We believe that all children should be aware of their place in the world and the impact that they can have in their local environment and the wider world.

To enable this, we have designed units of work that allow children to learn and embed the knowledge and skills to be a successful geographer.

Our aim is that by the end of Year 6 all children will: 

Knowledge 

• know the names and locations of the continents and major oceans of the world; 

• understand where they live now and be able to describe it in relation to the country, UK, Europe and the world; 

• know the locations of key countries and areas of the world that they have studied either in geography or in the wider curriculum; identifying features of the countries (including climate, land use, key human and physical features and other geographical features); 

• know a range of geographical language and use it confidently and accurately when talking about countries, locations and features of areas; 

Skills  

• be able to use an atlas to locate countries and cities within countries and continents; 

• be able to identify physical features of countries on a map using a key; 

• use computer mapping technology to find routes, locate countries etc. 

• use the 8 compass points effectively to give directions and be able to read six-figure references on OS maps; 

• sketch maps, plans and graphs accurately; 

• be able to give accurate directions to somewhere they know (e.g. route from home to school) using geographical language; 

• have developed a range of fieldwork skills to look at areas of study. 

EYFS  

Nursery and Reception geography is taught as an integral part of the topic work covered during the year. Geography makes a significant contribution to the ELG objectives of developing a child’s knowledge and understanding of the world and is developed through activities such as finding out about different places and habitats and investigating our locality.

KS1 

 In KS1, we focus on the local area and its relation to London and England first before extending this knowledge to the UK and beyond.   For example in Year 1 children learn about their locality and London before their history unit on ‘The Great Fire of London’. We also try and make learning as relevant to the children’s backgrounds as possible, for example we look at Nigeria (where many of our children have family) in Year 2.     

KS2  

In KS2, we again focus on England before moving onto developing a deeper understanding of distant places around the world and their features such as volcanoes, rivers and biomes.  Skills taught in KS1 are applied to more independent investigations and being able to make comparisons to their locality and more distant places.

Fieldwork is a fundamental part of the geography curriculum and we provide many opportunities for children to carry out their own fieldwork in school, the local area or further afield. Through the pre-teaching for school trips, children explore maps of their route and destination and identify human and physical features they may see. Children are given key geographical language and opportunities to ask questions about their surroundings.

Geography teaching also motivates children to find out about the physical world and enables them to recognise the importance of sustainable development for the future of mankind. Where appropriate, the Geography curriculum promotes key British Values so our children have exposure to a wide experience of local and global learning where there are opportunities for respect and tolerance when embracing differences within the world we live.