Geography

In geography at The Oaks we strive to provide our children with rich and diverse learning opportunities to become knowledgeable and experience-rich global citizens. Our relentless drive to inspire awe and wonder through explicit teaching of what curiosity looks like, supports children to reflect on the interconnected nature of the world around them. The children’s own realities are reflected in our curriculum so that by the time they leave The Oaks they truly believe in themselves, their crucial and unique capital in the world, and their ability to enact positive change.

Our children become independent thinkers by navigating their way through our carefully sequenced and language driven curriculum. They can think spatially, use maps, visual images, and technology to analyse and present information. As reflective learners they develop a sense of their world at local, national and global scales, making links between how people and the environment interact, and how this may or may not be similar to their own lived experiences. Excellent fieldwork is an essential part of this.

We strive to prepare our pupils for their ever-changing future. They leave The Oaks equipped with the knowledge to live and thrive as good people in a culturally and ethnically diverse modern Britain. Children’s understanding of place, space, scale and interdependence is developed through both discrete and high quality fieldwork lessons, and everyday classroom conversations and routines including in our dedicated class read slot. Children are supported to make links between geography and other curriculum subjects, considering deeply how human geography and Religious Education link, for example. Teachers plan for this through questioning, explicit vocabulary instruction and consideration during Long Term Planning of how high quality texts can support wider discussion across the curriculum.

We believe that all children need a secure and holistic understanding of the world around them. Critically, children must leave us able to skillfully articulate their geographical knowledge extending far beyond their (often limited) experience. This is driven through our focus on Oracy and vocabulary across the curriculum. Explicit teaching of the disciplinary knowledge that this ambition requires is progressive, and based on our commitment to research informed practice. Working closely with schools across the Trust, CPD is regularly undertaken by all staff, ensuring our planning, teaching and assessment is in line with the latest principles of cognitive science.

Ultimately, it is our fundamental consensus that all children, regardless of demographic background, can respectfully appreciate the small, yet significant, contribution they have the power to make to their communities near and far, and the wider world.

For further information please email admin@theoaksprimary.co.uk FAO Mrs Morgan