Intent
At Richard Coates we believe that Geography is fundamental to our
understanding and appreciation of the world and helps to provoke and provide
answers to questions about the natural and human aspects of the world. Through
our teaching, we aim to inspire our children’s curiosity and fascination, develop
and deepen their geographical knowledge and skills as well as promote the
importance of caring for the Earth and its people.

Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of
the world, as well as their place in it. The geography curriculum at Richard
Coates enables children to develop their knowledge about their locality as well
as global knowledge and skills that are transferable to other curriculum areas
which can and are used to promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural
development. Geography is, by nature, an investigative subject, which develops
an understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills.
The curriculum is designed to ensure that teaching equips pupils with 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. As pupils progress through the school, their growing knowledge about
the world helps them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between
physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and
environments. Geographical knowledge and skills are progressive and are
sequenced to provide the framework and approaches that provide explanation of
how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and
change over time.
We encourage children to understand their impact on the world and to develop a
proactive attitude to caring for our planet as well as a desire to continue
learning about its endless geographical wonders. We challenge their thinking and
enable our children to make rational and just decisions, thinking about their own
place within the world, their values, their rights and their responsibilities to

other people and the environment. Global themes are carefully embedded into
our geography curriculum to ensure our pupils have a detailed knowledge of
relevant issues but are also empowered to take action and make a difference to
the world they live in.
We seek to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and its
people which will remain with them for the rest of their lives, equipping them
well for further education and beyond. Through our curriculum, they develop a
rich cultural capital and become socially aware, confident and reflective young
citizens of the world.
Implementation
Geography at Richard Coates CE Primary School is taught in blocks throughout
the year, so that children can achieve depth in their learning. Teachers have
identified the key knowledge and skills of each blocked topic and these are
mapped across the school, ensuring that knowledge builds progressively and that
children develop skills systematically. Existing knowledge is checked at the
beginning of each topic to ensure that teaching is informed by the children’s
starting points. Great importance is placed on learning geographical vocabulary
and deepening children's knowledge and understanding of concepts they are
taught. Retrieval tasks are planned to ensure key knowledge and skills taught
previously are retained. Tasks are selected and designed to provide appropriate
challenges to all learners, in line with the school’s commitment to inclusion.
Teachers are highly skilled at using assessment for learning to identify
misconceptions and gaps in learning which informs planning. At the end of each
topic, key knowledge is reviewed by the children and rigorously checked by the
teacher and consolidated as necessary. Pupil’s learning is assessed formatively
at the end of each unit of work through a range of strategies and next steps
are identified to inform future planning.
Through our curriculum implementation we place an emphasis on practical
activities and fieldwork and value the importance of using real places, real

experiences and real issues to make geography ‘come alive.’ Children have the
opportunity to use a wide variety of resources including the outdoor
environment, globes, atlases, maps, plans, aerial photos, computing equipment
and software. Visits take place regularly throughout the year and children also
have the opportunity to take part in residentials upper Key Stage 2.
The geography provision is well resourced and specific resources and texts are
identified for each geography topic to support effective teaching and learning.
The local area is fully utilised to achieve the desired outcomes, with extensive
opportunities for fieldwork skills and learning outside the classroom embedded
in practice.
Impact
The geography curriculum at Richard Coates is engaging and inspiring and
promotes high standards of teaching and learning. Learning is relevant,
progressive and engaging and supports the development of deep knowledge and
skills to ensure all our pupils, as geographers, achieve their full potential and are
ready for the next stage of their education.
Pupil voice demonstrates high levels of engagement and enthusiasm for
geography and our curriculum. Pupils' work shows evidence of a broad and
balanced geography curriculum and demonstrates children’s acquisition of
identified key knowledge relating to each of the identified national curriculum
strands, as appropriate to key stage; locational knowledge, place knowledge and
human and physical geography. This is in addition to the development and
application of key skills, supported by fieldwork.
As children progress throughout the school, they develop a deep knowledge,
understanding an appreciation of their local area and its place within the wider
geographical context. Children learn about global themes and issues and
understand how they can make a difference in the world in which they live.Pupils

also learn about careers related to geography and this further ensures that
they are well prepared for the next steps of their education.