Geography
It is no coincidence that our website’s home page is dominated by images of our school grounds; at Wigton Infant School we are passionate about outdoor learning.
At Wigton Infant School we aim to teach Geography creatively and the curriculum is designed to develop children’s curiosity and fascination about the world and the people in it. We are passionate about sparking a child’s curiosity through their own experiences, the experiences of others as well as comparisons we can make to our local school community and globally significant places. We have a unique approach to sparking the children’s curiosity by using curiosity cuboids at the beginning of each topic. The curiosity cuboids allow the teachers to follow the children’s interests and ensure the curriculum we teach is learner centred and locally focused. We strive to ensure that our children develop an awareness and respect of the differences in environments and cultures experienced around the world. Pupils learn in a variety of exciting, active and engaging ways and at Wigton Infant School we have an enquiry-based approach which is closely linked with our Global Learning and Forest School work.
The School Grounds
We have brilliant school grounds with lots of interesting things to look at and different areas to explore. The teachers often plan lessons in the school grounds such as orienteering, sound and number trails and map making. If you would like to take part in/help out with our outdoor curriculum then speak to your child’s class teacher and they will be happy to arrange a day and time.
Geography in the Early Years
The geography curriculum in the Early Years focuses on using all their senses in hands-on exploration of natural materials. They begin to understand the need to respect and care for their natural environment and all living things. They learn about different countries in the world and how to describe a familiar route and discuss locations. Geography based activities are set up in continuous provision and are linked to the Topics for each half term.
Geography in KS1
In Key Stage 1 the children follow the National Curriculum and their work is also linked in a cross-curricular way through the Topics for each year group. Children explore their local town of Wigton and compare it to a small area of a non-European country. They use field work and observational skills to study the geography of their school and its grounds and the key human and physical features of its surrounding environment. Aerial photographs and plans are used to help children recognise landmarks and features. Each class has a daily calendar activity where the daily weather patterns and seasons are discussed and changes observed. Children are taught to name and locate the world’s seven continents and five oceans.
Key vocabulary is introduced in nursery and is built on throughout their time at Wigton Infant School providing the children with a key tool to be able to describe the world around them. Challenge questions are used to enable the children to apply their learning in a philosophical and open way.
At Wigton Infant School we want our children to build on their understanding of our shared role as global citizens and the importance of sustainability, diversity and belonging, so this journey begins in nursery.
KS1 Progression Documents
As our curriculum is topic driven, across KS1 we use combined progression documents for both Geography and History. The progression documents include the EYFS links, the key content coverage, the sequence of learning and the end points to their learning. Teachers use the progression documents to ensure coverage across KS1.
EYFS
Year 1
Year 2
