Geography

Rationale
Our Geography curriculum is designed to inspire curiosity and fascination about the world and its people, equipping pupils with the knowledge and skills to understand their place within it. Rooted in the principles of Local → National → Global, the curriculum ensures that pupils build knowledge progressively, starting from their immediate environment and expanding to a global scale.

Geography is taught through a balance of physical and human processes, enabling pupils to understand how the Earth works and how people interact with it. Key disciplinary threads—place, climate, interdependence, environment and scale—run coherently throughout the curriculum, ensuring that learning is connected and deepened over time.

The curriculum is carefully sequenced so that:

Pupils first develop a sense of place and belonging (EYFS–KS1)
Then explore wider regions and processes (Lower KS2)
Before analysing global systems and sustainability challenges (Upper KS2)

A strong emphasis is placed on vocabulary development, enquiry-based learning and fieldwork, enabling pupils to think and reason as geographers. By revisiting key concepts such as climate, settlement and interdependence in increasingly complex contexts, pupils build secure, transferable knowledge.

The curriculum also prepares pupils to understand and engage with contemporary global issues, including:

Environmental change
Sustainability
Global inequality
Climate change

By the end of Year 6, pupils are equipped not only with geographical knowledge, but also with the critical thinking skills needed to interpret the world around them and make informed decisions as responsible global citizens.

Geography Long Term Planning

Geography End Points

Progression of Knowledge and Skills
Knowledge and skills are carefully sequenced to ensure progression:
Knowledge progression:
From identifying features → explaining processes → analysing patterns → evaluating impact
Skills progression:
From basic observation and simple maps → to grid references, data analysis, and independent enquiry
Fieldwork Progression:
Fieldwork develops from guided exploration of familiar spaces to independent, enquiry-led investigations with data collection, analysis and presentation.

Stage 1: Describing local features (EYFS – Year 1)
Stage 2: Structured fieldwork (Year 2 – Year 3)
Stage 3: Data collection & interpretation (Year 4 – Year 5)
Stage 4: Independent enquiry & presentation (Year 6)