Copley Primary School

Our vision for Geography

At Copley, our children will develop a deep knowledge of both the physical and human geography of the local environment, the UK and the wider world.  It is essential that our pupils develop a meaningful understanding of place, including the positioning of Copley and Halifax in the wider world. 

We will deliver a curriculum that: 

• Is underpinned by the school’s EARTH values of Empathy, Achievement, Resilience, Teamwork and Healthy living;
• Inspires a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people;  
• Equips children with an understanding of diverse places, people, resources and environments around them and the wider world; 
• Allows children to build on prior learning about physical and human processes and the formation and use of landscapes and environments; 
• Develops an understanding that the Earth’s physical features are interconnected and change over time; 
• Encourages exploration of their own environment and supports children to make connections between their local surroundings and that of contrasting settlements;    
• Systematically develops essential map skills on a variety of scales.

The Geography overview details the careful long-term curriculum sequencing of these essential geographical skills and concepts. The  knowledge and skills that pupil will develop throughout each Geography topic are also mapped across the school to ensure progression. Pupil’s learning in Geography is enriched through fieldwork, visits and experiences.

How we evaluate and assess Geography

The impact of our Geography curriculum can clearly be seen in the pupils’ books. Our pupils’ geographical understanding is also evident in class assemblies where pupil share their knowledge with their parents.

Pupil learning is assessed informally in each lesson and teachers plan responsively to next steps. Pupils are given retrieval practice activities regularly during lessons whereby they retrieve previous learning and make links to the current unit of work.  This is an opportunity to evaluate and reflect to enable the pupils to see how their learning is progressing. At the end of a unit, pupils would have been assessed against the end points for the topic. Evidence of work, lesson input and retrieval practice enable teachers to make a judgement as to whether each child is working at the expected level.