Geography
Intent and Overview
Before pupils leave Stanford, they will have deepened their understanding of local knowledge, human and physical geography. Children will have learnt a range of skills from being able to read maps, to using linear and area measuring tools. They will be able to name and locate countries and continents and will have undertaken in-depth local and global comparison studies. Through fieldwork, the pupils will have deepened their understanding of geographical processes.
Pupils will have access to a wide variety of geographical sources within school (photos, key texts, maps, compasses, databases); as well as from carefully constructed school visits to places for fieldwork studies where appropriate. These will link closely to our key global threads within the school. Stanford pupils have the opportunity to communicate digitally with schools around the world, within our Global Scholars project work in Year 5. This builds a key picture of the world around them and the children can instantly compare localities in several different countries ,through exciting video blogs, e-books and constant e-mail connections.
In addition to this, Stanford will offer a unique insight into how another school community functions around the world; and a chance to share vital information regarding key social or global issues, like recycling waste or endangered species. 2020 saw the start of a collaborative project with schools in the local cluster, funded by the British Council. The initiative, ‘United Against Waste’, attempted to encompass visits to/from Nepal and the UK by teachers; pupils presenting their school community; creating practical items from waste; and culminating in a powerful celebration of music, dance and art. Despite the severe disruptions across the world, some aspects - such as making Eco-bricks or designing the UAW logo - still took place, and the children were able to think about many aspects of human geography within the whole process.
The Stanford Geography Curriculum encourages teachers to develop the children’s knowledge and skills in a wholly practical and creative manner, designed to give the pupils unforgettable experiences. This was highlighted through our celebrations of World Earth Day and World Oceans Day, whereby pupils showed their creative support for the environmental issues affecting their world.