At Holme Slack Community Primary School our ethos can be summed up in the simple statement in our belief that

Our Children Can….Achieve!

Our Vision for Geography

Curriculum Intent

At Holme Slack Community Primary School we aim to encourage our pupils to foster a sense of pride in their local environment and develop ways in which they can have a positive impact at a local, national and global level. Through geographical enquiry they will explore how places and people have changed and developed over time and appreciate the diversity of people’s cultures this has enabled. This greater understanding and knowledge of the world and the human and physical processes that have shaped it will empower our pupils to become globally minded with an embedded respect for, and ability to positively contribute to, the diverse cultures representative of life in modern Britain.

As children progress through EYFS, KS1 and KS2 we want them to:

• To make sense of their own surroundings through learning about their own locality, and the interaction between people and environment.
• To extend their interest, knowledge and understanding of contrasting localities in Britain, Europe and the World.
• To develop knowledge and understanding of the human and physical processes which shape places.
• To appreciate similarity and difference in the world around them and to respect other people’s beliefs, attitudes and values.
• To develop the geographical skills and vocabulary necessary to carry out effective geographical enquiry.
• To formulate appropriate questions, develop research skills and evaluate material to inform opinions.
• To develop interest and enjoyment of geographical experiences and build confidence and understanding.
• To recognise and understand issues concerning the environment and sustainable development.

Implementation

At Holme Slack Community Primary School, Geography involves:

• Undertaking fieldwork in the local area and places further afield in the UK.
• Comparing and contrasting land-forms, land uses, weather, seasons and ecosystems.
• The use of secondary sources to obtain geographical information, e.g. photos, books, atlases and videos.
• Following directions using positional and directional language, also using these to direct others.
• Expressing and evaluating views on the attractive and unattractive features of the environment, e.g. tidiness, noise, building on greenbelt land.
• Naming the physical features of places, e.g. mountain, sea, beach, river, and valley.
• Using developing language to talk about their work e.g. route, scale, tide, erosion, climate, temperate, continent.
• Developing geographical skills of making observations and measuring, recording observations through maps, talk, and writing, taking photographs, sketches and diagrams.
• Using maps, digi-maps, globes, atlases and interpreting photographs.
• Help the children appreciate the variety of responses to the same basic needs (ethnic, cultural and economic) and to imagine what it might be like to experience life in other places.

At Holme Slack Community Primary School, we use Oddizzi - an e-learning resource and community that immerses children in the real world and supports teacher with planning, it is carefully managed body of content that builds a solid understanding of the people, places and cultures of the world.

We use a variety of teaching and learning styles in our Geography lessons. We use whole-class teaching methods and we combine these with enquiry-based research activities. We encourage children to ask as well as answer geographical questions.

We offer them the opportunity to use a variety of data, such as maps, statistics, graphs, pictures, video and aerial photographs, and we enable them to use ICT in Geography lessons where this serves to enhance their learning.

Children are encouraged to take part in role-play and discussions and then present reports to the rest of the class. They learn about other places through reading stories with settings in different places and in different landscapes. They make outside visits. They engage in a wide variety of problem-solving activities. Wherever possible, we involve the children in ‘real’ geographical activities, e.g. the research of a local environmental problem.

We use knowledge organisers, where children have access to key knowledge, language and meanings to understand Geography and to use these skills across the curriculum.  At Holme Slack we believe vocabulary is key to children accessing lessons fully, we have created geographical vocabulary log books which is appropriate and accurate for each year group, these develop and evolve from EYFS to KS1 and through to KS2.

Impact

Within geography teaching at Holme Slack Community Primary School, we strive to create a supportive and collaborative ethos for learning by providing investigative and enquiry-based learning opportunities. Emphasis is placed on investigative learning opportunities to help children gain a coherent knowledge of understanding of each unit of work covered throughout the school. Children will deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes and how this affects landscapes and environments, developing a love and understanding of the local area around Manor House Lane and beyond.

• Children will know more, remember more and understand more about Geography.
• Children will understand and use the key skills of chronological understanding, Knowledge and understanding of events in the past, Historical interpretation, Historical enquiry and organisation and communication.
• A concrete knowledge of the Holme Slack area, including Eaves Brook and beyond.
• As Geographical specialists children will learn lessons from Geography to influence the decisions they make in their lives in the future.
• Children will develop aspirations towards careers based on Geography. They will have an understanding of the types of Geography based jobs that are available. They will make connections between doing well at school and gaining interesting and meaningful employment.

Calling All Eco-Warriors!

Are you passionate about looking after your local environment?

Do you reflect that in your day to day role?

Do you feel empowered by Greta and want to facilitate a greener lifestyle for the benefit of future generations?

Come and work with us at Holme Slack, we'd love you to come in and talk about your job related to the environment.

For more information on our Geography curriculum or to offer your skills and expertise in the form of volunteering in school please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Kirkham, the Geography Subject Leader, via email (skirkham@holmeslack.lancs.sch.uk) or the school telephone number (01772 795257)