At Osmotherley Primary School we strive to provide a high-quality geography education, which engages, inspires and challenges pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to develop a sense of place and to encourage a curiosity and fascination of the world around them. They will gain an understanding about the places, people and environments both natural and human by asking questions and finding answers. By exploring beyond the classroom, the children will engage with their local environment and begin to understand their impact on it with the choices they make. Geography at Osmotherley will be taught by delivering the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum. Reception children will explore Geography through the EYFS framework, looking closely at the Specific Area of Understanding the World. There will be an emphasis on the 4 key areas of the Programmes of Study: Locational Knowledge, Place Knowledge, Human and Physical Geography and Geographical Skills and Fieldwork. Although they will be taught through a global enquiry, the learning of Geography will be subject specific particularly within Key Stage 2. As they reach the end of Year 6, we will ensure that the knowledge and skills they have learnt will prepare them for their next step in Year 7.
Throughout their time in Osmotherley School, they will develop and deepen their knowledge and understanding of the world and their place in it. They will explore different areas within the world and begin to understand the key physical and human characteristics with those areas. They will also explore how decisions, made globally, can have an impact on a region of the world. As Geography is a subject with contestable knowledge, the curriculum will be reviewed regularly to ensure that the most recent findings and studies are being used. As a result it will be flexible and fluid depending on new research and findings in the geographical world. There is a clear progression in the skills and knowledge taught throughout the school and deliberate practice allows children to improve fluency leading to mastery and an alteration to their long-term memory. In our rural setting, the children gain a deep knowledge and understanding of the natural world around them and exploration of the local village and surrounding moorland provides opportunities for fieldwork. However, within this rural setting, we recognise that many of the children have limited opportunities to experience a large urban area and diverse communities. In Upper Key Stage 2 we provide an opportunity for a residential visit to Liverpool, to experience the culture and diversity of a large British city in the UK.
