physical geography, geographical skills and fieldwork. Across both key stages, children have a range of opportunities to experience geography through practical engaging tasks both within and beyond the classroom.
Impact
By the end of their education at Loughborough, our learners will have gained a rich body of geographical knowledge and a wide range of transferable skills, which they can apply to other subjects and contexts. We assess regularly in order to build a rounded picture of each child as a geographer, using practical opportunities, quizzes, discussions and presentations. This enables teachers to set appropriate, progressive targets and challenge children in their thinking and learning. All children will use geographical vocabulary and gain a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. Children will begin to make relevant links from geography to other curriculum subjects, such as history and science.
We aspire for children to leave Loughborough being able to debate and discuss geographical issues and to be able to reflect and form their own opinions on matters such as climate change and natural disasters. We measure our impact based on pupils’ confidence to ask and explore questions to further their own geographical knowledge and understanding. They will be inquisitive young learners and citizens who choose to understand global environmental issues and seek to make a personal difference in protecting and shaping the world we share. Children will realise that they have choices to make in the world, developing a positive commitment to the environment and the future of the planet. In this way, we prepare our learners fully for transition to secondary school and transition into becoming global citizens.
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