Geography

“Geography is a living, breathing subject, constantly adapting itself to change. It is dynamic and relevant. For me geography is a great adventure with a purpose. Geography is a subject which holds the key to our future.”

Michael Palin

Studying geography will inspire in pupils a lifelong curiosity and fascination about the world and its people and equip our pupils to take an active and informed part in shaping their world. We know that from an early age children are curious and aware of the environment around them. At Willow Tree we want to harness this enthusiasm and ensure it is based on sound geographical understanding and reasoning. It is our intent that our school’s geography curriculum does the following:

• Develops pupils’ knowledge of the location of different places including their physical and human characteristics.
• Enables children to understand how the Earth’s features are shaped, the processes that give rise to key physical and human features of the world and how they change over time.
• Helps pupils to acquire a wide range of geographical knowledge and skills to enable them to understand the relationship between Earth and its people.
• Helps pupils to develop an appreciation of the how and why human actions change the environment locally, nationally and globally.
• Encourages pupils to think in new ways about their own contexts and the world.
• Develops the geographical skills needed to collect and analyse information gathered through first hand experiences of the environment and to carry out geographical  enquiries.
• Gives pupils access to discussions and debates about local, national and global events, concerns and issues and develop their own values and opinions.

In the Early Years, the curriculum area of ‘Understanding the World’ is how our children first begin to learn about geography, the world around them and their place in it. Through each topic in Nursery and Reception, we aim to teach the children about people, culture and communities and the natural world through hands on play opportunities, stories and activities. 

As children move into Key Stage 1 and 2, they will explore a new geography topic every term, covering a wide and interesting range of learning based on the National Curriculum. From Year 1 to Year 6 the scope of each unit increases, expanding from the pupils’ own environment to the wider world. Place studies start local and increase in scale to regional, national and global, allowing for revisiting, developing and challenging ideas and concepts. Building on previous skills and knowledge by revisiting learning and making links is how our pupils will become confident and skilled geographers.

Geography will be interesting, relevant and fun and it will inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. It will increase their knowledge and understanding of the world and it will be used to help them to become aware of how they can shape and impact the world they live in. It will be linked with other subjects and it will have a strong presence in the ethos of the school through art, displays and assemblies. We hope pupils leave us with the necessary knowledge and skills for their future to empower them to take their role as informed and active citizens in the 21st century.