1. PGQM Application Round 9 2011 Elmwood Junior School, Lodge Road, Croydon, CR0 2PL [email_address] • Telephone: 020 8684 4007 • Fax: 020 8665 6486

2. 1a. Achievement and Progress 1c. Fieldwork, enquiry, ICT 1d. Creative and Critical 1e. Core Geographical Knowledge 1f. Cross Curricular 1b. Assessment

3. 2a. Policies and Schemes 2b. Action Plan and Monitoring Pupil Portfolio

4. 1a. Achievement and Progress Return to Menu There is clear progression in mapping skills: from pictorial style representations in lower school to more formal bird’s eye maps in upper school. Year 4 Year 3 Year 6

5. Year 4 Year 6 Year 3 In Year 3, pupils learn basic mapping skills such as using 2 figure grid referencing by moving themselves and objects physically. In Year 4 pupils move onto using 2-4 figure references. By the end of Year 6, most pupils are able to use 6 figure grid references, read ordinance survey maps and interpret contour lines. Return to Menu

6. By the end of Year 6 are able to use more specific and complex vocabulary. In Year 3 pupils are able to use simple geographical vocabulary in written and verbal tasks. Much of the learning starts with personal geographies and expands to more distant localities. Year 3 Year 6 Return to Menu

7. Last year we began using tracking sheets to monitor progression across the KS. It shows majority of pupils are working at age related expectations or above. Below are examples for years 3 and 4. Return to Menu

8. 1b. Assessment Return to Menu Teachers use questions in marking feedback to move learning on. These questions can also indicate their next steps.

9. The use of AfL is evident in lessons plans E.g. When misconceptions arose in a Yr 3 class (confusion between Australia, Austria and Australasia when labelling the continents on a map) the teacher annotated plans and planned time for these misconceptions to be addressed in future lessons. Children are encouraged to take part in self and peer assessment. The Geography Working Group introduced a ‘self-assessment of geography vocabulary used’ sheet throughout the KS2, though pupils in upper school use more specific self-assessment sheets, to develep their reflection. Return to Menu

10. The co-ordinator has began collecting samples of work from pupils and levelling sheets in each year group in order to monitor and track progress. Pupils identified as G&T from assessments or as having a very keen interest in geography were invited to participate in artefact handling sessions at the Horniman Museum to further their knowledge and understanding. Return to Menu

11. 1c. Field Work, Inquiry, ICT Return to Menu Enquiry learning was identified as an area for development this year by staff and the School Council and as a result has been a focus for development. Fieldwork is an essential part of Geography at Elmwood and is carried out in all year groups. In Year 3 pupils investigate their local area, Year 4 visit a local river, Year 5 visit Ruskin Square and the local area during their sustainable development project and Year 6 carry out fieldwork in Seaford, looking at coastal features and making comparisons between the town and Corydon.

12. Teachers specifically plan opportunities to develop children’s enquiry skills. Pupils are able to use a range of sources to support their enquiry such as: photos, artefacts, videos, ICT. Return to Menu

13. Pupils are able to select appropriate programmes to communicate information and share personal geographies. Return to Menu Children in all year groups are set homework project tasks, deciding for themselves how to present their research to their peers. Excellent work is celebrated through displays, assemblies and certificates.

14. Pupils are also encouraged to ask geographical questions and share experiences on the school’s ‘Fronter’ MLE via forums such as ‘Where in the world is Barnaby Bear?’ or Miss Becker’s travel page (a teacher who is currently travelling around the world with Barnaby, posting photos, writing descriptions of places and posing and answering geographical questions). Here is an example of Year 5 posing Geographical trivia questions. It is one of the most popular forums on the whole site! Return to Menu

15. Year 3 pupils enjoyed creating interactive sound maps using ICT. The children digitally recorded sounds they could around the school, then inserted the sound files into a PowerPoint slideshow adding written descriptions. Pupils can use suggestions found on the geography ICT board to find fun geography websites.

16. 1d. Creative and Critical Return to Menu In Year 5 children investigate where their food comes from and find out how many ‘food miles’ it has travelled in order to arrive on their plate. They think critically about the affect this has on the environment and think of ways in which they can improve this.

17. Year 5 go on to investigate a local land-use issue, linking their learning about issues such as ‘global warming’ to the local area, and begin to understand how they can make changes locally which will improve peoples’ futures at a range of scales. This ‘living geography’ unit was inspired by ideas and materials at http://www.geography.org.uk/projects/livinggeography/ “ We learnt about fair-trade and how the people in Ghana who grow cocoa beans were cheated out of their profits until fair-trade started. I felt really sad for these people and it made me want to change things and donate my clothes to poorer people and create a shoe box to send.” Year 5 pupil

18. Pupils present their work creatively through Art, Drama and ICT activities. “ I enjoyed painting and making a model. I learnt where Jamaica is in the West indies in the Caribbean Sea. I really like doing projects because it’s fun finding out the information!” Year 3 pupil

19. Pupils are prompted to apply their knowledge to reflect critically on what they have learnt through writing poems and using enquiry (inference squares). Here is an example from Year 3 where pupils have asked a philosophical question based on a photo. Pupils are encouraged to respond to events on the news in different ways. “ I enjoyed the food tasting and learnt that in Mexico they eat spicy food. We celebrated Day of the Dead and learnt that Mexicans sometimes eat sugar skulls. Geography week was my favourite week of the school year and I learnt a lot from the classes”. Year 3 pupil

20. 1e. Core Geographical Knowledge Return to Menu We reviewed the curriculum to place greater emphasis on geographical knowledge. Geography lessons are structured so that they begin with a fun starter based on developing geographical knowledge which shows progression across the year groups.

21. By the end of year 3 most pupils are able to name and identify seven continents and the significant places within Europe and India using a world atlas, maps and Google Earth. By the end of Year 5 most pupils can draw an outline map of the UK and name and identify all the major countries and capital cities in Europe.

22. There is a Geography History Quiz held each year with winners from every class awarded a certificate and geographically themed prizes in a whole school assembly. Pupils’ knowledge of Geography has been enhanced by the introduction of ‘Geography in the News’ where pupils are able to research and produce work about current Geographical issues e.g. natural disasters.

23. To ensure pupils gain geographical knowledge effectively a variety of activities are planned for e.g. drama and role play and sketching, which cater for a variety of learning styles.

24. 1e. Cross Curricular Return to Menu Links are particularly strong with Literacy, Numeracy, ICT, History, Art and MFL and are evident in displays and assemblies across the school. Whilst learning about Ghana Year 5 were able to invite a parent to share their knowledge and traditional dress. As part of their World War II History topic, pupils in Year 6 investigate the housing problem and design their own communities. During Geography History Week pupils in Year 3 carry out research in ICT, learn about persuasive texts in Literacy, the Aztec way of life in History and combine their understanding to write a leaflet urging tourists to visit Mexico.

25. In Year 3, ‘Chembakolli’ and ‘Our locality’ provided a context for a four week Literacy unit involving weather forecasts, descriptive writing and writing for a blog. Year 3 Literacy plans

26. Children at Elmwood Juniors enjoy learning about Geography as demonstrated through the positive responses that pupils gave in the Geography survey, conducted to gauge how pupils feel about the subject. “ I love Geography because I like learning about different cultures and the daily lives of different people. It is definitely one of my favourite subjects”. Year 5 pupil

27. Year 6 were able to make links between their learning in Numeracy and applying Geographical skills. Children used trundle wheels to measure the perimeter or the playground courts and used the Numeracy skills to draw a scale version. Pupils use the scale on an OS map to calculate distances.

28. This summer Gardening club has started, giving pupils the opportunity to use the outside learning space to grow their own food and plants whilst considering the benefits of locally grown produce. Year 6 enjoy learning outside the classroom during the annual residential trip and loved visiting famous landmarks as part of the London Experience. Return to Menu

29. 2a. Policies and Schemes Return to Menu Our vision At our school, Geography is a fun, motivating and topical subject that equips pupils with an understanding of the natural and human world. The diverse society of Elmwood Juniors is celebrated through Geography, enabling pupils to become confident global citizens that consider the future of the world and its peoples. There is strong support from the SLT for the development of Geography. Our ‘vision’ for geography was formulated at the School Improvement Conference by the SLT team, with input from year group leaders, the chair of governors and teachers across the KS during the previous quality mark application process. It has since been reviewed during staff meetings and approved by the whole staff. The vision guides the school’s Geography policy and the schemes of work which have been reviewed and updated.

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32. Whole school long term plan. Return to Menu

33. Meetings with the Year 2 leader revealed that we were repeating a geography topic in the juniors, so this year we have created a new Year 3 scheme of work based on Chembakolli. Return to Menu

34. Year 3 medium term plan- Chembakolli Return to Menu

35. Year 3 medium term plan- Chembakolli Return to Menu

36. Year 5 medium term plan- Geography of food Return to Menu

37. Year 5 medium term plan- Geography of food Return to Menu

38. Year 5 medium term plan- Geography of food

39. The Geography co-ordinator has created a Croydon Primary Geography VLE room encouraging members to share good practice and sends regular Geography in the News ideas and resources sheets to members to support colleagues in schools across the borough. She also leads the Croydon Primary Geography Co-ordinators Network. Return to Menu

40. 2b. Action Plan and Monitoring Return to Menu The Geography co-ordinator lead staff meetings to review the Geography policy and vision statement. She has also used ‘A different view’ from the GA’s manifesto as a training tool.

41. Silver action plan Return to Menu

42. Silver action plan Return to Menu

43. Silver action plan Return to Menu

44. Silver action plan Return to Menu

45. Silver action plan Return to Menu

46. A new member of the Geography Team shared his experience of using simple GPS devices to enhance learning and a as result the Geography Team have decided to purchase six ‘i-gotU’ data trackers. Each year the Geography co-ordinator carries a mid-year review to monitor progress towards the action plan. Return to Menu

47. Post holder evaluations are carried out at the end of each year to review targets achieved and identify areas of development for the next year. (Summer 2 2010) Return to Menu

48. Each Year group completes a ‘Review of Geography’ to provide feedback for the Geography co-ordinator (Summer 2 2010). Return to Menu

49. Pupil Portfolio This is the outcome for a Year 3 child, at the end of Geography History Week. The pupil used the internet, books, holiday brochures and watched a video clip to carry out research about Mexico. He was able to apply his understanding to write an effective persuasive leaflet, linking his learning in Literacy, History and ICT. This shows evidence of : 2a, 2c and 3b. The child is able to use appropriate geographical vocabulary (North America, high mountains, dense rainforests, scorching deserts, sandy beaches), locate Mexico using a world atlas and describe the location of Mexico. Return to Menu

50. The Year 3 unit of study on Chembakolli links children’s personal geographies to that of distant localities. The pupil read a description of a child’s journey to school who lives in Chembakolli and was asked to describe their own journey to school, identifying similarities of differences, and draw his route. This shows evidence of : 2e and 3f. The child is able to describe some differences between his own and ‘Ramya’s’ journey (“Compared to Ramya I don’t have to worry about the rain stopping me from going to school”) and was able to draw a simple map of his route, with some discussion as a prompt. Return to Menu

51. As part of Year 4’s topic on Rivers and water, pupils learn how rivers are used for different purposes, the impact on the environment, the water cycle (linking to their Science unit on changes in state), the features of a river, the processes influencing the course of a river, develop their fieldwork skills at a visit to a the River Wandle and apply their understanding by creating a presentation to teach another year group at the end of the summer term. This work shows evidence of: 2a, 4b through the theme of 6c. The children are able use appropriate vocabulary (tributary, valley, precipitation) to label diagrams and show understanding of physical processes (water cycle) and features (course of a river). Return to Menu

52. In every class pupils learn about ‘Geography in the News’. Pupils read online news articles, watch video clips, use GoogleEarth and carry out their own research to find out about current geographical events. Pupils are asked to respond in different ways, such as role-plying relief efforts, writing poetry, drawing ‘wordscapes’, writing letters in role etc, making links with other subjects. Here a Year 5 child wrote a letter ‘home’ from the point of view as a person who had experienced the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami. It shows evidence of 1d, 2a, 3b and 4b. After watching a BBC Newsround clip, reading an article, watching a BBC’s ‘Bang goes the Theory’ tectonic plate clip and creating actions to represent to earthquake process, the pupil wrote a letter. She was able to good a good range of technical vocabulary (earthquake, epicentre, tectonic plates) and identify how a person experiencing the event might have felt. Although the text mentions Japan, it doesn’t show that she knows where exactly it is, so it might be useful to ask the pupil to draw an accompanying map of diagram next time. I would also expect her to be more specific, using names particular localities and explain what response there has been from other countries which would give evidence of her understanding of how people and places are interconnected. Return to Menu

53. “ We learnt about fair-trade and how the people in Ghana who grow cocoa beans were cheated out of their profits until fair-trade started. I felt really sad for these people and it made me want to change things and donate my clothes to poorer people and create a shoe box to send.” Year 5 pupil As part of the Year 5 Geography of Food topic in Year 5, pupils learn about the trade of cocoa between Ghana and the UK. Pupils watch videos, examine photos, role play the process of producing a chocolate bar from bean to bar, reflect on the impact on the environment and people and think about how they themselves can influence these impacts. This work shows evidence of 1d, 2c, 2e, 3b, 3g, 5a within the theme 6b . The children can identify where Ghana is in the world and Africa using atlases as a reference. They are able to make comparisons between different types of cocoa farming schemes within Ghana, explain their own views on the issue and recognise how they can make decisions which can affect the quality of someone’s life in a different place. Return to Menu