Intent

At Trumps Green Infant School, we believe that geography helps children to understand the world around them and their place within it. We want every child to develop a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people, alongside the knowledge, vocabulary and geographical skills needed to explore places, understand environments and make sense of how people and places are connected.

It is our intention that every pupil, regardless of starting point or individual need, develops the knowledge, skills and confidence to engage successfully with geography. We have high expectations for all children, including those who are disadvantaged, have SEND, are known or have previously been known to children’s social care, or who face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing. Our geography curriculum is designed so that all pupils can access the same ambitious curriculum, with appropriate adaptations, support and opportunities to revisit and secure important knowledge. We do not lower our expectations because of a pupil’s starting point or individual circumstances; instead, we provide the teaching, resources and support needed for pupils to develop their geographical understanding.

What we intend pupils to know and do

We intend that pupils develop a secure and increasingly connected body of geographical knowledge about places, people and environments. They will develop knowledge of their local area, the United Kingdom and the wider world, including selected countries, continents and oceans. They will develop an understanding of the characteristics of different places and begin to recognise similarities, differences and connections between places.

Pupils will develop knowledge of both human and physical geography. They will learn about natural features and processes such as weather, seasons, rivers, mountains and coasts, alongside human features and processes such as settlements, land use, transport and the ways in which people live and work.

Alongside geographical knowledge, pupils will develop the skills needed to investigate and communicate geographical information. They will learn to use maps, atlases, globes, photographs and other geographical resources; develop an understanding of simple maps and symbols; use simple compass directions and positional language; and collect, record and communicate geographical information from their own observations and investigations.

Our curriculum deliberately develops the relationship between place knowledge, geographical concepts and geographical skills. Pupils use maps, fieldwork and other geographical resources to develop their knowledge of places and environments; they use geographical vocabulary to describe what they observe; and they increasingly make connections between physical and human features to explain how places are similar, different and changing.

How geography develops from Reception to Year 2

Our geography curriculum is carefully sequenced from Reception to Year 2, with geographical knowledge, vocabulary and skills systematically introduced, practised, revisited and developed over time. As Year 1 and Year 2 pupils learn together in mixed-age classes, the curriculum is designed so that pupils encounter key geographical concepts repeatedly, with opportunities to secure essential knowledge and deepen their understanding as they progress through Key Stage 1.

In Reception, pupils develop the foundations for geographical understanding through their experiences of their immediate environment and the wider world. Through Understanding the World, they explore their local area, notice features of their environment, observe seasonal and weather changes, talk about where they live and develop language to describe location, movement and the natural world. They begin to recognise that different places can be different from their own.

Across Years 1 and 2, pupils build on these foundations through a carefully planned sequence of place-based and thematic geographical studies. They develop increasingly secure knowledge of their local area, the United Kingdom and selected places around the world. They explore the characteristics of different places and develop knowledge of human and physical features, including weather, seasons, settlements, land use and natural environments.

Within the mixed-age curriculum, pupils revisit key geographical concepts, vocabulary and skills at increasing levels of depth. Younger pupils are supported to establish essential geographical knowledge and skills, while older or more experienced pupils are expected to draw on previously taught knowledge, make stronger connections, use geographical resources with greater independence and explain their observations in greater detail.

As pupils progress through Key Stage 1, they increasingly:

· locate and name places, continents and oceans using maps, atlases and globes;

· use geographical vocabulary to describe places, features and environments;

· recognise similarities and differences between places;

· develop an understanding of human and physical features and how they are connected;

· use simple maps, symbols, directional language and compass directions;

· observe and investigate their local environment through fieldwork;

· collect and communicate geographical information in different ways; and

· use their existing geographical knowledge to ask and answer questions about places and environments.

By the end of Year 2, pupils are increasingly able to draw together their knowledge of places, environments and geographical processes with the geographical skills they have developed, rather than treating geographical knowledge and skills as separate aspects of learning.

Geography and the wider curriculum

We intend that pupils understand that geography is both a subject in its own right and an important way of understanding the world around them. Through geography, pupils develop vocabulary, observation, questioning, reasoning, data handling and communication skills that support learning across the curriculum.

Geography provides meaningful opportunities to apply learning from other subjects. Pupils develop their reading and vocabulary through geographical texts and resources, use mathematics when collecting and presenting geographical information, and make connections with science when studying the natural environment, seasons, weather and materials. Where appropriate, geographical learning also connects with history, art and computing.

We provide opportunities for pupils to learn beyond the classroom, using the school grounds and local area as places for observation, fieldwork and enquiry. These experiences help pupils connect geographical concepts to the real world and develop a deeper understanding of the place in which they live.

Intended end points

By the time children leave Trumps Green Infant School, we intend that pupils will have developed the foundational geographical knowledge, vocabulary and skills necessary for the next stage of their education.

They will be increasingly confident young geographers who can:

· locate and identify the United Kingdom and its four countries and recognise the surrounding seas;

· locate and identify selected continents and oceans using maps, atlases and globes;

· develop knowledge of selected contrasting places, including their location and some of their key human and physical features;

· describe similarities and differences between places and environments;

· identify and describe a range of human and physical geographical features;

· recognise and describe aspects of weather and seasonal change;

· use appropriate geographical vocabulary to describe places, features, environments and location;

· use simple maps, symbols and keys to identify and describe features and routes;

· use simple compass directions and positional and directional language;

· undertake simple fieldwork and observations in the local area;

· collect, record and communicate geographical information in appropriate ways;

· use geographical resources, including photographs, maps, atlases and globes, to investigate places and answer questions;

· make connections between geographical features, people and environments; and

· demonstrate curiosity about the world and a willingness to ask questions, investigate places and find out more.

Our geography curriculum is therefore designed to ensure that all children make progress from their individual starting points, secure important geographical knowledge and vocabulary, develop the skills to investigate and communicate geographical information, and gain an increasingly connected understanding of places, people and the environments in which they live.

Implementation

• Geography is taught in blocks throughout the year, so that children can achieve a depth of knowledge throughout their learning. We have identified the key knowledge and skills of each blocked topic and consideration has been given to ensure progression across topics throughout each year group across the school.
• At Trumps Green Infant School we provide a variety of opportunities for geography learning inside and outside the classroom. 
• We believe in and implement promotion of Geographical language as this is essential to successfully gaining a deeper understanding of geographical concepts including simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language [for example, near and far; left and right], to describe the location of features and routes on a map.
• We use world maps, atlases and globes to investigate and identify the United Kingdom and its counties, as well as the countries, continents and oceans studied at this key stage.

Impact

Pupils will be curious and engaged with learning about the world and its people.

Pupils will develop a curiosity and fascination about the world, its people and its human and physical features that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.