Geography
At St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School, we want every child to develop a fascination with the world around them.
Our Geography curriculum helps children understand the places, people, environments and processes that shape our world. From our local community to distant continents, pupils develop the knowledge, vocabulary and geographical skills they need to explore the world with curiosity and confidence.
Rooted in our Catholic mission to “Let Your Light Shine”, we encourage children to appreciate the wonder and diversity of God's creation and to recognise their responsibility to care for our common home.
Developing Geographical Knowledge
Our Geography curriculum is carefully sequenced from the Early Years through to Year 6, building pupils' knowledge of places, environments and geographical processes over time.
Children develop their understanding of:
• the United Kingdom and its regions
• continents, oceans and countries of the world
• human and physical features of different places
• rivers, mountains, coasts and other geographical features
• weather, climate and seasonal change
• settlements and land use
• natural resources and sustainability
• similarities and differences between places
• how people interact with and change their environment.
Important knowledge is revisited regularly so that children develop a secure understanding of the world and can make connections between different geographical ideas.
Developing Geographical Skills
We want children to become confident geographers who can explore, interpret and communicate geographical information.
Pupils learn to:
• use maps, atlases and globes
• develop their understanding of scale and direction
• use grid references and geographical vocabulary
• locate places using geographical tools
• interpret maps, photographs, diagrams and data
• observe and record geographical features
• collect and present geographical information
• carry out fieldwork and investigations
• identify patterns and relationships
• explain how and why places and environments change.
As children progress through the school, they become increasingly independent in selecting and using geographical tools and applying their knowledge to unfamiliar places and situations.
Exploring Our Local Area
We believe that children develop a deeper understanding of Geography when they can connect their learning to the world immediately around them.
Our local area provides opportunities for pupils to investigate the physical and human features of their environment. Through fieldwork and local studies, children explore land use, settlements, transport, natural features and how their community has changed.
These experiences help children understand that Geography is not simply something they learn in the classroom. It is all around them.
Understanding the Wider World
Our curriculum broadens children's horizons by taking them beyond their immediate surroundings.
Pupils explore places across the United Kingdom and around the world, developing an understanding of how people live in different environments and how physical and human factors influence the way communities develop.
Children are encouraged to identify similarities and differences between places while developing respect and appreciation for different cultures, communities and ways of life.
Fieldwork and First Hand Experiences
Fieldwork is an important part of Geography at St Vincent’s.
Children have opportunities to observe their environment, collect information, carry out surveys and use geographical skills in real settings. Educational visits and outdoor learning enable pupils to experience geographical concepts first hand.
As children move through the school, they become increasingly confident in planning investigations, collecting data, presenting findings and drawing conclusions.
Caring for God's Creation
As a Catholic school, we believe that caring for our planet is an important part of our responsibility.
Geography provides opportunities for children to explore environmental issues and consider how human activity affects our world. Pupils learn about topics such as climate, natural resources, habitats, pollution and sustainability.
Through our Eco Team, outdoor learning and wider school initiatives, children are encouraged to put their learning into action and consider how they can care for God's creation.
We want our pupils to understand that even small actions can contribute to positive change.
Vocabulary and Communication
We place a strong emphasis on geographical vocabulary.
Children are taught the language they need to describe places, explain geographical processes and communicate their understanding accurately.
Through reading, discussion, fieldwork and writing, pupils develop their ability to explain geographical ideas clearly and use evidence to support their thinking.
Supporting Every Geographer
We have high expectations for every pupil and believe that all children can succeed in Geography.
Teachers use adaptive teaching to ensure that pupils can access ambitious geographical learning. Children who need additional support receive appropriate scaffolding, resources and vocabulary, while pupils who are ready for greater challenge are encouraged to make connections, interpret data and explain geographical processes in greater depth.
We are committed to ensuring that disadvantaged pupils, vulnerable pupils and pupils with SEND have the support they need to participate fully and achieve well.
Inspiring Future Geographers
We want our children to leave St Vincent’s with a secure understanding of the world and a genuine curiosity about the places and people within it.
We want them to be confident using maps and geographical information, able to ask questions and investigate the world around them, and thoughtful about the impact that people can have on the environment.
Above all, we want our pupils to appreciate the beauty and diversity of God's creation and understand that they have a responsibility to care for it.
Through Geography, every child is encouraged to achieve, belong and thrive, developing the knowledge, skills and confidence to explore the world and let their light shine.
At St Vincent’s we aspire to make the learning ambitious for all learners. Our school curriculum includes the knowledge, skills and life experiences children need to thrive. Our learning is carefully planned and sequenced using the National Curriculum that can be found below:
Knowledge and skills are built on from previous years and there is clear progression in each subject. You can see an overview of progression below:
Each curriculum area is taught across the year and evidenced on a long term plan, divided into half termly blocks. You can see the long term plan below:
Geography Developments Spring 2024
Sustainability Developments Spring 2024
