At Marshgate Primary School, Geography gives the children a wider perspective on their world and to provide the beginnings of an understanding of the human situation, including the importance of sustainable living, respect for the world and taking deliberate steps to care for it. Alongside important geographical knowledge of people and places, children are encouraged to develop transferable skills they can use across the curriculum and in later life, such as asking perceptive questions and thinking critically as geographers.

Our teaching and learning sequences are planned to ensure that learning is memorable and key knowledge, vocabulary and skills are remembered and applied to new knowledge. Children are encouraged throughout the curriculum to understand in detail a number of places and how they are similar and different to the place that we live in.

Our curriculum planning is based on the development of locational knowledge, place knowledge, human and physical geography and skills and fieldwork. Lessons are planned and delivered to ensure that learning is memorable and that key knowledge, vocabulary and skills are revisited, remembered and applied to new learning. The use of Assessment for Learning (AfL) strategies and retrieval practice ensures that children know more and retain more in their long term memory.

Teaching of vocabulary is central to our teaching and children are taught the vocabulary they need to name specific features of the natural world. Non-fiction texts are used to offer an insight into contrasting environments.

The teaching of geography provides many opportunities to deepen and extend children’s learning through memorable experiences. We are fortunate to be located, in Richmond, within close proximity to Richmond Park, River Thames, Kew Gardens and many London Landmarks and we ensure these are used to enrich the learning units and experience.

To promote World Ocean's day, we decided to take part in the Marine Stewardship Council's STEM competition sent out to all schools in the country. They have asked us to create an innovative product that will promote sustainable fishing. Across KS2, the children have been working really hard to create some really fantastic products that could help to keep our oceans clean and safe for the wildlife within them.