Geography

At Heathland, we believe that high-quality geography education inspires curiosity and fascination about the world. We aim to promote diversity within all aspects of our curriculum, and geography teaching and learning encourages our learners to develop appreciation of different countries and cultures. Our pupils are taught to be inquisitive and ask questions about the world around them. We value a skill-based approach and encourage pupils to step in the shoes of a geographer as they apply different skills to develop their locational knowledge, place knowledge and understanding of human and physical geography. As pupils progress, they will become competent in comparing and contrasting, analysing trends and working with data. By the end of their study, children will have developed perspective and explored processes relevant to the geography of our planet.

International day offers an opportunity for our children to celebrate and learn about cultures from around the world. We link MFL and D&T in our international day planning providing children with opportunities to explore different ways of greeting around the world; as well as offering opportunities for children to make and enjoy foods of different cultures. Our next international day will be in 2022.

Field Work & Trips

We value the importance of fieldwork and outdoor learning experiences. Year groups are encouraged to go on short walks whilst mapping the features of our local area. Pupils in KS1 and lower KS2 develop their research skills outside the classroom by conducting traffic surveys and designing maps of the school grounds and local area.

We subscribe to Digimaps which supports our pupil’s development of mapping skills. It offers opportunities to explore changes to physical and human features of an area, delivering access to contemporary, ariel and historic maps. We also incorporate the use of Digimaps when planning for trips which further supports pupils’ progression in reading maps and recognising routes.