Curriculum Aim

Studying Geography with Kingfisher Academy will develop children and young people's (CYP's) understanding of their sense of space, place and time in an increasingly global and interconnected society. It should develop CYP's curiosity about the world, in terms of its people, societies and natural phenomena. It should nurture a passion for learning about the world and the processes which drive development, produce opportunities and cause challenges. The curriculum will allow CYP to explore the range of environments and ecosystems in which people live, developing an understanding of the difference and diversity across the world, from rural environments to urban centres such as Sheffield. CYP will engage with the complexity around the world’s resources, threats the planet faces, alongside the key human and physical processes that shape our lives.

As CYP gain more knowledge about our world at various scales, they will be able to better understand and conceptualise the world in which they find themselves in today. As CYP progress through the curriculum, their growing knowledge about the world helps them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, such as the formation and use of landscapes and environments.

Geographical knowledge, understanding and skills provide the frameworks and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features are shaped, interconnected and change over time. CYP will be able to articulate the connections and impacts that events in one part of the world can have elsewhere, giving them the tools to analyse challenges facing the world today. The Geography curriculum is well situated to compliment other subjects CYP study at Kingfisher (e.g. mathematical skills, scientific analysis, the ability to create a substantiated argument which underpins all humanities subjects). The study of Geography here will give CYP a range of skills that will assist them in analysing and making sense of information, weighing contrasting perspectives against one another, plus an ability to identify the impact of decisions and events at a local, national and international scale.

Context

CYP at Chapel House have 1 geography lesson a week at Key Stage 3. Using this time, we cover the National Curriculum under half-termly units. The progression through this curriculum is planned with CYP joining at various points of the year in mind. Individual lessons act as building blocks to develop their wider thinking around geographical concepts, meaning CYP are able to understand the wider themes of a unit of work from any of the lessons, regardless of when they join us. At Key Stage 4, we go into greater depth on units such as rivers, urban development and hazardous environments. This allows CYP to apply their skills to a specific geographical issue.

Key Concepts, Skills and Knowledge

The following concepts are embedded into individual units across key stages:

• Physical and human processes
• Locational and place understanding
• Map skills
• Use of data and graphs

In addition to these concepts, the following themes are repeated throughout the curriculum, to enable CYP to understand the main drivers of geographical processes:

• Employment
• Migration
• Weather
• Climate
• Hazards
• Ecosystems
• Built environment
• Connections

CYP will develop and apply the following skills:

• Critical thinking
• Fieldwork in a range of human and physical contexts
• Explain and apply human processes that have an impact on our lives at small and large scales
• Explain and apply physical processes that have an impact on our lives at small and large scales
• Apply learning with an awareness of place and space, at various scales. An ability to apply this conceptual awareness to new content
• Data analysis through the use of graphs, charts, maps and tables
• Mathematical skills such as mean, median, mode
• The ability to evaluate and prioritise evidence, in order to construct sound and substantiated arguments and well-reasoned perspectives on geographical issues (and beyond).

Throughout the curriculum, CYP are also encouraged to use the following command word skills to solidify their understanding:

• Identify
• Describe
• Explain
• Analyse
• Evaluate

Below is the main knowledge taught from age 11–16. A range of applicable UK and wider world case studies are examined throughout:

• Y7:

  • Sheffield’s context in the UK and the UK’s wider world context
  • Rural/Urban differences and transitions. The opportunities and challenges of urban life
  • Weather features and formations
  • An overview of employment sectors and types of jobs
  • An overview of hazards with meteorological, tectonic and hydrological examples
  • Different methods of data presentation

• Y8 & Y9:

  • A detailed study of the UK, Europe and major regions of the world
  • The process of urbanisation. The reasons for it and the impacts it creates.
  • Reasons for and types of migration
  • The features and processes of rivers and coasts
  • How economic development transforms a country and what holds it back
  • The links between population, urbanisation and development, in the context of an increasingly interconnected world
  • Weather formation. Extreme weather and its impacts
  • The threats facing an increasingly connected world and the struggle for resources
  • The differences between the world’s major ecosystems
  • The differences between tectonic and other hazards

• KS4:

  • River features, processes, and uses of rivers, plus the opportunities and challenges which they present
  • Different types of natural hazards and people’s response to them
  • The reasons for increasing urbanisation. The challenges and opportunities presented in urban environments
  • Economic activity and energy
  • Fragile environments and climate change

Curriculum Overview