At Thwaites School, Geography helps pupils understand the world, their place within it and the relationships between people, places and environments. We want pupils to become curious, knowledgeable and responsible geographers who can investigate the world and make informed judgements about geographical issues.

Our Geography curriculum is based on Kapow Primary and has been carefully adapted for our mixed-age classes and rolling curriculum. Geography is taught in planned units, with weekly lessons during the periods in which the subject is scheduled. It alternates with History across the curriculum year.

Nursery children develop their early geographical understanding separately through the EYFS area of Understanding the World. They explore their immediate surroundings, observe seasonal change and begin to develop an awareness of places and simple maps through play and first-hand experiences. Where appropriate, their learning is linked to the Geography curriculum being followed by Reception and Key Stage 1.

Curriculum Organisation

From Reception to Year 6, the Geography curriculum is organised around six strands:

• Locational Knowledge and Place

• Physical Geography and Earth Processes

• Human Geography, Settlement and Land Use

• Human–Environment Interaction and Sustainability

• Geographical Enquiry, Fieldwork and Data

• Maps, Atlases and Spatial Representation

These strands are revisited through different places, environments and geographical contexts. This allows pupils to return to important concepts and skills, applying them at increasingly complex levels and across local, national and global scales.

The curriculum balances three important elements:

• substantive knowledge—knowledge about places, environments and geographical processes;

• disciplinary knowledge—an understanding of how geographers investigate, map, analyse and explain the world; and

• long-term understanding—the ability to remember and apply geographical knowledge and skills in new contexts.

Carefully planned curriculum cycles ensure that pupils encounter all the required National Curriculum content. Pupils study the United Kingdom and the wider world, developing an understanding of the similarities, differences and connections between places.

Place and Geographical Knowledge

Pupils develop secure locational knowledge and learn to describe places using accurate geographical vocabulary.

In Reception and Key Stage 1, pupils explore their immediate environment, develop formal map skills and build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world. They begin to distinguish between human and physical features and compare different places.

In Key Stage 2, pupils extend their understanding of global locations, climate, biomes, rivers, mountains, settlements, land use, population, trade and interdependence. They consider how physical and human processes shape places and how these places change over time.

Pupils also learn about the relationship between people and the environment. They examine the effects of human activity, explore questions of sustainability and consider their responsibilities as members of a local and global community.

Geographical vocabulary is explicitly taught, modelled and revisited. This enables pupils to describe places and processes accurately and explain geographical relationships with increasing precision.

Maps and Fieldwork

Maps, atlases, globes and digital mapping are used regularly. Pupils progressively learn to locate places, interpret symbols and scales, use compass directions, recognise patterns and create their own maps and spatial representations.

Fieldwork and outdoor learning provide opportunities for pupils to investigate geography directly. They learn to observe, ask questions, collect and record information, produce maps and sketches, examine data and draw conclusions from their findings.

Our location provides valuable opportunities for pupils to explore the local environment. Local-area studies are also considered alongside national and global examples, helping pupils understand how their own surroundings connect to the wider world.

Geographical Enquiry

Pupils are taught to think and work like geographers. They ask questions about places, environments and processes and investigate them using maps, fieldwork, photographs, data and other geographical evidence.

As pupils progress, they learn to compare places, identify patterns, explain geographical processes and evaluate the effects of change. They use evidence to support conclusions and consider different responses to environmental and geographical challenges.

Discussion, comparison and enquiry are central to lessons. Pupils communicate their understanding through conversation, maps, fieldwork records, diagrams, data, presentations and written explanations.

Inclusion and Challenge

Our Geography curriculum is designed to be accessible to every pupil. Teachers use maps, photographs, diagrams, digital resources, practical fieldwork, discussion and first-hand experiences to support understanding and reduce reliance on extended written responses.

Adult support, visual resources, scaffolding, structured questioning and carefully adapted tasks are provided according to pupils’ needs. Success in Geography is demonstrated through pupils’ knowledge, application, reasoning and explanations, not solely through the quantity of their writing.

Pupils who demonstrate secure understanding are challenged through open-ended enquiry, increasingly complex maps and data, comparisons between places and opportunities to evaluate geographical issues and justify their conclusions in greater depth.

Assessment

Assessment in Geography is purposeful and focuses on what pupils know, understand, remember and can apply. It considers pupils’ geographical knowledge alongside their mapping, fieldwork, enquiry and data-handling skills.

During lessons, teachers assess learning through observation, questioning, discussion, practical activities, fieldwork, maps, sketches and pupils’ explanations. This helps teachers identify misconceptions, adapt teaching and provide appropriate support or challenge.

At the end of each lesson, pupils use the school’s POG system to reflect upon their progress against the learning objective and success criteria:

• Pink – Developing: “I am starting to learn this, but I still need help.”

• Orange – Secure: “I can do this on my own most of the time.”

• Green – Advanced: “I can do this confidently and could help someone else.”

At the end of each unit, teachers complete a class assessment summary based on the geographical knowledge and skills taught within that unit. Teachers also make termly judgements about pupils’ longer-term progress across the six curriculum strands. These judgements draw upon evidence from lessons, pupils’ books, fieldwork, maps, discussions, practical work and end-of-unit assessments.

Retrieval is planned throughout the curriculum so that pupils revisit important places, vocabulary, concepts and skills. Each year, pupils also take part in a Nature Day, which may take place at a beach, river, woodland, farm or another appropriate environment.

Nature Day gives pupils an opportunity to apply their geographical knowledge and skills in a real-world context. Through observation, mapping, discussion, data collection and enquiry, pupils revisit previous learning, make connections and demonstrate how confidently they can apply their understanding outside the classroom.

Curriculum Impact

By the end of Year 6, we aim for pupils to:

• locate and describe significant places in the United Kingdom and the wider world;

• understand important physical and human geographical processes;

• explain how people, places and environments are interconnected;

• use maps, atlases, globes and digital mapping confidently;

• apply fieldwork and enquiry skills to investigate geographical questions;

• collect, interpret and communicate geographical information;

• understand the effects of human activity and the importance of sustainability;

• make connections between places, processes and global issues; and

• communicate their understanding using accurate geographical vocabulary.

We want pupils to leave Thwaites School with secure geographical knowledge, confident mapping and fieldwork skills, and a strong sense of place. They should be curious about the world and understand their responsibility to engage thoughtfully with their local environment and the wider global community.