Geography Curriculum Rationale
At Rosebrook Primary School, we believe that geography is a vital subject that allows our pupils to develop a deep understanding and appreciation of the world around them. Our geography curriculum is carefully designed to build upon the natural curiosity and inquisitiveness that our pupils possess, nurturing their desire to explore, question, and interpret the physical and human features of their local area, the United Kingdom, and the global community.
We follow the National Curriculum for geography, but we ensure that we start locally wherever possible, allowing our pupils to gain a strong sense of place and identity. By learning about their local area of Stockton-on-Tees and the North East region, our pupils develop a positive view of their locality and a sense of pride in where they are from. As they progress through the curriculum, we then carefully sequence their learning to build on this prior knowledge, gradually expanding their understanding to encompass the wider United Kingdom and the world.
Our geography curriculum is underpinned by the belief that providing our pupils with opportunities to use a range of investigative and problem-solving skills, both in and outside the classroom, is essential for developing a deep understanding of geographical concepts. We want our pupils to be active, engaged learners who can apply their knowledge and skills to real-world scenarios, enabling them to take an active part in contributing to and protecting the world as they grow older.
Throughout our geography curriculum, we strive to motivate and inspire our pupils to find out about the world they live in, both physically and in terms of human activity and interaction. By fostering this sense of curiosity and wonder, we aim to equip our pupils with the knowledge, skills, and understanding they need to become informed, responsible, and engaged global citizens.
Whole School Aims
Our geography curriculum is fully aligned with the school’s vision and values, which are embodied in our DREAM core values: Determination, Respect, Enthusiasm, Ambition, and Growth Mindset. We believe that these values are essential for our pupils to develop as successful, well-rounded individuals who can thrive in an ever-changing world.
Our school’s guiding principle, “We can be whatever we dream,” is reflected in our geography curriculum, as we encourage our pupils to explore the world around them, challenge their own preconceptions, and strive to reach their full potential. By providing our pupils with a rich and engaging geography education, we are empowering them to become curious, resilient, and ambitious learners who are prepared to meet the challenges of the future.
Subject Vision
At Rosebrook Primary School, we believe that geography is a subject that has the power to inspire, engage, and educate our pupils. Through our carefully designed geography curriculum, we aim to nurture our pupils’ natural curiosity about the world, helping them to develop a deep understanding and appreciation of the physical and human features that shape our planet.
Our primary intent for teaching geography is to equip our pupils with the knowledge, skills, and critical thinking abilities they need to become informed, responsible, and engaged global citizens. We want our pupils to not only understand the world around them but also to be able to interpret, analyse, and respond to the complex challenges facing our planet.
By aligning our geography curriculum with the school’s improvement priorities, we are ensuring that our pupils develop strong reading comprehension skills, confident oracy abilities, and high-quality written work. We believe that these core skills are essential for success in geography and will help to address the attainment gaps we have identified, particularly for our disadvantaged pupils.
Communication with Stakeholders
To ensure the successful implementation of our geography curriculum, we will engage in regular and effective communication with all stakeholders, including parents, carers, and the wider community.
We will use a variety of channels to share our geography curriculum rationale, including:
- School website: We will publish our detailed geography curriculum rationale on the school website, ensuring that it is accessible to all stakeholders and can be easily referenced.
- Parent/carer meetings: We will dedicate time during our regular parent/carer meetings to discuss the geography curriculum, its aims, and how parents/carers can support their children’s learning at home.
- Curriculum newsletters: We will send out regular newsletters to parents/carers, highlighting the key topics and learning objectives being covered in geography, as well as any upcoming fieldwork or enrichment opportunities.
- Curriculum workshops: We will organise interactive workshops for parents/carers, where they can engage with geography-related activities and learn more about how the subject is taught at Rosebrook.
- Pupil-led presentations: We will provide opportunities for our pupils to present their geography learning to the school community, showcasing their knowledge and skills and inspiring others to engage with the subject.
By adopting a multi-faceted approach to communication, we aim to ensure that all stakeholders are well-informed, engaged, and supportive of our geography curriculum, which is essential for its successful implementation and the continued progress of our pupils.
Addressing Inspection Feedback
The OFSTED inspection feedback provided in the school information highlights several areas where our geography curriculum can be strengthened to better meet the needs of our pupils.
Firstly, the inspection noted that while the schemes of work in core subjects are planned precisely, allowing for the step-by-step development of knowledge and skills, the schemes of work in foundation subjects such as geography and science lack the same level of precision in some key concepts. To address this, we will work closely with our geography curriculum leader to review and refine our geography schemes of work, ensuring that they provide a clear and coherent progression of knowledge and skills across all year groups.
Secondly, the inspection feedback highlighted the need to ensure that the recently introduced Personal Development scheme of work is implemented consistently across the school, so that our pupils have a secure understanding of local risks and the skills to deal with them. We will ensure that our geography curriculum is closely aligned with this Personal Development scheme, providing opportunities for our pupils to explore and discuss relevant local and global issues, and develop the skills and knowledge they need to become responsible and engaged citizens.
By addressing these areas of development, we are confident that our geography curriculum will not only meet the requirements of the National Curriculum but will also provide our pupils with the knowledge, skills, and understanding they need to succeed, both in their academic studies and in their future lives as active, informed, and responsible global citizens.