What are the aims and purpose of our curriculum?

Our curriculum aims to develop pupils’ understanding and curiosity of the world and their place in it. Through carefully structured learning of geographical processes, places, and investigative techniques, pupils will analyse geographical patterns and address the social and environmental challenges the world faces.

What overarching curriculum principles inform the design of our curriculum?

Our ‘knowledge and vocabulary rich’ principle emphasises the critical role of knowledge and vocabulary in learning. We secure pupils’ knowledge of geographical processes, ensuring that this can be applied when learning about places and geographical issues. Pupils' locational and place knowledge is developed through a range of place-based and thematic topics, helping them understand the spatial patterns that underpin contemporary society. We map vocabulary across the curriculum, introducing new terms and repeating previously learnt vocabulary. This approach allows pupils to confidently apply geographical terms across different topics. Geographical investigation skills apply knowledge taught in the curriculum to develop pupils' expertise in fieldwork and in analysing spatial patterns using Geographical Information Systems.

A careful and purposeful sequencing of our curriculum content underpins the design of our curriculum, ensuring that pupils are able to build on and make links with existing knowledge. At its simplest this means ensuring, for example, that pupils learn about the evidence and science behind climate change before pupils learn about the impact of climate change in subsequent topics throughout the curriculum. Attention is paid to vertical coherence via threads, which map the developments of concepts over time, for example, in our thread about human processes, pupils are taught through the framing of their local area in year 1 through to learning about economic futures in the UK at GCSE.

Our evidence-informed approach enables the rigorous application of research outcomes, science of learning and impactful best practice both in education in general and at a subject specific level. For example, the design of our resources reflects findings from Sweller’s cognitive load theory and Mayer’s principles of multimedia learning whilst our design draws on Rosenshine’s principles of instruction. We also draw on findings from research organisations such as the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). At the subject level we draw on the work of the Geographical Association alongside experts such as Young, Maude, Lambert, and Enser to develop lessons that offer pupils new ways of thinking about the world, provide them with the specialist knowledge to analyse and explain geographical patterns, and engage in contemporary debates. Additionally, we take into account Owens’ and Roberts' research, encouraging pupils to reflect on their own experiences and geographical knowledge and to situate this within a broader disciplinary context. The significance of fieldwork, as emphasised by researchers like Kinder and Tanner, has shaped the integration of fieldwork throughout the curriculum.

Our flexible approach enables schools to use our resources in a way that fits their contents and meets the varying needs of teachers and their pupils. Our curriculum can be used in its entirety or units can be selected to complement existing curricula or to match the equipment and materials available to the school. Our curriculum often provides different options so that schools and teachers can decide what knowledge is best for their pupils, for example when teaching about local contrasts, units on both Jamaica and Tanzania are available to choose from. Our resources are adaptable so that, for example, teachers can edit or add checks for understanding, adapt practice tasks to better reflect the prior knowledge of their pupils or add local context to fieldwork and case studies. At key stage 4 teachers and pupils can select a pathway aligned to the most frequently used exam board specifications for GCSE Geography: AQA or Edexcel B.

Our commitment to breadth and diversity in content, language, texts, and media can be seen throughout the curriculum, for example in the group of diverse school age characters that feature in our resources and in the choice of case study examples and regional studies. Our regional studies look at all parts of the world, focusing on places in Europe and the Americas at key stage 1 and key stage 2, and Africa, Asia, and Oceania at key stage 3 and key stage 4. This provides pupils with a deep knowledge of different places and helps to celebrate the rich diversity of experiences and perspectives that exist in places around the world.

Our curriculum is intentionally designed to facilitate high-quality teaching as a powerful lever to support pupils with SEND. Aligned with EEF guidance, our resources have a focus on clear explanations, modelling and frequent checks for understanding, with guided and independent practice. For example, video clips using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) provide a model for pupils to apply to their own work. Lessons are chunked into learning cycles and redundant images and information is minimised to manage cognitive load. We have removed reference to year groups in our resources so that they can be used when pupils are ready, regardless of their age. Our resources are purposefully created to be accessible, for example by using accessible fonts, colours with good contrast, and captions in our videos.

What subject specific principles inform the design of our curriculum?

Focuses on the knowledge and skills specific to geography, including:

World knowledge (encompassing locational, place, environmental, physical and human processes) developed through thematic and place-based studies at a range of scales;

How geographical knowledge originates and is revised.

The curriculum develops pupils’ geographical knowledge through thematic units, such as those focusing on population and rivers, and place-based studies (also known as regional studies), such as those focusing on Northern Italy and India. Thematic units allow geographical processes to be carefully broken down and explained in manageable chunks whilst place-based units allow pupils’ to develop a deep knowledge of places and understand the diversity that exists within and between them. Where geographical models are introduced, such as those related to development, pupils are asked to consider their validity in the modern world.

Develops pupils’ knowledge and application of geographical investigation skills, including:

Using maps, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), spatial statistics, aerial and satellite imagery;

Using the fieldwork enquiry process and associated data collection, presentation and analysis techniques.

Pupils’ knowledge and application of geographical investigation skills such as the use of maps and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are integrated across the curriculum so that pupils can use them to investigate spatial patterns. The use of maps and GIS are modelled so that pupils gain the confidence to apply these tools independently in new contexts. Fieldwork begins in year 1 and is developed, so by year 11, pupils fully understand the enquiry process and possess strong skills in data collection, presentation, and analysis.

Develops understanding of contemporary geographical debates and real world challenges through organising, connecting and applying what they have been taught. 

Examples and case studies are used throughout the curriculum so that pupils can see geographical processes in action in the real world. For example, pupils use their knowledge of rivers, settlement and the water cycle to consider when and where flood protection can be justified. Place-based studies require pupils to connect and then apply knowledge from a range of units, demonstrating to them the complexity of issues and places.

How does our curriculum reflect the aims & purpose of the national curriculum?

There are three broad aims of the geography national curriculum. The first is that pupils ‘develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places’. Our curriculum includes a range of carefully chosen regional studies to develop pupils’ knowledge of the physical and human features of places around the world, how they are connected to other places and how they are shaped by geographical processes. The second aim is that pupils ‘understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world’. Our learning framework breaks down information so that pupils gain a strong understanding of geographical processes and can apply them in different locational contexts. The final aim is to ensure pupils ‘are competent in a range of geographical skills’. A range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are integrated throughout the curriculum and pupils are explicitly taught how to use these sources to analyse spatial variation and change over time. Fieldwork and its associated enquiry process is built into units across the curriculum, from year 1 to year 11, so that pupils understand how to create a geographical enquiry that deepens their understanding of people and places.

What teaching time does our curriculum require?

Our curricula across year groups in key stages 1-3 are designed to cover 36 weeks across the school year, so schools can adapt the curriculum to their context and allow for other activities both within and beyond the curriculum e.g assessments, school trips. At key stage 4, Year 10 also covers 36 weeks, but Year 11 is reduced to 26 weeks (approximately two terms) recognising schools will not be teaching new content in the run up to exam leave and exams. At key stages 1-2 our primary geography curriculum is designed for one lesson to be taught every week. Our key stage 1 lessons are designed to be taught in approximately 40 minutes, whereas our key stage 2 lessons are closer to an hour. At secondary, our key stage 3 geography curriculum is designed for two lessons to be taught every week, with lessons lasting approximately an hour. Our key stage 4 geography curriculum is designed for five lessons to be taught every fortnight, so approximately 2.5hrs of teaching per week.

We use threads to signpost groups of units that link to one another, that together build a common body of knowledge over time. We use the term thread, rather than concepts, themes or big ideas, because it helps to bring to mind the visual concept of a thread weaving through the curriculum. Our geography threads are:

The primary threads are a combination of specialised concepts such as ‘sustainability’ and ‘interconnection’, which link to the secondary threads and contextual threads, such as ‘natural resources’ and ‘local area’, which show how the content of different units can be grouped together.

The secondary threads are concepts that link units across the curriculum developing pupils’ knowledge and skills in geography over time. The ‘inequality’ thread, for example, helps pupils understand patterns of development, population, settlement and trade as well as helping pupils understand a range of regional studies. Our threads are informed by the broader, more abstract key concepts of environment, space, place and earth systems, as outlined in the Geographical Association’s ‘A framework for the school geography curriculum’.

Recommendations from subject specific reports

How does our curriculum address and enact recommendations from subject specific reports (e.g. EEF guidance reports & Ofsted Research Review)?

Our geography curriculum addresses a number of concerns identified in the recent Ofsted subject report. Topics are carefully planned to ensure progression as pupils move through the curriculum. Knowledge from previous units is used and built on in subsequent units to help pupils develop a broad understanding of places and processes, for example the knowledge of climate zones developed in our year 7 Weather and Climate unit will be used by pupils in later units when learning about biomes around the world. Threads, underpinned by more abstract broader concepts, are used to help pupils make links between topics and deepen their understanding of geographical issues.

Fieldwork is integrated into the curriculum, from year 1 to year 11, allowing each school to make use of their school grounds and local area. Pupils will use the fieldwork enquiry process to plan and carry out fieldwork so that they are confident in investigating places and processes independently. Regional studies are planned in each key stage to give pupils deep knowledge and understanding of different places and avoid reinforcing ‘single story’ narratives. Places are purposely used as case studies in different topics so that pupils don’t associate places with solely one geographical phenomenon. For example, in key stage 4 pupils will complete regional studies on both Jakarta and more broadly of Indonesia whilst using case studies from the region when learning about topics associated with natural hazards and global trade.

The use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is integrated across the curriculum so that pupils can use different GIS to visualise and analyse spatial patterns as well as using GIS to add and process fieldwork data.

How does our curriculum deal with elements that arise from the specific needs of the subject?

What geographical locations are featured in the curriculum?

The locations of our regional studies are chosen with diversity and global coverage in mind. In our primary curriculum, there is a focus on Europe plus North and South America. Our key stage 3 curriculum predominantly focuses on regional studies in Asia and Africa. Learning about Indonesia and Jakarta at key stage 4 gives pupils the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of a region of south-east Asia/Oceania, which is growing in international importance.

Across the curriculum our regional studies are:

More specific case studies and examples are woven into units across the curriculum. Where appropriate we use examples of geographical processes from our regional studies to deepen pupils’ knowledge of these places. For example, in our forest biome unit in year 7 pupils will learn about mangroves in India and boreal forests in Russia, which will help their understanding in preparation for the regional studies of these places later in the course.

Fieldwork is integrated into units across the curriculum so that pupils have the opportunity to investigate geographical processes in a range of different contexts. Pupils will learn how the fieldwork enquiry process is used to guide an investigation from the early stages of developing questions through to the final evaluation. Pupils learn about a wide range of data collection, presentation and analysis techniques, including how Geographical Information Systems can be used at each of these stages. Fieldwork lessons are easily adapted to address the local context of schools, whilst retaining the fieldwork enquiry process.

The Geographical Association

Primary

Geography

Americas and regions

Climate and weather

Diversity

Earth geometry

Economic activity

Europe and regions

Human processes

Interconnection

Land use and settlement

Local area

Mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes

Natural resources

Physical processes

Sustainability and climate change

The UK and regions

Water and rivers

This unit provides a foundation for 'Local area: Where do we live?', which extends geographical investigation to the immediate locality, and for 'Local area: routes and maps' which investigates a specific land use, play areas. It lays the foundation for fieldwork investigations in the local area in 'Local area: how is our place special?' and a contrasting non-European locality.

Local area: where do we live?

This unit builds on explorations of the local area in EYFS,  focusing on the school site as a place. It develops basic geographical vocabulary and simple mapwork and fieldwork skills.

Our school

Our school from above

Our school in ten photos

Jobs in our school

Describing locations 

Fieldwork: Autumn in the school grounds

Local area: where do we go to school?

This unit provides a foundation for 'Local area: Routes and maps', which focuses on investigating a specific land use - play areas. It lays the foundation for subsequent fieldwork investigations in the local area in 'Local area: how is (our place) special?', and a contrasting non-European locality.

Local area: how do we read maps and plan routes?

This unit builds on 'Local area: Where do we go to school?', which focuses on the school site as a place, by extending the area of investigation into the local area. It develops basic geographical vocabulary and simple mapwork and fieldwork skills, focusing on human geographical features such as local buildings, land use and  journeys.

Our homes

Our local area

The street outside our school

Buildings and features near our school

A survey of how we get to school 

Mapping our journey to school

This unit builds basic knowledge needed to engage with the next unit 'Seasons' where pupils will need to talk about the world and some knowledge of its basic geometry.

Seasons: how does the weather change through the year?

This unit builds on pupils' knowledge of the world from their experiences in EYFS and their perceptions from other media and first hand experiences and expands their view of the local area as studied in 'Local area: Where do we go to school?' and 'Local area: Where do we live?' to a global scale.

Earth view: using globes and satellite images

Mapping the world: locating the continents

The world's five oceans

Rivers of the world

Mountains and landmarks of the world

The UK's place in the world

Continents and oceans: what can we find out about the world?

This unit links to understanding what the UK is like and how seasonal weather is a part of this; it links directly to 'Cold places: What is it like at the North and South Poles?'  and 'Hot places: Where are they and what are they like?'. 

The UK: what kind of place is it?

This unit builds on what has been learnt in 'Local area: Where do we go to school?' and 'Local area: Where do we live?', which look at the local area and involve some weather investigation as well as noticing seasonal change, and on 'Continents and oceans', which introduces some formal earth geometry, the idea of the Earth rotating and orbiting around the sun.

Introducing the weather

Measuring the weather

Introducing the seasons

Weather and the seasons: spring

Weather and the seasons: summer

Weather and the seasons: autumn

Weather and the seasons: winter

This unit provides a foundation for 'Local to global: Identifying special places' and subsequent fieldwork investigations in 'Local area: how is our place special?' and a contrasting non-European locality in 'Contrasting locality: What is it like to live in (location) Jamaica/ Tanzania?'.

Local to global: how can we identify special places?

This unit builds on explorations of the local area in EYFS, and on 'Local area: Where do we live?' and 'Local area: Where do we go to school?'. It extends work on the school and immediate locality through investigating a specific land use - play areas. It develops basic geographical vocabulary and simple mapwork and fieldwork skills.

Locating places in our school grounds

Mapping our school grounds

Planning a route

Fieldwork: Observing geographical features on our route

Making a map of our route

Improving our school grounds

This unit provides a foundation for investigations of the UK and London or Cardiff, and further investigation of what is special in the local area.

Local area: why is (our place) special?

This unit builds on investigations of play areas in the local area, extending work on pupils’ preferred play areas and immediate locality by focusing on why some places are special.  It develops basic geographical vocabulary and simple mapwork and fieldwork skills.

Annotating our map of the school grounds

Describing and locating our favourite places 

The seven wonders of the natural world 

Human wonders of the world

This unit links to 'Life in a capital city: London/Cardiff', in which a capital city of the UK is explored as a significant place in our country.

Life in a capital city: London/Cardiff

The unit extends understanding about the local area and the characteristics and features of place explored in units 'Local area: Where do we go to school?', 'Local area: Where do we live?', 'Seasons: How does the weather change through the year?' and 'Local area: Routes and maps where we play' to a national scale.

The UK and its surrounding seas

The countries and capital cities of the UK

Geographical features in Scotland

Geographical features in England

Geographical features in Wales

Geographical features in Northern Ireland

This unit supports pupils' enquiry about the uniqueness of place when they investigate their own locality through fieldwork in 'Local area: Why is (our place) special?' and compare this with a locality overseas in 'Contrasting locality: what is it like to live in Jamaica?'.

This unit deepens pupils' understanding of the UK in 'The UK: What kind of place is it?' by zooming in to explore its capital city, London, and how it is linked to other parts of the UK and the wider world.

What is life like in Cardiff?

What is life like in London?

It then leads on to examine this same scale but by investigating hot places in 'Hot places: What is it like near the Equator?'. This unit also links to future understanding of land use and settlement, and builds on Earth Geometry by establishing familiarity with the Polar Circles here and with the Equator in 'Hot places: What is it like near the Equator?'.

Hot places: where are they and what are they like?

links to work done in and around the school ground on weather and develops the idea of temperature variations and extreme cold on a global scale. 

The world's cold places

Locating the North and South Poles

The North Pole and the Arctic

The South Pole and the Antarctic

Arctic wildlife

Antarctic wildlife

Living in the Arctic

Living in the Antarctic

Cold places: what is it like at the North and South Poles?

This unit links to 'Contrasting locality: What is it like to live in (location in) in Jamaica?', as pupils draw on their knowledge of places that are hot and wet, and also to 'The water cycle: why does it matter?'. Pupils apply their beginning thinking about locational differences in rainfall and temperature.

Contrasting locality: what is it like to live in Jamaica/Tanzania?

This unit builds on 'Cold places: What is it like at the North and South Poles?', which pupils should have done first. Pupils draw on their knowledge of cold areas of the world to help them consider the location of hot places and what they are like, making comparisons. 

The world's hottest places

Tropical rainforests: climate and location

Hot deserts: climate and location

Visiting the hot places of the world

This unit is a foundation for the more abstract contrasting locality units, enabling pupils to build on their understanding of the uniqueness of place through other cultural lenses and apply the learnt process of enquiry when finding out about places and people.

This builds on the Local to global unit which explored the local area and what made places special to enable pupils to be selective and communicate the most essential elements of their place in the form of a local area guide.

Locating our place with an address and directions

Key features of our local area

Mapping places to visit in our local area

The weather where I live and in the UK

Local and national landmarks

Fieldwork: our locality

This unit provides a foundation for 'Europe: How diverse are its landscapes and places' and 'Europe: What is it like to live in northern Italy', which further extend pupils’ knowledge and understanding of distant places and how to investigate them at continental and regional scales.

Europe: how diverse are its landscapes and places?

This unit builds on 'The UK: What kind of place is is?' and 'Local area: Why is (our place) special', extending and deepening pupils’ place knowledge and understanding through the study of Jamaica and a specific small Jamaican locality. It develops geographical vocabulary and skills, enabling pupils to identify similarities and differences.

What is it like to live in Jamaica?

What is it like to live in Tanzania?

The idea of land use is developed in more depth in 'Settlements: Where do people live and why?' where pupils will look at settlement patterns and make links between human and physical landscapes.

Settlements: where do people live and why?

This unit builds on 'Local area: Why is (our place) special?' and other previous locality studies to develop pupils' ideas of features and the patterns of land use in the local area, and more widely in the UK, consolidating and developing what was learnt about the UK in 'The UK: What kind of place is is?'.

UK human and physical features

Land use in the locality

Farming in the UK

Different types of land use in the UK

Using grid references to identify land use

Changing land use

Land use: how diverse are local and UK landscapes?

Links to 'Rivers: What, where and how?' where knowledge of the water cycle can be applied, and to 'Climate zones: What are they and why do they matter?', where the distribution of rainfall can be used along with temperature to understand global patterns.

Rivers: what's special about them? 

Links to 'Cold places: What is it like at the North and South Poles?' and 'Hot places: What is it like near the Equator?', and to work on weather and distribution of rainfall and temperature.

The water cycle

Water flow around buildings

Water around the world

Water supply and demand in the UK

Water ownership

Water inequalities

The water cycle: why is it important? 

This unit links to 'Climate zones: What are they and why do they matter?' in which the influence of climate on global geographies and environmental regions is developed with reference to understanding of the water cycle and rivers.

Climate zones: what are they and why do they matter?

This unit builds on 'The water cycle: why is it important?' and develops this understanding further to investigate where water goes to and to look at where and why the major rivers are located and how local rivers are affected by weather variations. 

Introducing rivers

River processes and landforms

The river's journey

Flooding rivers

Flooding impacts and solutions

Rivers in the UK

Rivers in Europe

Mighty rivers of the world

This unit directly links to settlement, understanding connections between climate and where people live. This also underpins understanding needed in 'The Americas: How diverse are its places and landscapes?', 'South America: Why does the Amazon matter?', 'Natural resources: what are they, where are they and why are they important?' and 'Farms and factories: Where does our food come from?'.

This unit builds on learning about the water cycle to develop understanding of the spatial patterns of water and energy. It also builds on 'Cold places: What is it like at the North and South Poles?' and 'Hot places: What is it like near the Equator?'. It develops on 'Contrasting locality: What is it like to live in (named location) in Jamaica?') by introducing the major lines of latitude.

Introducing climate

Using lines of latitude to locate the main climate zones

Climate data and patterns

The differences between climate zones and biomes

Adaptations of plants and animals in different biomes

Climate change

This unit provides a foundation for Local area: How is it changing?', which involves a detailed case study of change in the school’s local area, and 'UK region: Why is the Lake District a National Park?', which investigates settlements, land use and change at a regional scale. 

Local area: how is it changing?

This builds on 'Land use: how diverse are local and UK landscapes?', which focuses on land use locally and in the UK as a key aspect of human geography, extending and deepening pupils' understanding of human geography processes by investigating the characteristics of different types of settlement and the reasons why settlements are initially established and then change over time.

Subject

School phase

KS1 & KS2 Geography

Unit sequence

Year 1

Local area: where do we go to school?

Local area: where do we live?

Continents and oceans: what can we find out about the world?

Seasons: how does the weather change through the year?

Local area: how do we read maps and plan routes?

Local to global: how can we identify special places?

Year 2

The UK: what kind of place is it?

Life in a capital city: London/Cardiff

Cold places: what is it like at the North and South Poles?

Hot places: where are they and what are they like?

Local area: why is (our place) special?

Contrasting locality: what is it like to live in Jamaica/Tanzania?

Year 3

Land use: how diverse are local and UK landscapes?

The water cycle: why is it important?

Rivers: what's special about them?

Climate zones: what are they and why do they matter?

Settlements: where do people live and why?

Local area: how is it changing?

Year 4

The UK: who are we?

Mountains and volcanoes: what, where and why?

UK region: why is the Lake District a national park?

Europe: how diverse are its landscapes and places?

Europe: what is it like to live in northern Italy?

Local area: what needs changing?

Year 5

Local and global: why are trees and forests important?

Natural resources: what are they, where are they found, why are they important?

North and South America: how diverse are their places and landscapes?

South America: why does the Amazon matter?

Energy: how do we power the world?

Sustainable world: does it matter how we live?

Year 6

Time zones: can we time travel on planet Earth?

Earthquakes: how do they change the world?

Farms and factories: where does our food come from?

Coasts: what happens where the land meets the sea?

Global trade: how do we get our stuff?

Around the world in 80 days: what have we learnt about our world?

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