At the Grove Primary School, geography is taught for at least half of each term. Progression is planned out throughout the whole school ensuring all skills and knowledge is covered and progression is built into all planning.
EYFS is the start of the children’s journey as a geographer where they learn about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another. The progression continues through each year group allowing prior knowledge and skills to be built upon and developed. Key knowledge and skills for each topic are identified in planning to ensure progression across topics throughout each year group across the school.
The local area is used to achieve the desired outcomes, with extensive opportunities for learning outside the classroom embedded in practice. This allows the children to give them a sense of place in their own locality in KS1 which is then developed into a more global sense throughout KS2. For example, using the local area to follow and create maps in Key Stage 1, to comparing the similarities and differences in environments and communities in Lower Key Stage 2, through to considering how life differs in contrasting parts of the world in Upper Key Stage 2.
To be well rounded citizens, we believe children need to understand the differences between locations and their cultures and be able to recognise how these change over time. We strive to provide children with many opportunities to use a range of geographical skills to help them understand, present, analyse and communicate a range of information either collaboratively or as an individual. These skills are put into practice both inside and outside the classroom through local fieldwork and trips.
