Intent

At The Cambridge Primary School, we aim to inspire children’s learning and foster a sense of ownership over their curiosity, encouraging them to explore how their understanding of geography connects to the wider world. Our goal is to nurture this curiosity, empowering pupils to confidently make informed predictions about their learning before they are taught the full curriculum. We encourage collaboration among pupils and promote innovative thinking, helping them piece together information to deepen their understanding of geography and expand their knowledge.

Implementation

Geography is taught thematically, aligning with the overarching topics each year group explores over a half-term. This approach encourages children to make connections between subjects, enhancing their understanding of real-world applications. Geography is seamlessly integrated into other lessons, allowing pupils to demonstrate their geographical knowledge through subjects like Art/DT and English. For example, in Year 3's 'Rocks, Relics, and Rumbles' topic, children create artwork inspired by fossils and write setting descriptions of Pompeii in English.

We value practical experiences in geography, and as such, school trips are organised throughout the year, providing opportunities for pupils to apply their classroom learning in real-world contexts. These hands-on experiences strengthen their understanding and foster a deeper connection to the subject. To further engage and immerse children, we regularly hold "hook days," where children can dress up according to their geography topic. For instance, during Year 4’s 'South America' topic, students dressed in bright colours representing the costumes of Rio’s annual Carnival Festival, and participated in a festive parade through the school grounds, accompanied by traditional samba music.

Impact

At The Cambridge, children find geography a truly fascinating and engaging subject. The children enjoy having in depth discussion with each other and their teacher during lessons, sharing their knowledge and comparing their learnings in class with their immediate world around them in real life. Children follow up on their geography lessons by doing extra reading and online research at home, and are excited to tell their teacher what they’ve found out independently. Through feedback during the lesson, pupils are able to make changes to their work based on conversations with an adult in the moment. This means that correct knowledge is solidified in their long-term memories so that retrieval practice can be most effective in the following lesson.

Fundamental British Values in Geography

Promoting Fundamental British Values through geography education is crucial in helping children develop a well-rounded understanding of their society and its core principles. We encourage class discussions and debates on geographical issues, where children can express their opinions and learn to appreciate diverse perspectives, fostering a sense of democracy. We also explore global human rights issues, such as the right to education, access to clean water, and freedom of movement, highlighting individual liberty. Our classroom environment fosters mutual respect and tolerance, where children learn to value diversity, different cultures, and varying backgrounds.

Spiritual, Moral, Social, and Cultural development in Geography

Spiritual: Pupils develop curiosity and a sense of wonder as they explore the world's landscapes, environments and natural processes. Through studying topics such as biomes, the Arctic and changing localities, children reflect on the beauty, diversity and fragility of the planet and their place within it.
Moral: Children explore moral questions through learning about climate change, sustainability and the ways humans affect the environment. They consider how individual and collective actions can have positive or negative impacts on people and places, encouraging responsible attitudes towards the world around them.
Social: Geography lessons encourage collaborative learning through discussion, fieldwork and enquiry-based investigations centred around big questions. Pupils work together to interpret maps, investigate places and consider how communities develop and change, helping them understand the connections between people and the environment.
Cultural: Our curriculum broadens pupils' understanding of the world by studying countries, regions and communities across the globe. Through learning about different environments, cultures and ways of life, pupils develop respect for diversity and gain an appreciation of how geography shapes the lives and experiences of people in different parts of the world.