Intent

At Woodthorpe C of E Primary School, we want every child to develop a curiosity and fascination about the world and the people who live within it. Our ambitious and inclusive Geography curriculum enables children to understand themselves, their local community and the wider world, developing the knowledge, vocabulary and geographical skills needed to explore places, people and environments with confidence.

Our curriculum builds progressively from the Foundation Stage to Year 6. Children begin by exploring their immediate environment and locality before broadening their geographical understanding across the United Kingdom, Europe and the wider world. Progression documents carefully sequence map skills, physical and human geography, geographical enquiry, fieldwork, direction and navigation, data handling, significant places and subject-specific vocabulary.

Vocabulary and oracy are central to our Geography curriculum. Children are taught to talk like geographers, using increasingly precise geographical vocabulary to describe location, identify patterns, compare places, interpret evidence, explain relationships and draw conclusions. In later KS2, for example, pupils are expected to articulate ideas such as patterns they identify, the significance of locations and what geographical evidence suggests. 

Geography also supports our Christian vision,“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Through studying people, places, environments and global connections, children develop respect for different communities and cultures and consider their responsibilities as stewards of our world. This supports the school's wider priority of enabling pupils to reflect on themselves, others, the wider world and God. 

Implementation

Geography begins in EYFS through first-hand exploration of the world around children and develops systematically throughout KS1 and KS2.

Our children:

• build substantive and disciplinary geographical knowledge progressively;
• develop increasingly sophisticated map, atlas, digital mapping and navigation skills;
• learn to talk like geographers through explicit teaching of geographical vocabulary and structured opportunities for discussion and explanation;
• investigate both human and physical geography, making connections between people, places and environments;
• develop geographical enquiry by asking questions, gathering evidence, identifying patterns, comparing places and drawing conclusions;
• undertake fieldwork, beginning with their school and local area and extending their understanding through wider geographical studies;
• collect, interpret and present geographical information using maps, photographs, tables, graphs and other data;
• revisit important knowledge and vocabulary through retrieval and formative assessment;
• make meaningful cross-curricular connections with subjects including English, mathematics, science, history, computing and RSHE;
• receive appropriate adaptation and support so that all pupils, including pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, can successfully access the curriculum.

Ourselves, Our Community and Our Wider World

Our curriculum deliberately begins with what children know.

Ourselves
Children develop a sense of place and learn how they relate to the physical and human world around them.

Our Community
Children explore Woodthorpe and the surrounding area through maps, observation and fieldwork. As their knowledge develops, they investigate places including Staveley, Chesterfield, Sheffield and the Peak District, considering settlement, land use and the human and physical characteristics of our region.

Our Wider World
Children progressively extend their knowledge to the UK, Europe, South America and globally significant environments and places. Older pupils explore more complex geographical relationships including climate, biomes, settlements, trade, natural resources, economic activity and interdependence.

Fieldwork and Enrichment

We believe children should experience geography, not simply learn about it. 

Opportunities include:

• exploration of our school grounds and local environment;
• walks and fieldwork within the local community;
• land-use surveys, observations, traffic counts and simple data collection;
• visits linked to the local area and wider curriculum;
• use of photographs, atlases, digital maps and satellite imagery;
• comparison of local fieldwork with contrasting places and environments;
• links with Forest School and outdoor learning;
• environmental and sustainability opportunities supporting stewardship and courageous advocacy.

Fieldwork becomes progressively more sophisticated. KS1 pupils explore and record features around school, Years 3 and 4 gather evidence through activities such as surveys and land-use studies, and Years 5 and 6 use fieldwork evidence, graphs, tables, maps and observations to investigate geographical questions. 

Impact

By the time children leave Woodthorpe, we want them to be curious, knowledgeable and confident geographers who can:

• locate and describe significant places at local, national and global levels;
• demonstrate secure knowledge of key aspects of human and physical geography;
• use maps, atlases, geographical data and other sources with increasing independence;
• undertake geographical enquiry and fieldwork, gathering and interpreting evidence;
• identify patterns, make comparisons and explain geographical relationships;
• use increasingly sophisticated geographical vocabulary to articulate their thinking;
• make connections between previous and new learning;
• understand that places, people and environments are interconnected;
• demonstrate respect for different communities, cultures and ways of life;
• recognise their responsibility to care for the natural world and make thoughtful, informed choices.

Our Geography Curriculum

You can find more detail about the knowledge, vocab, and geography skills taught across school in our curriculum progression documents. 

What Geography looks like in EYFS

KS1 Geography Overview CYCLE A

LKS2 Geography Overview CYCLE A

KS2 Geography Overview CYCLE A