Geography

Intent

At St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, we aim to inspire a sense of curiosity, responsibility, and wonder in our pupils as they explore the world in which they live. Our Geography curriculum provides a purposeful platform for children to appreciate and understand the relationship between Earth and its people through the study of place, space, and environment.

Through the CUSP Geography curriculum, we provide a carefully structured, evidence-led approach that promotes cumulative knowledge and geographical thinking from EYFS to Year 6. The curriculum goes beyond National Curriculum expectations, covering key focus areas such as:

• The UK and our local area

• The world and continents

• Physical and human geography

• Understanding places and global connections

• Map and atlas work

• Fieldwork and investigation

Pupils are taught to think like geographers, using substantive knowledge (e.g. rivers, biomes, settlement) and disciplinary knowledge (e.g. enquiry, scale, interdependence) to explore the world around them. Vocabulary is explicitly taught and revisited to ensure pupils can confidently describe, compare, analyse and evaluate geographical concepts.

Our Geography curriculum reflects our Catholic values of stewardship and compassion, encouraging children to see their role in caring for our common home and understanding the lives and challenges of people around the world. By weaving in global issues such as climate change, sustainability, migration +and cultural diversity, we prepare pupils to be reflective and proactive global citizens.

Implementation

Our curriculum is implemented through the CUSP Geography framework, which is structured around the deliberate teaching of core concepts, regular retrieval practice and progressive fieldwork. Every lesson builds on prior learning, making connections that strengthen long-term memory and understanding.

EYFS

Children develop geographical awareness through the “Understanding the World” strand. They explore local features like home and school, visit places such as farms and libraries, and learn about global diversity through books, storytelling and play. They begin to describe and question the world around them and compare different environments.

Key Stage 1

In Years 1 and 2, children study the seven continents and five oceans, the UK’s countries and capital cities, and contrasting environments such as Nairobi and the Amazon Rainforest. They explore physical and human features, use simple compass directions, and practise basic map skills through local fieldwork. OS Maps are introduced using Digimap for Schools, allowing pupils to connect abstract concepts with their immediate experiences.

Lower Key Stage 2

Pupils deepen their understanding of the UK through studies of regions, landmarks, and topography, and extend their knowledge to include rivers, the water cycle, and climate regions. They learn about latitude and longitude, enabling them to apply locational skills globally. Fieldwork is revisited through projects such as tracking a local river from source to mouth. Pupils also compare environmental regions in Europe, North and South America.

Upper Key Stage 2

Pupils refine their map and fieldwork skills with 4- and 6-figure grid references and OS map reading. They study biomes, environmental regions, and economic activities, linking human and physical geography. Comparative studies (e.g. Lake District, Tatra Mountains, Blue Mountains) and processes such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and glaciation allow them to explore change over time. Pupils explore migration, settlement, and trade, linking to the Windrush generation History topic and global inequality.

Throughout all key stages:

• Vocabulary instruction is deliberate and sequenced

• Lessons use structured enquiry (Connect – Explain – Example – Attempt – Apply – Challenge)

• Knowledge is assessed and retrieved through cumulative quizzes, Thinking Geography tasks and vocabulary practice

• All pupils, including those with SEND, are supported through dual knowledge notes, scaffolding and visual prompts

• Fieldwork is integrated across the curriculum, encouraging real-world application of skills

Impact

The impact of our Geography curriculum is seen in the knowledge, skills and attitudes our pupils develop over time. By the end of Year 6, children will:

• Have secure locational and place knowledge across the UK and the wider world

• Confidently use and interpret a range of maps, atlases, globes and digital tools

• Use subject-specific vocabulary accurately and with increasing fluency

• Understand how physical and human processes interact and shape the world

• Apply disciplinary thinking by asking and answering perceptive, analytical questions

• Engage in geographical enquiry, fieldwork and problem-solving with increasing independence

• Demonstrate compassion, cultural understanding and environmental awareness, reflecting on the global challenges we face

Progress is tracked through formative assessment in lessons, low-stakes quizzes, and pupil book studies. Pupil voice, classroom dialogue and written outcomes demonstrate growing confidence, curiosity and mastery of geography.

Our pupils leave St Anne’s with a love for geography, a strong sense of place, and the tools to make positive, informed contributions to the world.