Our Geography Curriculum

At Highfields Primary School, we envisage that Geography will spark curiosity and creativity, helping children make sense of the world around them and their place within it.  

Through our Geography curriculum, we intend to: 

• Inspire pupils to explore diverse environments, cultures, and perspectives, nurturing curiosity about the world around them 

• Encourage critical thinking and meaningful geographical questioning, promoting challenge as pupils deepen their understanding 

• Foster responsibility for both the local community and the wider world, strengthening their sense of empathy and global citizenship 

• Bring Geography to life through engaging lessons, fieldwork, and enriching trips, using creativity to make learning memorable and exciting 

• Provide hands‑on experiences that deepen understanding of people, places, and processes, supporting collaboration through shared, practical learning 

We aim to prepare pupils with the geographical knowledge, skills, and qualities they need to leave Year 6 as confident, curious young geographers. This includes strong locational knowledge of the UK, Europe, and the wider world; the ability to read and interpret maps, atlases, digital mapping, and aerial images; and secure fieldwork skills such as observing, measuring, recording, and presenting geographical information. Pupils also develop an understanding of key human and physical processes, including climates, rivers, settlements, and land use. Alongside this, they build qualities such as curiosity, resilience, critical thinking, and the confidence to question and interpret the world, enabling them to embrace challenge and succeed in the next stage of their learning. 

Geography learning across our school is warm, immersive and highly practical. Classrooms are alive with curiosity, rich discussion and hands‑on exploration that help pupils make meaningful connections with the world around them. Learning is carefully structured so that no pupil is left behind; teachers use modelling, scaffolding and accessible resources to ensure every child can participate confidently and successfully. This inclusive, values‑driven approach is clearly visible during lesson dips, where pupils demonstrate strong engagement, positive attitudes and a genuine enthusiasm for investigating places, environments and global issues. Their interactions, questions and independence reflect a culture where all learners feel supported, challenged and inspired. 

How do we teach Geography?  

From Year 1 to Year 6, our geography curriculum is progressively sequenced for our pupils to gain a deep understanding from their immediate environment to the wider world. Place studies begin locally and progress to regional, national and global contexts, allowing pupils to revisit and deepen key concepts. Early work on weather and seasons develops into learning about climate, environmental change and protecting our planet.  

The curriculum is carefully aligned with science and history. For example, coasts are taught in Year 5 to link with the Cromer residential, and the study of habitats sits close to, but separate from science to strengthen connections and retention. Units include human geography, physical geography and holistic combinations of both.  

Adaptive teaching ensures every child can access learning and succeed. Our learning values underpin the curriculum: community through understanding people and places; challenge through increasingly complex ideas; collaboration through shared enquiry; creativity in presenting geographical understanding; and curiosity in asking thoughtful questions about the world. 

Progression of skills and knowledge 

Our Geography curriculum develops both knowledge and key disciplinary skills and is carefully mapped out. All pupils begin from a shared starting point and work towards answering the same enquiry questions, ensuring high ambition for every learner. This enquiry approach encourages curiosity, exploration and geographical thinking, helping pupils understand that some questions have multiple valid answers, especially when considering environmental issues and real-world decision-making.  

Our Geography Progression Grids set out the key concepts pupils should know by the end of each milestone and shows how these build on prior learning. This supports teachers in identifying gaps and ensures that important ideas are revisited and strengthened over time, so they become securely embedded in long‑term memory.  

Knowledge organisers and regular retrieval activities help pupils make links between new and previous learning, including connections across the wider curriculum. This also supports the development of broader disciplinary thinking. Pupils learn to consider significance by identifying why certain places, environments or geographical events matter. They also develop enquiry skills, asking thoughtful questions, gathering evidence and interpreting information, mirroring the historical enquiry skills used in history. These approaches help pupils think critically and understand the world with increasing depth and confidence. 

How do we make Geography real and relevant? 

At Highfields, we make geography meaningful by grounding learning in real, named localities that pupils can locate and explore. Our curriculum is closely linked to the geography of Manningtree and the surrounding area. Pupils study our local community, the River Stour and the River Colne, and compare Manningtree “then and now” to understand how places change over time. This helps them recognise both continuity and change in their own environment.  

Where possible, learning is connected to lived experiences, such as the Year 5 residential trip to Cromer, which supports work on the UK’s changing coastline. We also avoid stereotypes by showing the diversity of geographical features, for example, highlighting that not all cliffs are white like those at Dover, especially in Norfolk.  

We strengthen pupils’ understanding of Similarity & Difference by comparing local geography with contrasting places in the UK and beyond. This helps them appreciate what makes Manningtree unique while recognising patterns and differences in other environments.  

This approach reflects our school value of curiosity, encouraging pupils to question, explore and make meaningful connections between their own locality and the wider world. It ensures geography feels real, relevant and rooted in authentic experience.  

How do we make Geography accessible to all pupils? 

At Highfields, we believe every child should experience a rich and ambitious geography curriculum. All pupils begin from a shared starting point, and teachers use ongoing assessment to check understanding, address misconceptions and adapt teaching so that learning remains responsive and meaningful. Summative checks help us ensure that key concepts and skills are secure and that planning continues to meet the needs of the class.  

We are committed to supporting every learner, including those with SEND or from disadvantaged backgrounds. Pupils who need additional help work on the same tasks with carefully structured scaffolding, models or adult guidance, and they are encouraged to show their understanding in ways that suit them, whether orally, practically or visually, so that literacy barriers never limit their success. Those working at greater depth are encouraged to show independence, make choices in how they present their learning and apply their knowledge with increasing initiative. This reflects our values of challenge and creativity, ensuring all pupils can progress confidently.  

High‑quality teaching is strengthened through ongoing professional development. Staff receive training based on identified needs, ensuring everyone has the subject knowledge and confidence to teach geographical skills, fieldwork and visual literacy effectively. This supports our value of collaboration, as staff learn from one another and develop shared expertise.  

Our learning environment also plays a key role. Classrooms include maps, vocabulary prompts and visual resources that develop pupils’ graphicacy and help them interpret spatial information. Indoor and outdoor spaces are used to bring geography to life through active, hands‑on experiences. This reflects our value of curiosity, encouraging pupils to explore, question and connect with the world around them. 

How do we integrate technology to enhance teaching and learning? 

Digital skills are woven throughout, with pupils using online maps, digital tools and images to support their understanding. Diversity and inclusion are central: children explore a wide range of places, cultures and communities, ensuring all pupils feel represented and valued.  

Digital learning enhances this further. Platforms such as BusyThings, along with tools like iMovie and green screens, allow pupils to document fieldwork, present findings and create real‑life, engaging geographical outcomes.  

How do we measure the impact of our Geography Curriculum? 

We measure the impact of our Geography curriculum through pupils’ ability to talk confidently about their learning, using pupil voice to understand how well they can explain geographical concepts, processes and places. Ongoing assessment of fieldwork, map skills and enquiry tasks shows how effectively pupils apply their knowledge, while collaborative activities demonstrate how well they work together to investigate geographical questions. Teaching staff use the guidance in our progression grids to accurately assess pupils progress and attainment and to adapt future teaching. The geography subject leader identifies actions through this combination of robust monitoring activities to further developing this subject.  

Progress is seen in pupils’ growing independence, accuracy and use of geographical vocabulary, as well as their ability to make connections between local, national and global environments. Together, these measures show how our curriculum builds informed, curious and capable young geographers.  

We are extremely proud of the impact of our Geography curriculum and how it develops our young geographers through hands-on experience with regular fieldwork opportunities.