Geography teaches us about people, places and the natural environment so that we can fully appreciate Planet Earth.

INTENT

We believe that Geography at Arno Vale should prepare our children to be responsible and informed global citizens, with a strong geographical perspective, that enables them to see how we, as humans, need to respond to our ever-changing, wider world. We want to encourage our children to be curious about the world and its people, and to explore relationships between physical and human geography, noting and understanding how these are interconnected. We also want our children to appreciate the diversity of the world and to understand the importance of sustainability as part of our environmental responsibility.

IMPLEMENTATION

At Arno Vale, we teach geography using the ‘Collins Connected Geography’ scheme of work which is designed to help learners to understand and appreciate the world around them by exploring different physical and human geographical concepts in an interconnected way. The scheme of work is well-sequenced, with a clear progression in knowledge, skills, concepts and vocabulary and provides links to other curriculum subjects. The scheme of work also provides progressive resources to support teaching and learning in Geography. 

Children are taught geography in discrete lessons and undertake one geography unit (6, hour lessons or 3, 2-hour lessons) per term, alternating with History. Through the geography units, children have opportunities to develop a variety of geographical knowledge, skills, and understanding in a progressive and coherent way. To provide opportunities to revisit and revise key concepts in geographical learning, each year group also benefits from a 20-minute practice time session, every 3 weeks, which teachers can personalise to the needs of their class or children.

IMPACT

When our children leave Arno Vale, they will have a growing knowledge and understanding of their place in the world, how they interact with the world and the impact that they make around them. Our children leave Arno Vale as confident geographers, with the ability to discuss their learning from past and current topics, as well as explain their next steps. They demonstrate their skills of map reading, data analysis, and critical thinking to new situations, enabling them to make sense of complex information and draw their own conclusions.

Assessment within discrete geography lessons will ensure that pupils are building on their skills and knowledge over time. Predetermined learning objectives allow teachers to be mindful of the assessment elements within lessons and can help them to pitch and plan subsequent lessons appropriately. Children also have opportunities to self-assess their work and to respond to the feedback of teachers.