My name is Catherine Ayrton, and I am a year 2 class teacher. I started at Mayflower in 2007 and have worked across both year groups in KS1. I have been Geography Leader for several years and within that time have worked hard to update our sequencing and planning to ensure that children get sound knowledge and skills within this subject. It has been Important to me to ensure that the children at Mayflower get up to date physical and digital resources to support their learning in Geography. I am working hard to raise the profile of Geography within school and securing links to the Global Goals for Sustainable development within lessons.
Intent, Implementation and Impact
At Mayflower, it is our intention that Geography will inspire pupils with a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them throughout their lives. We aim to offer opportunities for children to explore the world in order to develop an understanding of the human and physical world in which they live in and their place within it. We aim to promote the children’s interest and understanding about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. It is our intention that Geography will promote children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development helping them to have a greater understanding of their place in the world, and their rights and responsibilities to other people and the environment. We encourage the children to ask questions about the world and provide opportunities for them to develop geographical skills and knowledge to be able to answer them. We hope that the children will continue to have a curiosity of the world throughout their life. For more information, please tap on the following link:
Assessment
Assessment in Geography takes place during lessons through feedback provided by staff. As per our feedback and marking policy, this is most effective during the lesson. Formal assessments are made at the end of each term, and these are submitted to the Head Teacher, determining attainment, progress, and the overall impact of the syllabus on all our children. They are measured against age-related expectations across the syllabus, using a 4-point system, as follows:
Working below Key Stage
Working Towards Age-Related Expectations
Working at Age-Related Expectations
Working at the Greater Depth Standard
Differentiation helps all teachers to ensure that the children’s needs are being met through lesson content that is matched to their needs. Adaptations are also made to ensure that our SEND children can gain access to all lessons, with a strong focus on disciplinary and substantive knowledge, as opposed to the literacy and numeracy skills we may expect of them to access it. In this way, low outcomes in literacy and numeracy do not have to equate to low outcomes in RE.
Golden Threads and Curriculum Enrichment
Geography supports the 3-Golden Threads in many different ways, and teachers will actively plan for this within their lessons. In terms of the Sustainable Development Goals, our curriculum will deepen the children’s understanding of the world around them, environmental matters, and the primary causes of some of the challenges we face, both in terms of the natural environment (physical geography) and the global society in which we live (human geography). Having deepened their understanding, our progression of teaching will empower children to become global citizens, giving them the skills they need to raise awareness and take action through social justice. Finally, we know that the geography curriculum is best taught in the real world, through effective fieldwork, both local, and beyond the immediate environment of the school.
The Journey of the Child
Through carefully planned and progressive units that reference prior learning and prepare children for future learning, we can chart a child’s journey through our school from their entry in the Orchard, all the way through to the end of Year 6. Please tap on the following link to see how our children experience Geography at Mayflower, and how this links together, helping them to develop their own worldview, either based in faith, or none: Click Here
Curriculum in Action
Talking about the curriculum is far less effective than actually seeing it in action. We love to capture our children’s engagement with the Geography Syllabus, both in the classroom and our local community. For more information, please tap on the following link:
