Intent

At Mill Hill, we believe geography should encourage children to develop a natural curiosity about the world around them, fostering a desire to investigate both places and processes. We aim to teach the children the skills they need to be able to answer questions they may have about the world around them. The National Curriculum content is covered throughout the school and the EYFS framework begins to develop the same skills. The units taught help children investigate places and patterns, as well as exploring ways to communicate this for different purposes. We hope that the children will be able to transfer these skills to other areas of the curriculum and into their lives outside of school.

Implementation

Geography is taught in half termly blocks throughout the year with cross curricular links developed where they naturally occur. Each unit taught will follow a similar cycle of hooking the children in, posing a question to answer at the end of the unit, investigation of places using geographical skills, making connections, comparisons, and patterns, then drawing conclusions to be able to answer the initial question posed. In addition to this, the units include elements of map work and fieldwork where is most relevant and meaningful, and best supports the learning of the children. The children will begin with studies of their school grounds and immediate local area, progressing to investigating and comparing localities further afield (both within the UK and the rest of the world), which will help them develop a love and respect for their immediate surroundings. The skills and knowledge develops progressively as the children move through the school, building on the learning from previous units. Children are encouraged to deepen and extend their thinking by the use of 'so what'  or 'what if' questions. 

Impact

• Children will be assessed on key statements at the end of each unit.
• There is a key question that is answered at the end of the unit, drawing on their understanding of the processes/places studied.
• Sometimes written work is not needed for a lesson, so photographs are used to document the learning that has taken place.
• The children are asked about their learning after a unit has been taught - their enthusiastic responses show how much they have learned. 
• Using prior knowledge at the start of a unit helps the children build on previously taught skills. If these skills are not secure, they are revisited throughout the units, so there is the chance for consolidation as well as further development.