Year 5

Welcome to Geography at St Luke's Primary and Nursery

At St Luke’s Primary and Nursery, we believe geography education significantly enriches our pupils' learning experience. Our curriculum is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of both the physical structure of the Earth and the complex interactions between humans and their environments. We aim to foster a sense of curiosity and wonder about the world, encouraging children to explore and appreciate the diversity of landscapes, cultures, and societies that make up our planet.

Our teaching approach integrates hands-on learning with critical thinking and analytical skills development. Pupils engage with a variety of topics, including local geography, where they learn about their immediate environment, as well as broader subjects such as global weather patterns, sustainability, and economic systems. This holistic approach helps students grasp how geographical processes shape their daily lives and influence global dynamics.

We also prioritize field trips and outdoor learning experiences that complement in-class learning. These activities are designed to deepen students’ understanding of geographical concepts and inspire them to become responsible global citizens. By connecting classroom knowledge to real-world contexts, we prepare our students for a future where they can actively contribute to and navigate an ever-evolving world.

Intent

At St Luke’s we believe every pupil deserves a broad and ambitious Geography curriculum to empower pupils to explore, understand and appreciate the world around them. At St Luke’s, we aim to equip pupils for their future through a well sequenced Geography curriculum enabling pupils to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for their present and their future.

We aim to develop young Geographers with a lifelong curiosity, passion and fascination about the world around them. Through studying key physical and human processes, pupils will have a desire to travel; discovering the places they have learnt about and bringing about positive change in the world. We want pupils to be inquisitive and passionate about their local environment whilst being respectful and knowledgeable of different cultures.

We aim to develop the following in our pupils:

Geographical knowledge: Pupils will gain a rich understanding of the Earth’s physical features, natural processes, human activities and the diverse cultures and societies that make up our planet.

Geographical skills: Pupils will acquire essential skills in map reading, data analysis, fieldwork and problem solving enabling them to navigate their surroundings and make informed judgements and decisions about the world’s challenges and opportunities.

Geographical attitudes and values: Pupils will develop a sense of wonder and respect for the natural world, an appreciation of cultural diversity and a commitment to responsible and sustainable stewardship of our planet.

We want children to leave St Luke’s with life skills; knowing how to travel from one location to another, proficient in map use and interpreting and using data obtained from field studies. Teaching will equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and the interconnection between natural and human environments.

Children will be determined to travel and experience the world, seeing themselves as geographers and travellers and not limited by growing up in inner city London. They will know their role within the world, and be an advocate for protecting the environment for future generations and ensuring sustainable development.

Implementation

Teachers lead dialogic classrooms with purposefully planned opportunities to incorporate the principles of classroom talk (Alexander 2020).

Geography at St Luke’s is taught through an interwoven curriculum and the four key strands of Locational Knowledge, Place Knowledge, Human & Physical Geography and Geographical Skills, Fieldwork and critical thinking are all taught through this. Through a range of creative and practical activities, such as mapping the school and local environment, we give pupils core knowledge, support them in practising skills and help them develop a deeper understanding of the world in which they live and the processes within this.

Pupils:

Develop contextual knowledge of globally significant places inline with our whole school interweaved curriculum.
Take an active part in field studies that provide opportunities to become competent geographers; collecting, observing, analysing and communicating a range of data to enhance their understanding of places and processes.
Make real-life connections through educational visits, providing a geographical context for understanding the action of processes on an ever widening scale from the school grounds in EYFS, the local area in KS1 to the wider local area, neighbouring boroughs and Greater London in KS2.
Articulate the physical and human processes, how they impact each other and change over time, supported by age-appropriate rich texts and links to other subject areas.
Interpret a range of sources, communicate geographical information in a variety of ways including through mapping (Digimaps and paper based O/S maps), numerical and quantitative skills, speaking and writing at length.
Develop a love of Geography through celebrating their local environments and ones further afield.
Develop an understanding of their impact on the world and how their actions can help to develop sustainable practices.
Use varied resources and technologies to explore themes and concepts studied such as the use of computer mapping and geographical information systems.

Impact

As Geographers, pupils have an understanding of the physical and human aspects of their world and are able to speak about how each influences the other and the effects of this.

Pupils enjoy geography and make the most of opportunities to take part in fieldwork to apply concepts learnt in class. They appreciate their place in the world and respect all cultures and understand how Geography has played an important role in the evolution of people and their environments. Through our work in sustainability and with Zero Carbon Schools Pupils understand how their actions impact their local community as well as the wider world and think critically about how they can resolve environmental issues created by humans. Through our work with Open city London and The Building Centre pupils learn and think about the built environment around them and how this makes them feel and how they can become changemakers and leaders to shape the future, their future.