SEND within the Geography Curriculum

Children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.

Children have a learning difficulty if they:

a) have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age;

 or

b) have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age.

Quality First approaches are used to enable all children to access the Geography curriculum. At St Philip’s, we ensure that all of our children with SEND have the entitlement to broad, balanced and relevant Geography teaching.  All teaching and support staff are aware of the National Curriculum Inclusion Statement, and with advice from and the support of the SENCO, class teachers match the learning objectives to the needs and abilities of individual pupils. They use a range of strategies to develop the pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills including the use of ICT. Where appropriate, materials are modified or support is provided to enable pupils with SEND to access the learning or the assessment processes.

Our Geography curriculum:

• Encourages pupils to enjoy learning and prepares them for life as a long-term goal

• Uses pathways and specialist approaches with clear purpose

• Is age-appropriate and responsive to pupils' specific needs, with targets from pupils’ SEND support plans or education, health and care (EHC) plans

• Considers parents' priorities for pupils

• Includes targets set by other professionals, such as speech and language therapists or occupational therapists 

• Promotes literacy, numeracy and good communication at all times

Leaders make sure that the Geography curriculum and individual lessons include activities and tasks that are very closely matched to the needs of all pupils. 

Wherever appropriate, children with SEND access discreet subject knowledge and have clear subject specific learning objectives that are planned in a progressive and cohesive way.

At St. Philip's, we ensure all pupils can access resources and information at a level that is suitable and engaging for them. For instance, pupils who have difficulty reading standard maps have access to alternatives if required. The tool Digimaps allows for maps to be enlarged and simplified, also giving the option to use either a printed map or an interactive map on the screen. A simplified map reduces the amount of information presented at once, allowing pupils to focus on their key learning without unnecessary extra detail, whilst the digital version can be used on either an individual screen or the interactive class board to adjust the size and scale.