Geography Curriculum Overview
Learning Journey
Knowledge Organisers
- Locational knowledge and special awareness of the world’s countries
- Map and atlas skills
- Interpret Ordnance Survey maps
- Develop cartographic, graphical, numerical and statistical skills
- Use GIS to analyse and interpret places and data
- Use fieldwork to collect, analyse and draw conclusions from geographical data.
- Formulate enquiry and draw well-evidence and informed conclusions.
- Improving fieldwork skills overtime.
Key Stage 3 Curriculum
Our Key Stage 3 Curriculum:
Three year KS3 with 2 hours per week allocated to Geography.
Download the full policy at the link above for a full break down of learning for each Term.
Key Stage 4 Curriculum
Our Key Stage 4 Curriculum:
The KS4 Curriculum is taught over 2 years and allocation of lesson time is as follows: Year 10 and Year 11 – 3 hours per week. At Key Stage 4 students follow the AQA GCSE Geography specification code 8035. The KS4 curriculum builds upon learning at KS3 and provides a foundation for students to access KS5.
Download the full policy at the link above for a full break down of learning for each Term.
Academy Aim
Here at Sandhill View Academy, we aim to securely equip all of our students for life beyond school as successful, confident, responsible and respectful citizens. We believe that education provides the key to social mobility and our curriculum is designed to build strong foundations in the knowledge, understanding and skills which lead to academic and personal success. We want our students to enjoy the challenges that learning offers. And ultimately we want students to ‘Know More, Do More and Go Further’ Our aims are underpinned by a culture of high aspirations. Through developing positive relationships, we work towards every individual having a strong belief in their own abilities so that they work hard, build resilience and achieve their very best.Intent
The curriculum includes formal teaching through subject areas, assemblies and extracurricular activities. We regularly review content to ensure we continue to meet our curriculum aims. The Geography curriculum is planned to allow students to build upon their own knowledge across the key stages and think critically about the world they live in. By studying a range of people and places, students will have a greater understanding of the world we live in and issues across the globe in order to become more empathetic. The Geography curriculum will enhance students locational knowledge and develop an understanding of geographical similarities, differences and links between places through the study of human and physical geography. The curriculum ill allow students to explore places in different contexts through a range of geographical lenses. Students will build upon and develop their Geographical disciplinary knowledge and skills, and gain a full understanding of how geographers collect, present, and analyse data and how geographers then use this to reach conclusions and evaluate their work. The Geography curriculum is planned to enable all students to cumulatively develop geographical disciplinary knowledge and skills in the following:
The British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect of those with different faiths and beliefs are taught explicitly and reinforced in the way in which the school operates. We are also explicitly embedding transferable ‘Skills Builder’ skills such as problem solving, aiming high and teamwork to prepare our students for careers and life after school.
Sequence and structure
Our curriculum is split into Key Stage 3 (years 7, 8 and 9) and Key Stage 4 (10 and 11). It is structured to build on prior knowledge and inform for future learning at KS3 in years 7, 8, and year 9. KS3 are given opportunities for fieldwork studies through residentials and fieldwork built into schemes of work. At KS4 the curriculum is section by unit with Natural Hazards taught first as there are more accessible links to KS3.Literacy
We know that students who read well achieve well. As such all subject areas are committed to providing regular opportunities to read extensively. In Geography we provide regular opportunities for students to read as part of both class work and homework activities and follow the whole school focus each term to improve reading skills. We also have aspirations for our students to use ambitious vocabulary and are using frayer models and ‘push’ techniques to widen the tier 2 and tier 3 vocabulary students use orally and in the work they produce. Coherent and fluent writing skills are also imperative for student achievement, so we support student writing skills by offering opportunities for extended writing, with modelling, and sentence stems to support. All curriculum areas use literacy end point document which details yearly end points for reading, writing and oracy to ensure consistent literacy skills embedded across the curriculum.
Skills Builder
We are also explicitly embedding transferable ‘Skills Builder’ skills such as problem solving, aiming high and teamwork to prepare our students for higher education and employability skills for the future. This year in Geography we will focus on TEAMWORK including group decision making and recognising the value of others. PROBLEM SOLVING by exploring complex problems by analysing cause and effect, and understanding through research. Furthermore, we want our students to AIM HIGH by setting goals, prioritising tasks and involving others.
How does our Curriculum cater for students with SEND?
Sandhill View is an inclusive academy where every child is valued and respected. We are committed to the inclusion, progress and independence of all our students, including those with SEN. We work to support our students to make progress in their learning, their emotional and social development and their independence. We actively work to support the learning and needs of all members of our community.
A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made that is additional to or different from that made generally for other children or young people of the same age. (CoP 2015, p16)
Teachers are responsible for the progress of ALL students in their class and high-quality teaching is carefully planned; this is the first step in supporting students who may have SEND. All students are challenged to do their very best and all students at the Academy are expected to make at least good progress.
Specific approaches which are used within the curriculum areas include:
- Seating to allow inclusion
- Differentiation activities to stretch and support in all lessons
- Resources are accessible yet challenging
- Displays and visual learning tools are used where necessary
- Where appropriate support from additional adults is planned to scaffold students learning
- Group work and discussion
- Clear teacher/student communication
- Feedback that allows students to make progress, whether written or verbal
- Independent study/homework.
- Intervention when required
How does our curriculum cater for disadvantaged students and those from minority groups?
As a school serving an area with high levels of deprivation, we work tirelessly to raise the attainment for all students and to close any gaps that exist due to social contexts. The deliberate allocation of funding and resources has ensured that attainment gaps are closing in our drive to ensure that all pupils are equally successful when they leave the Academy. More specifically within the teaching of Geography, we;
- Provide access to cultural capital with place and locational knowledge, using imagery, fieldwork opportunities and GIS.
- Work to identify barriers, interests and what might help each
pupil make the next steps in learning using lead practitioner research and actions to support. - Provide targeted support for under-performing pupils during
lesson time, such as targeted questioning, live marking and seating, in addition to revision lessons and intervention outside school hours. - Use strategies best suited to addressing individual needs
- Ensure there are opportunities for students to make use of resources and gain homework support outside of lesson time through the use of Teams
- Provide students with revision materials to reduce financial burden on families
How do we make sure that our curriculum is implemented effectively?
- The Head of the Humanities faculty is responsible for designing the Geography curriculum and monitoring implementation.
- Monitoring is validated by senior leaders.
- Staff have regular access to professional development/training to ensure that curriculum requirements are met and subject knowledge developed
- Effective assessment informs staff about areas in which interventions are required. These interventions are delivered during curriculum time to enhance pupils’ capacity to access the full curriculum.
- Curriculum resources are selected carefully and reviewed regularly.
- Assessments are designed thoughtfully to assess student progress towards curriculum end points, long term knowledge retrieval and also to shape future learning.
- Assessments are checked for reliability within departments and across the Trust.
We have staff who mark for exam boards and provide vital CPD to the rest of the department to ensure reliability of data. We also work closely with examination team leaders across trust to valid.
Gap analysis spreadsheets are used to identify areas of development for students at KS4 to identify areas of weakness.
How do we make sure our curriculum is having the desired impact?
- Examination results analysis and evaluation
- Termly assessments based upon prior learning for retrieval-analysis and evaluation meetings
- Lesson observations
- Learning walks for KS3 and KS4 based upon departmental priorities
- Work sample for each year group cross referenced against milestone assessment end points
- Regular feedback from teaching staff during department meetings
- Regular feedback from Middle Leaders during curriculum meetings
- Pupil Surveys
- Parental feedback
- Weekly assessment and feedback using a variety of methods including peer and self-assessment, whole class feedback, teacher assessed feedback and exit tickets.
- Regular teacher analysis of classes to identify gaps.
- Half termly reports.
