Geography

Our intent for geography:

At St Mary's, we intend to:

• Provide high quality geography lessons
• Ensure our curriculum is progressive and varied, building on pupils’ knowledge year by year.
• Respond to pupils' interests
• Provide experiences that are linked to the themes studied, including trips and visitors.
• Provide the opportunity to develop the skills needed to appreciate the world and cultures around them.
• Instil a curiosity and love of learning about the world around them.

The strands of the Geography curriculum

• Location Knowledge -  in which pupils are given the opportunity to explore and locate the countries of the United Kingdom and the wider world. They also explore the seven continents and several regions of the world, looking carefully at human and physical characteristics and topographical features (including mountains, hills, coasts and rivers).
• Place Knowledge – in which children are encouraged to identify and explore the similarities and differences between a region of the United Kingdom and another country in the world.
• Human and Physical Geography – in which our pupils are taught to describe and understand  key aspects of  weather, climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes and the water cycle. They are also taught to explore and understand some key aspects of human geography such as settlements, economic activity and trade links, and natural resources.
• Geographical skills and Fieldwork – in which children are taught the important skills of using maps, atlases, and digital computer mapping to describe the features of regions and places they have studied. Our pupils are also taught to use compass points, grid references and map keys. At St Mary's, we aim to teach these skills with hands on experiences in our locality.

For further information regarding our Geography curriculum at the Infants, please contact Mrs Moore (Subject Lead) or Mrs Grange (Head of School) via the Infant School Office.