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 which 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 have given 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

Secondary school aged CYP on Emerald Lodge have 1 humanities lesson a week, with units alternating between history and geography. Units of work are designed to welcome CYP in at any point of the year and can be delivered in a way to ease CYP into geography, if they have not had much exposure to the subject before joining us.

Key concepts, skills and knowledge

The following concepts are embedded into individual units:

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

CYP will develop and apply the following skills:

• Critical thinking
• 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).

The following knowledge is delivered at the Becton Centre:

• UK and world geography
• The physical world: water
• The human world: Life in the UK
• The physical world: Nature

Curriculum Overview