Geography

Subject Leader: Julie-Anne Shaughnessy

Subject Coordinator: Jo Jeacock (Support At JS)

Link Governor: Lynne Allan (Humanities)

Our Vision:

“The enquiry approach to learning is one of geography’s strongest assets”

 (Pike, 2016)

In the primary curriculum, Geography is referred to as the 'umbrella' subject because of its capacity to make tangible and effective connections across subjects. Geography’s fundamental role lies in helping children to understand the world, its environments and places near and far, and the processes that create and affect them. It encourages a holistic appreciation of how the world works and of the interconnections between concepts such as scale, community, cultural diversity, interdependence and sustainability. Geography is a subject that contextualises and extends the possibilities for developing and applying language and Mathematics, and enriches understanding of, and in, subjects from Science and History to Art and Design.

Here at Beaver Road Primary School, we recognise it is important that Geography is not only given appropriate time, but is also identified clearly and taught effectively. We believe that high-quality Geography teaching includes aspects of geographical enquiry, outdoor learning and fieldwork, children’s personal geographies, spatial awareness, mapwork and graphicacy, learning technologies and environmental geography. As we develop and shape our curriculum, the aim is to ensure that each of these aspects are used in our teaching to deepen children’s understanding of the subject. 

We recognise and appreciate that we are incorporating and teaching Geography through our Learning Challenge Curriculum, in which a cross-curricular approach to teaching is adopted, but we are also working towards ensuring our children know that they are learning Geography and are aware of the above skills, making them all great geographers. At Beaver Road we are passionate about providing rich, broad and balanced learning experiences for all of our children and opportunities for them to apply and adapt their learning for other subjects. We recognise that we must be clear about what Geography is and why it is important to learn. Our aim is that through active engagement in Geography, our children are enabled to learn not only about the world but also how it works, how it fits together and how to make a difference and become positive contributors to it.

“Through their geographical studies, children develop autonomy and empowerment, applicable across their lives” 

(Catling and Willy, 2018)

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