Our statement of intent

Geography gives children a picture of the world. At its simplest, it gives children a sense of place and an understanding of where they live. It enables them to respond to the world around and begin to see where they fit in and belong. By the end of Year 6, our children will understand the part of the world in which they live and how their piece of the jigsaw sits within the country, the continent and the world. 

Geography explains the past, explores the present and prepares children for the future. In human geography, children learn the impact that people have had and continue to have on the world. They begin to realise that they can ask questions and make choices about how they would like the world to be in the future. They may be empowered by the realisation that they can influence change through understanding and looking after the environment. 

The study of maps and mapping gives children key general knowledge of the world’s continents, oceans, countries and cities. Locational knowledge, the study of different countries, broadens outlook and encourages children to learn about other ways of life, climates, landscapes, cultures and to find similarities and differences with their own lives.  

Physical geography, the study of mountains, rivers, volcanoes, earthquakes and other natural phenomena, enables children to appreciate and understand how dynamic and ‘alive’ the Earth is. Human geography enables them to consider how human actions have affected the planet and what might this look like in the future. Our vision is to ignite curiosity and we want children to be in awe of this wonderful world that we share with so many forms of life. 

Geography develops a range of transferable skills such as research, observation, measurement, recording and presentation. Fieldwork enables children to connect with their community and beyond. Now whilst, our children will not be visiting Brazil, China, Kenya or Jasper National Park on a field trip, technology does allow us to explore these places investigate their richness and present our findings.  

Geography brings children a vast new range of vocabulary about places, features, processes, which builds up cultural capital. It is an enquiry- led subject that encourages children to seek answers to important questions and at its heart, geography develops empathy and an understanding of others, and our world.  

 

“You can travel the seas, poles and deserts and see nothing. To really understand the world, you need to get under the skin of the people and places. In other words, learn about geography. I can’t imagine a subject more relevant in schools. We’d all be lost without it.” Michael Palin 

Implementation

Our whole school curriculum is organised so that every child from Playgroup to Year 6 experiences two Geography focused enquiry topics each academic year. Therefore, children from Reception to Year 6 will have exercised their skills as Geographers during 14 topics.  

 

Year Group	Enquiry 1	Enquiry 2
Playgroup	Which places are special to us?	What would our nursery rhyme characters buy from the shops?
Nursery	What is the Chilliverse and why do we care for it?	What can you buy from Heaton and how do you get there?
Reception	How do the seasons change and how do they make me feel?	What is it like living in China?
1	Heaton is awesome so why should we visit Tynemouth?	How do maps help us explore?
2	Does all of the UK look like Newcastle?	Should we move the Chilliverse to Kenya?
3	Where does the Ouseburn lead?	Why does the world need Brazil?
4	Can mountains move?	Why is Paris one of the most visited cities in the world?
5	What impact is the climate crisis having on the 5 biomes of the world?	Where would you rather visit- Northumberland National Park or Jasper National Park?
6	How extreme is our earth and who shares our latitude?	What have been the human and physical changes in Heaton over time?

 

geography overview chillingham road primary 1 .pdf

 

geography policy.pdf

 

 

IMPACT

Our children will feel safe within the Chilliverse and be able to navigate and orientate themselves throughout our large heritage site. Our children will also become confident orienteering their local area including: urban Heaton, Heaton Park, Armstrong Park and Jesmond Dene.  

 

Whilst developing a love for geography and a natural curiosity of the world around them, our children will venture beyond their immediate locality to the tributaries of the Ouseburn, mouth of the Tyne and look out onto the North Sea- perhaps even having a splash and paddle on one of our many beautiful beaches.  In addition, our Chillizens will travel to places such as the Washington Wildfowl Wetlands and Derwent Water in the Lake District as well as to the historic city of Durham. 

 

Through these many experiences, our Chillizens will appreciate the importance of their role in society in order to create and maintain a sustainable world for future generations as well as form their own opinions on key matters such as the climate crisis. We measure impact based on our children’s confidence to articulate their understanding about key concepts and to ask and explore questions to further their geographical knowledge and understanding.  

 

As curious Chillizens, they will choose to understand local, national, and global environmental issues and actively make a personal difference in protecting and sustaining the world we share. We notice this through talking with children about their learning in Geography including hearing about what they have enjoyed, what they can recall, the links they are able to make to other subjects as well evidence of their learning at home and in the community. Our children are also proud and keen to show their wonderful work and we can see the impact of the geographical skillset they have required and their excellent progress in the subject. 

 

By the end of their primary education at Chillingham Road, our Chillizens will have gained a rich and deep body of geographical knowledge and a wide range of transferable skills they can apply to other subjects, contexts, and challenges; they will be ready to thrive at secondary school and beyond. 

 

PARTNERSHIPS

The subject leader has connected with the following organisations to support and enhance our geography provision: 

 

Urbangreennewcastle.org.uk -  Urban Green Newcastle is an independent charity committed to preserving Newcastle’s green spaces. This includes the city’s 33 parks and 60 allotment sites 

Heritageopendays.org.uk- As a heritage school we invite the public in to see our school archive of primary resources. 

Washington Wetland Centre- WWT Washington Wetland Centre is a wetland reserve managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Washington, Tyne and Wear, North East England. Established in 1975, its wildlife includes swans, geese, ducks, a family of Asian short clawed otters and a flock of Chilean flamingos 

Derwent Hill Outdoor Education Centre- Derwent Hill is Sunderland City Council’s outdoor education and training centre.  It has provided high quality outdoor education for the children of Sunderland for over 50 years and is part of Sunderland City Council. 

Geographical Association- www.geography.co.uk  

The Royal Geographical Society- www.rgs.org  

Geographical Information Systems GIS- www.ordancesurvey.co.uk/ mapzone/map-skills  

National Geographic- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/graphics/12-books-read-around-world#cover 

World Mapper- worldmapper.org 

BBC Radio 4 Great Lives, contains many geographers and explorers-https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1F_ACvc_Rsc1p1lGeegwMpr3eSp4-BT12