Geography
At Harwood Park Primary School, we have developed a geography curriculum that develops learning and results in the acquisition of knowledge of the world around our pupils so that they know more, remember more and understand more.
As a school, it is our aim to instil a love of Geography in all our children by fostering their curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that we hope will remain with them for the rest of their lives. We work hard to provide an interesting and varied curriculum that both interests and intrigues our pupils while meeting the needs of all backgrounds, cultures and abilities.
Additionally, we strive to provide children with a wealth of experiences to allow them to accumulate the knowledge, behaviours and skills a person can utilise throughout their lives. We want children to experience, explore and explain the world around them in order to be informed and thoughtful members of the community who understand the impact that humans have on world Geography.
To ensure high standards of teaching and learning in Geography, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school. In Nursery and Reception, aspects of Geography are taught using the Early Years Understanding the World curriculum as set out in Development Matters. In KS1 and KS2, Geography is taught in 6-week cycles throughout the year with 2 weeks of place and locational knowledge, 2 weeks of human and physical geography and 2 weeks of fieldwork focusing on knowledge and skills stated in the National Curriculum. Geography will be taught for 1-hour per week in 2 week cycles where Geography and History will swap fortnightly e.g. 2 weeks of Geography followed by 2 weeks of History. Knowledge, skills and subject specific vocabulary are built up throughout the year allowing children to revisit their prior learning so it is retained in their long-term memory.