Geography

Key Curriculum Information

Geography Long term Plan and Curriculum Progression

Intent of Geography at Woodlands

At Woodlands, we want geography to spark curiosity about the world and help our pupils make sense of their surroundings. Our geography curriculum helps children explore their local area, learn about places near and far, and begin to understand how the environment is shaped and changed. Through first-hand experiences, maps, stories and discussion, pupils build an understanding of the physical and human world.

We want our pupils to develop a sense of place, beginning with their immediate environment and growing outwards to the wider world. Geography at Woodlands is rooted in observation, enquiry and comparison, helping children make connections between where they live and other places around the globe.

In the Early Years, pupils begin to develop geographical awareness through stories, maps, outdoor exploration and talk about their homes, local area, weather and different places. They observe and describe the features of their immediate environment and begin to compare it to others. These experiences lay the foundation for geographical thinking in Key Stage 1, where pupils develop their locational knowledge, fieldwork skills and understanding of human and physical geography.

Through purposeful experiences and engaging questions, we want our pupils to:

• Know where they live and explore their local area.
• Understand simple features of places such as weather, buildings and land use.
• Use directional language and begin to read simple maps and globes.
• Compare life in different parts of the world.
• Recognise how people care for or damage the environment.

Our geography curriculum supports our school values of Curiosity, Kindness, Respect, Independence, Belief and Creativity. It gives children the foundations for understanding the world and their role within it.

Why Geography matters to our pupils

• Many children start school with limited knowledge of places beyond their immediate home.
• Geography builds awareness of the community, local environment and world around them.
• It helps develop a sense of belonging, care for nature and understanding of others.

How our Geography curriculum is bespoke to Woodlands and reflects our context and values

• Grounded in our school’s location, using real places and familiar routes.
• Supports key themes such as adventure, exploration and responsibility.
• Designed to build children’s confidence and understanding of their world step by step.
• Makes meaningful links to other curriculum areas and pupils’ personal experiences.

Key Disciplinary Concepts in our Geography Curriculum

We want our pupils to think and work like a geographer. To do this, they need to:

• Understand Location – Know where places are in the world and describe their position using maps, directions and locational language.
• Explore place and connection - Recognise what makes places unique or similar, and understand how they are linked by people, goods and the environment.
• Understand and Care for the Environment – Observe, describe and compare the natural world, and understand how it changes over time and how people affect it.
• Identify Human and Physical Features – Recognise the features that shape places, both natural and man-made, and understand how these influence how people live.
• Use Geographical Skills and Fieldwork – Use maps, globes, photographs and first-hand observation to explore, ask questions and explain what they discover about the world.

Substantive Themes in our Geography Curriculum

In Geography, substantive knowledge refers to the key geographical content pupils learn about places, people, environments and processes. These are organised into recurring themes which are revisited and developed from Nursery to Year 2:

• Our Local Area
• The World and Continents
• Homes around the world
• People and places
• Cause and effect
• Weather and Seasons
• Looking after our world
• Journeys and maps

These themes are carefully sequenced to ensure pupils revisit and deepen their understanding of place, space, environment and connection over time.  Detailed progression is mapped in the Geography Long Term Plan and Curriculum Progression document.

How learning deepens from EYFS to Year 2

In the Early Years, geography is rooted in exploration, observation and talk. Children begin by noticing the places that matter to them - home, school and their immediate surroundings - and by exploring the natural world through stories, maps, outdoor learning and first-hand experience. They begin to use simple positional language, talk about weather and seasons, notice features of places and compare familiar environments with places beyond their everyday experience.

In Key Stage 1, geography builds on these foundations and becomes more structured and explicit. Pupils develop secure locational knowledge, learn to identify and compare human and physical features, and use maps, globes, atlases, photographs and fieldwork with growing confidence. Learning is carefully sequenced from the local area to the wider world so that pupils can make meaningful connections between Shirley, the United Kingdom and contrasting global environments.

From Year 1 to Year 2, pupils deepen their ability to compare places, explain how location and environment influence life, and interpret what they find through maps and fieldwork. They move from naming and identifying towards explaining and connecting ideas with increasing precision, using a broader geographical vocabulary and drawing more confidently on prior learning.

Detailed sequencing and progression are set out in the Geography Long-Term Plan and Skills Progression document.

How progress is assessed and evaluated

• We have clear age-related expectations for each year group. Teachers assess progress through observation, discussion, map work, fieldwork, written outcomes and pupils’ use of geographical vocabulary, ensuring that knowledge and skills build progressively over time.
• Teachers and Subject Champions track development through practical observation, annotated outcomes and review of work in books and Whole Class Feedback Sheets.
• Progress is seen in pupils’ ability to remember more, use geographical vocabulary accurately, make comparisons, interpret maps and explain their understanding of places and environments with increasing confidence.