Geography

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
Psalm 24:1

At St Clare’s we value the beauty and significance of the world God created, we teach our children the importance of understanding and appreciating the geography and diversity of His creation as part of their learning journey.

Catholic Social Teaching is integral to our whole curriculum. Here are some examples of where this can be seen in Geography:

Stewardship of God’s Creation– God has entrusted us with the responsibility to look after the God-created Earth and every living thing in it.  In Geography, the children learn about the physical world of God’s creation and how to look after it. (EYFS – Y6) Year 6 also focus on sustainable living and the use of renewable energy.  We also communicate awe and wonder at God’s creation for example when we study the physical world  climates and natural disasters.

Solidarity and the Common Good – through education about the dangers of pollution, the use of fossil fuels (Year 6) and deforestation (Year 5) the Common Good is built to create change.  Solidarity is also built through our whole Geography curriculum from EYFS to Year 6 by learning about the lives and experiences of peoples living in different regions around the globe.  

The Option for the Poor and Vulnerable – We aim to teach children about the diverse lives of those living all over the world so that they might deepen their understanding of the successes and hardships faced by communities both in the UK and abroad and so grow in compassion for those in need. (Year 2 – Africa)

Family and Community – Family and community are important. People choose to live and work in communities across the world. In Year 2, pupils learn what makes Liverpool a unique place to live.

Intent

At St Clare’s, our vision is that through inspiring and investigative Geography lessons our children will have a clear understanding of how the world works. Geography can produce those awe and wonder moments and it has the potential to capture children’s minds like no other subject. At St Clare’s, our children will explore their own locality, the United Kingdom and its capital cities, identify seasonal weather patterns and look at hot and cold areas of the globe all before they end Key Stage 1. As they move on, children will extend their knowledge to a wider area of the globe and look at human and physical features of our planet. They will look at the impact of time zones; understand the significance of latitude and longitude as well as being able to locate different countries and their borders. Children will study physical changes in and on the Earth as well as economic activity (including the distribution of food, energy and water.) At St Clare’s, our Geography curriculum aims to inspire pupils’ curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Our teaching equips pupils with knowledge about: diverse places and people; resources in the environment; human and physical processes; and formation and use of landscapes. In addition, we aim to develop the children’s geographical skills such as: collecting and analysing data; using maps, globes and digital mapping to name and identify countries, continents and oceans; and communicating information in a variety of ways. Through our teaching, we want children to enjoy learning about geography. The enjoyment of the subject will be delivered via experiences in the classroom and out of the classroom, such as fieldwork and educational visits. The geography curriculum at St Clare’s enables children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferable to other curriculum areas and which can and are used to promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world as well as their place in it. Geography is an investigative subject, which develops an understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills. The curriculum is designed to develop knowledge and skills that are progressive, as well as transferable, throughout and beyond their time at St Clare’s.

Implementation

Our long term planning throughout the school ensures coverage of the National Geography curriculum. Geography at St Clare’s is taught in discrete topics throughout the year. The subject is taught over three half terms per year, focusing on knowledge and skills stated in the National Curriculum. At St Clare’s, we have identified the key knowledge and skills of each blocked topic and consideration has been given to ensure progression across topics throughout each year group across the school. Pupils are encouraged to develop geographical skills in lessons and are challenged by a curriculum, which allows a local and global understanding of our lives and the processes within it. At St Clare’s, we have high Geography expectations of pupils and therefore, pupils are regularly assessed during lessons and following a unit of work. The vast majority of geography topics are taught discretely but teachers make meaningful links across subjects, when possible. Cross curricular outcomes in geography are specifically planned for, with links between geography and English lessons, for example, are identified, planned for and utilised.

Impact

In Geography lessons, all pupils will have consistent access to high quality, safe and broad lessons, which develop their geographical knowledge, skills and experiences. Children will also be encouraged to develop an interest in our world via the means of fieldwork and interesting activities. The children’s knowledge and understanding are assessed against the 2014 National Curriculum statements for Geography. This is both ongoing, to inform future planning with staff, leaders and parents. This ensures lessons are suited to the needs of the children, and by the end of each key stage, content within the National Curriculum is covered to prepare pupils for the next phase. It is our aim at St Clare’s that all children make good progress and achieve the end of key stage expectations in Geography.

Key Subject Documents

Here at St Clare’s we have children from all over the world.