Intent and the School Vision

Geography at the Vine teaches pupils the knowledge, skills and understanding to make sense of their world.

The curriculum is designed to have a balance of core knowledge (facts, location, names, vocabulary) and a sense of place (senses, emotions, values, opinions) in order to develop a knowledge and understanding of real places as well as how people affect the environment and are influenced by it. 

Pupils acquire knowledge of a range of different cultures and traditions and learn tolerance and understanding of other people and environments which link with love of one another, love of mankind, love of life itself and let peace dwell here. 

Implementation

At the Vine, pupils explore the 4 areas of the geography curriculum, applying and building on previous learning each year.

• Location knowledge
  Pupils learn about the local area and beyond, including the United Kingdom, Europe and North and South America.  Pupils find out about continents, oceans, countries and major cities, as well as human and physical characteristics; and how some of these aspects have changed over time.  Pupils identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones.
• Place knowledge
  Pupils explore the similarities and differences of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region within North or South America.
• Human and physical geography
  Pupils learn about key physical characteristics, including: climate zones, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and the water cycle, as well as human characteristics, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water.
• Geographical skills and fieldwork
  Pupils use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features.  They use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and wider world.  Pupils use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present the human and physical features in the local areas using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies. 

British Values, SMSC and Global Links

Geography encourages mutual respect and tolerance of others as pupils develop an understanding and respect for different cultures through our studies of place and people. It also encourages individual liberty as pupils are given the opportunity to explore issues surrounding human rights, e.g. Fairtrade. Through geography, pupils are also encouraged to engage in active local and global citizenship where they consider the impact they have on the physical environment and the humans they interact with, and reflect on whether they need to make changes to this to be a positive global citizen and courageous advocate. Pupils are empowered to challenge themselves and take risks in a safe environment, developing their resilience through learning inside and outside of the classroom. 

Geography at The Vine aims to celebrate the wonderful diversity we have within the school community, encouraging children to celebrate difference and be accepting of all. Not only is the Vine community itself fantastically diverse, but we also have many international links with schools and partners internationally (Spain, Australia, Falkland Islands and Gituamba) where pupils get chances to communicate and share cultural traditions. Upon filling their prosocial marble jar, Year 5 pupils chose to send videos to our partner school in Kenya sharing their recent learning as well as teaching a playground favourite, Canton ball.