Humanities Overview

Our curriculums for History and Geography are highly ambitious. The content exceeds the scope of the national curriculum ensuring pupils can develop a rich knowledge of the subjects. We offer a highly rigorous curriculum which places significant emphasis on disciplinary, as well as substantive content. The content of the curriculum is extremely carefully sequenced, within and across the subjects, so that pupils use their knowledge gained from earlier material to enable them to access content later in their journey. This helps pupils see connections within and across the two subjects.

In studying Geography as a discipline, pupils will:

• think about geographical questions using concepts of place, scale, diversity and variation over space, change, interaction and relationships; pupils tackle questions in which they solve problems concerning place, pattern, position and processes;

• collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that develop their geographical skills and deepen their understanding of geographical processes;

• interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and digital technologies;

• communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.

Mrs Hanson

Geography Co-ordinator

Geography Overview

Within Geography we aim for pupils to gain a knowledge and understanding about the world and its people. By inspiring the children through our chosen units of work, children are able to engage, showing curiosity and fascination. To deepen children’s understanding of Geography, skills are developed within locational knowledge, human and physical Geography, atlas and map work and fieldwork through the units of work.  Our Geography teaching supports developing children’s knowledge about diverse places, people, natural and human environments, along with a deeper understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human features and how it changes over time.

Early Years

Geography in Early Years focuses on children looking at their local environment such as home and school. There is a focus on children knowing where they live, knowing some physical and human features of their home, street or school and an awareness of types of weather and seasons. These aspects link with the prime area of learning Communication and language along with specific areas of learning, Maths and Understanding the World. It is key that children are able to understand their own environment and those familiar to them before moving on to the wider world.

Key Stage 1

Each term, children will begin with an enquiry-based question. Children will explore physical and human aspects of the local area, the UK and the wider world.

Year 1

In Year 1 children will start with the enquiry question ‘How do I use a map?’ This will introduce children to the use of paper and digital maps. Children will then use these simple maps to explore our school environment in order to find and locate the missing teddy bears! In spring term, children will explore the question ‘What is bigger than a country?’ During this topic children will learn the seven continents of the world as well as the five oceans. They will use Google Earth, Atlases and mini globes throughout the topic. In summer term Year 1 will carry out some fieldwork to explore the question ‘What will you see at the coast?’ The children will visit the seaside and explore and investigate features of our coastline.

Year 2

Within Year 2 children will explore ‘What is the UK?’ In this topic children will learn the four countries of the UK, the capital cities of these places as well as looking at landmarks and key human and physical features. During the topic, children will use compass directions (North, East, South and West) as well as focusing on using locational and directional language. In spring term, the children will investigate ‘Why does the temperature differ around the world?’ Here the children will explore hot and cold places in relation to the equator and the North and South Poles.

In summer term Year 2 will investigate ‘How is Sydney harbour different to where I live?’ Throughout the topic, the children will look at the similarities and differences between Sydney harbour compared to the Newcastle/Gateshead Quayside. Children will visit the Quayside to carry out some local fieldwork. We will use photographs, videos and digital mapping to compare this place to Sydney harbour.

Key Stage 2

From Year 3 children will follow the Opening Worlds programme exploring units of work including Rivers, Mountains, Settlements and Cities, Agriculture, Volcanoes and Climates and Biomes. Children will work through the knowledge-rich curriculum making links to previous lessons and units, along with their learning in History.

Our curriculum and teaching in the Humanities foster the knowledge, skills and dispositions for pupils to:

• Thrive through informed curiosity about the world;
• View human challenges, quests and achievements through the lens of the long traditions that have shaped them;
• Think critically about how to change the world for the common good;
• Gain the language and concepts to notice, analyse and question how power works in society, and how inequality or suffering arises;
• Understand and value the diverse experiences and contributions of others who may be very different from themselves;
• Enrich their own sense of identity as they look across time, space and culture and see many positive versions of themselves;
• Understand the power of learned communities working collaboratively to seek truth in their claims about the world;
• Gain the concepts which give them the tools for precise thought and rigorous argument with which to describe, explain and change the world;
• Guild strong standards of truth about the conditions under which valid claims can be made about the world, society, culture and belief, on multiple scales;
• Appreciate and participate in the arts – music, art and literature – through richly diverse artistic outputs within the many sources studied, properly understood in their cultural, temporal and geographical contexts and providing richly informed stimulus for pupils’ own creativity.

Subject Coverage

Please see below for our subject coverage for the academic year 2023-24.

Residential Visits

From Key Stage 2, children can take part in Residential visits. Here, lots of Geography work comes into play. In Year 5 children are invited to visit Marrick Priory. Whilst here, children explore a special part of the Yorkshire Dales and are immersed in exciting outdoor activities. Children use maps and participate in orienteering activities. 

In Year 6 children visit London. This links to their autumn term unit 'Why is London the capital of England?' Whilst here the children visit key London landmarks and get to experience the hustle and bustle of a capital city.

Useful Links

Here are some useful websites and apps your child might enjoying using to support them in their geographical knowledge.  Please click on the images below to access the links: