At Horton Grange Primary School, we see geography as an exciting journey around the world sparking curiosity and wonder about the planet we live on. Understanding the world allows pupils to comprehend the physical layout of the Earth, including continents, oceans, mountains, and rivers. The cultural awareness within geography teaches our pupils about different cultures, traditions, and ways of life. This fosters empathy and appreciation for diversity, promoting global citizenship. Through environmental awareness pupils gain an understanding of the relationship between humans and the environment, emphasising the impact of human activities on the planet. Geography provides insights into how location affects economic activities, such as trade, agriculture, and industry. Studying geography develops critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It encourages pupils to analyse data, recognize patterns, and understand complex systems. Overall, geography connects us to the world and each other, helping us make informed decisions and fostering a sense of responsibility towards our planet.

The use of the Maestro curriculum allows us to embed geography within our school by providing a structured and comprehensive approach to teaching the subject. It develops students’ understanding of globally significant places emphasising the use of maps, atlases, globes, and digital tools to locate countries and describe features. Our pupils, through this curriculum, learn to describe and understand key aspects of both physical geography (like climate zones, rivers, and mountains) and human geography (such as types of settlements and land use). The progressive learning of the curriculum is designed to build on knowledge and skills year by year, ensuring that students develop a deep and layered understanding of geography as they progress through school.

EYFS

The curriculum for geography in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is designed to provide young learners with a strong foundation in understanding the world around them. Pupils are introduced to basic concepts such as local landmarks, different types of environments (e.g. urban vs. rural), and simple map skills. They explore their understanding of similarities and differences between their local area and other places. Pupils explore basic physical features (e.g. hills, rivers) and human features (e.g. buildings, roads) and use simple tools like maps and globes to engage in fieldwork by observing and recording geographical features.

Key Stage 1

In Years 1 and 2, geography is designed to build foundational geographical knowledge and skills in young learners. Pupils name and locate the world’s seven continents and five oceans and identify the four countries and capital cities of the UK and its surrounding seas. They go onto exploring geographical similarities and differences through studying the human and physical geography of a small area of the UK and a contrasting non-European country. Pupils use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to key physical features (e.g. beach, cliff, forest) and human features (e.g. city, village, factory). Pupils use world maps, atlases, globes, simple compass directions and locational language to describe the location of features and routes on a map and use aerial photographs and plan perspectives to recognize landmarks and basic human and physical features.

Lower Key Stage 2

In Lower Key Stage 2, pupils are introduced to more complex concepts, encouraging deeper exploration. Pupils begin to locate the world’s countries, focusing on Europe and North and South America, identifying their key physical and human characteristics. Pupils gain a deeper understanding of geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a European country, and North or South America. They explore physical geography including, climate zones, biomes, and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes, and earthquakes and explore human geography, including types of settlement and land use, economic activity, and the distribution of natural resources. They continue to use maps, atlases, globes, and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features. This progression ensures that students are not only building on their previous knowledge but also developing a more nuanced understanding of geography, preparing them for more complex studies in later years.

Upper Key Stage 2

In Upper Key Stage 2, The Maestro curriculum for geography continues to build on the knowledge and skills developed in earlier years, introducing more advanced concepts and encouraging critical thinking. Pupils continue to deepen understanding of the world’s countries, focusing on environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries, and major cities. They further explore geographical similarities and differences through detailed studies of different regions. Pupils will progress onto describing and understanding key aspects of physical geography, such as the water cycle, and human geography, including trade links and the distribution of natural resources. Pupils will become confident in using the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols, and keys (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world. Pupils will become more confident in conducting more advanced fieldwork to observe, measure, record, and present geographical data.