Geography at Springwell Park
In EYFS, we begin developing our Geography skills and knowledge in the 'understanding the world ' area of development. This learning is the foundation for our Geography work when we start KS1.
Our Geography curriculum at Springwell Park introduces children to knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with an understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. We aim to develop and harness a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people, so that children gain an insight into places and lives which are very different from their own.
Our curriculum enables pupils to build cumulative knowledge of the land and marine regions of the earth, understanding how to locate these, using geographical language of location, and of scale, distance and area. As their locational knowledge broadens, they get better at identifying, describing in detail and explaining distinctive features of the physical characteristics of places and what it is like for people to live there.
They describe and explain how people’s lives are influenced by the physical characteristics of places, how physical processes have shaped the land, and how places have changed and are changing because of the impact of human activity on the environment. They learn how to communicate what they have understood about their study of places in ways which reveal geographical factors and processes.
Alongside the development of this substantive knowledge of location, place and the interconnection of human and physical geography, children learn to create, read and interpret a variety of maps and mapping tools to inform their study of places. They gather evidence from places they have studied at first hand, presenting this evidence and explaining patterns they have identified and conclusions they have reached. In doing so, they develop their use of specific geographical vocabulary.
We have aligned our Geography curriculum with the structure of the National Curriculum, ensuring that careful attention is paid to the sequencing of key locational and place knowledge. Further, we have identified key substantive concepts which recur through the different units of study: Economic activity, especially trade, Settlements and land use, Weather and Climate, and Water. Our decisions about the choice of these concepts is based in part on how our immediate locality and the port of Liverpool have developed and how geographical change has impacted on the locality. This helps children see geography as something which closely relates to their lives and their local environment.
Geography is taught with typically children studying three blocks or units in a year. Teachers plan the use of time flexibly to best match the content covered in each unit.
Children can talk knowledgably about the places they have studied, and about how the physical features of places influence the way people live their lives there. They examine evidence from their own observations and from secondary sources, investigating geographically valid questions as they do so. They find patterns in and make connections between underlying concepts which recur in the different places they study and explain their understanding using appropriate geographical language.
Please view the progression map below for an overview of how geography is taught in our Early Years. Please also click the link below to visit our Early Years page.