Intent 

At Austwick Primary School, we enable pupils to understand the interaction of human beings with their environments – at personal, local, regional, national and global scales. We want to instil a sense of respect and love for our world, so that our children, the next generation, can find their place in the world. 

We enrich our Geography Curriculum in a variety of ways including: visits to the Yorkshire Three Peaks, an annual Bluebell Walk, local Norber Erratics walk and bouldering, residential visits to Yorkshire outdoor education centres, residential trip to London and Edinburgh, outdoor adventure days including hill walking, caving, climbing and forest schools.  

Incorporating the programmes of study from the National Curriculum, our Geography curriculum aims to: 

 • Provide learning opportunities, in line with the vision of our school, that enthuse, engage and motivate children to learn and foster a sense of curiosity and wonder at the beauty of the world around them.  

• Stimulate children’s interest in their surroundings and develop a knowledge and understanding of the physical and human processes which shape places in the UK and areas of the wider world.  

• Develop an understanding of the impact of physical and human geography on the lives of individuals and communities.  

• Develop an understanding of the legacy of our industrial heritage.  

• Develop an understanding of our cultural heritage, for example, the Yorkshire Dales National Park.  

• Increase children’s knowledge of other cultures, in doing so, teach a respect and understanding of what it means to be a positive citizen in a multicultural country.  

• Develop place knowledge (countries, continents, rivers, seas, oceans, etc) and specific skills related to map reading. teach subject-specific vocabulary which pupils will use accurately in oral and written work.  

• Encourage in children a commitment to sustainable development and an appreciation of what ‘global citizenship’ means and the issues involved such as climate change and fair trade.  

• Develop the skills of Geographical enquiry: observe, compare and contrast, locate, reason, explain, evaluate, hypothesise, predict.  

We use the Geographical Association to deliver the National Curriculum for Geography throughout Key Stage 1 and 2. The scheme of work is well-sequenced, with a clear progression in knowledge, skills, concepts and vocabulary and links to other curriculum subjects. The scheme of work provides resources to support teaching and learning in Geography.  

In EYFS, pupils are taught the knowledge and skills for ‘People and Communities’ and ‘The World’ using a thematic approach outlined in our EYFS Curriculum for Understanding the World. The themes are linked to the Scheme of Work for Key Stage 1 to ensure progression as pupils move from EYFS to Key Stage 1. In Key Stages 1 and 2, a rolling programme is in place to ensure that the Geography topics are taught to all pupils during each Key Stage, taking account of the mixed-age structure of our classes.  

Implementation  

The EYFS Curriculum for Understanding the World is taught in a variety of ways through adult-led and adult-supported tasks and child-initiated learning in well-resourced provision areas, both indoors and outdoors. In Key Stage 1 and 2, one Geography topic is taught each term.  

EYFS 

Regular observations and assessments of learning are recorded and added to the individual child’s Learning Journey. Termly tracking identifies next steps and feeds into future planning and activities to develop further skills and knowledge. This then contributes to a summative assessment at the end of EYFS using the Early Years Outcomes for Understanding the World: ‘People and communities’ and ‘The World’.  

Key Stage 1 and 2  

End-of-unit quiz-style assessments of knowledge are made alongside observational assessments and assessments of independent work. This will help to identify what pupils know and if there are any gaps in learning. The aim is for our pupils to know and remember more as they progress through each key stage. Assessments of skills and concepts are recorded on individual tracking grids. The information contributes to an end of year summative assessment.  

Impact  

The children will have knowledge and skills that are built upon over their years in our school. They will have knowledge and skills that they can recall and apply to new learning. Children will know about local geographical features and use fieldwork opportunities to explore them further. They will have a knowledge of the wider world and the geography of different places, including climate, land use, water, natural and man-made features, people and cultures. The impact of the curriculum will be reviewed (throughout the year) through observations and assessments of pupils’ learning and through pupil discussions about their learning, to identify how much knowledge they have gained and remembered over time.  

Policy created: February 2025 

Review Date: February 2026