At St Bartholomew’s we believe that all teaching should be planned to develop curiosity by opening our children’s minds to a world of limitless possibilities. This is the foundation of our geography planning and teaching. We want geography skills and knowledge to act as a platform to further inspire, challenge and support children to achieve and excel. We want to build a community of learners can learn through their own personal experiences and the experiences of others. We want a curriculum that helps children to better understand the wider world and their position in it. 

Our teaching provides skills and knowledge about diverse places, people, resources, and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.

We approach our teaching with a cross-curriculum model so children can consistently make links between current learning and what they have learnt before. Geography is taught in termly blocks and linked to the year group topic to ensure a holistic approach to teaching and learning. Teachers identify the key knowledge and skills of each blocked topic and ensure that there is a progression across topics throughout each year group across the school. At the beginning of each topic, children share what they know already as well as what they would like to investigate. This informs the sequence of planning whilst ensuring that lessons are relevant and take account of children’s different starting points, needs and interests.

Our geography education inspires curiosity and fascination about the world and its people, which we hope will remain with children for the rest of their lives.

Outcomes in books and other written work serve as evidence of a broad and balanced geography curriculum. Learning is also documented through whole class discussions, annotations, quizzes and photographs. Children record what they have learned comparative to their starting points at the end of every topic.

As children progress throughout the school, they develop a deep knowledge, understanding and appreciation of their local area and its place within the wider geographical context.