Geography
In geography, we follow the National curriculum and the Early Years curriculum and aim to instill a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people. We equip children with the subject knowledge, fieldwork skills and geographical enquiry that helps them behave like geographers by ensuring our topics cover the broad geographical concepts of locational knowledge, place knowledge, environmental, human and physical geography as well as geographical skills and fieldwork. Over the course of the academic year, the children study two or three Geography topics which include a mixture of these concepts. We spit each topic into 6 big questions which equip pupils with knowledge of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments. We have identified 6 key Geographical themes which the children will revisit during their time at St Martins.
Where we live and why Understanding the physical and human factors which influence where humans settle
How are we all connected? The migration of people. Understanding the push/pull factors that influence population movement
Sustainability Planet Human impact on natural resources and the environment how these can be used more sustainably
Physical Features The major physical processes which shape our landscape
Ecosystems Explore the different ecosystems of the world
Geographical enquiry Map reading, data collection and fieldwork skills
Reception, Year 1 and Year 2
In Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 the children follow a rolling programme. This means that the children have a wide range of experiences and allows them to revisit key geographical ideas in different contexts. During their first three years at school, all children study the following at least once:
- Local area
- Contrasting locality
- Environments
The Reception, Year 1 and year 2 curriculum has a clear focus on developing the child's sense of place, first looking at the immediate area around school and home, before setting that in a national and global context. The children have the opportunity to compare and contrast localities, developing their geographical enquiry and fieldwork skills in the process
Year 3 and 4
In year 3 and 4 there is a strong emphasis on the physical processes which shape the planet and how physical and human factors influence where we live and why.
Year 5 and 6
In year 5 and 6 children use and develop the geographical knowledge and enquiry skills, with a clear focus on the relationship between humans and their environment, investigating the factors which influence where people live, why populations migrate and how we interact with our environment.
