Giving Direction to Geography
Standards in Geography

• In the schools visited, standards of achievement in geography are at least satisfactory and often good.
• Pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 develop a good awareness of their own locality and the changing nature of the environment. Year 7 pupils extend their knowledge of Wales through a range of case studies. However, links from the local and specific to the study of the South Wales region in lower KS3 are not sufficiently developed.
• Contrasting locality work continues to improve, with some very good work carried out on St. Lucia and Porthcawl, much of it of a cross-curricular nature.
• Pupils are usually confident users of map, photographic and atlas skills. Expectations though are variable, with pupils in many, but not all year 6 classes already accurate users of 6 figure grid-references and familiar with simple contour patterns. Currently this variability hinders effective progression.
• Presentation of work is generally satisfactory, but in a number of cases in the primary phase pupils' record of work is disjointed and does not allow for a coherent portrayal of the geography undertaken.
• Pupils generally have a good knowledge and understanding of the work they have covered. Pupils are least secure in providing explanations for phenomena when the work has not been based strongly enough around the key geographical questions as articulated in the NC level descriptors. e.g. Where is it? What is it like? How did it get like this? How and why is it changing? What might happen next? What do I think about it?
• The very best work utilised this enquiry approach regularly and systematically, allowing the pupils opportunities to develop as geographers when considering patterns, processes and issues of a subject specific nature. This approach ensures that by Year 6 pupils are actively involved in the planning process and in constructing their own enquiries.
• Although the key enquiry questions guide the work within Year 7 with pupils utilising the enquiry approach when carrying out investigations e.g. when accessing the internet to research volcanic features, they rarely devise their own enquiry sequences.

Standards of Achievement in the Key Skills in Relation to Geography

• The progressive use of ICT is variable, with the good standards achieved in some classes not always systematically built upon or exploited effectively.
• Good examples were seen of pupils developing their literacy skills within geography, utilising geographical vocabulary appropriately and accurately e.g:

Speaking	Debating the siting of a reservoir in Central Wales; and of a luxury hotel near a world heritage site in the Windward Isles.
Writing	Writing imaginative accounts of the consequences of volcanic activity; persuasive letters written to the local M.P. regarding the siting of a proposed power station in the locality.
Reading	Interpreting maps when investigating a contrasting locality within Wales, and the characteristics of the school's locality.
Listening	When participating in a class debate on the sustainability of tourism.

• Evidence suggests that the impact of numeracy as a key skill is generally underdeveloped at all key stages.
• In more than one instance at both key stage 1and 2 good examples were evident of pupils using Welsh as a second language as a medium of learning within geography.

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