Intent and Overview:

At Churchfield Church School, we are geographers. Our intent is to deliver a broad, ambitious, and engaging geography curriculum that inspires pupils’ curiosity about the world and its people. We want children to develop a deep understanding of their local environment, the United Kingdom, and the wider world, while building the knowledge and skills needed to become responsible global citizens. 

Our curriculum is designed to: 

• Align with the National Curriculum by teaching locational knowledge, place knowledge, human and physical geography, and geographical skills. 

• Encourage curiosity and enquiry, enabling children to ask and answer questions about the world around them. 

• Build progression of skills from EYFS through KS1 and KS2, ensuring children revisit and deepen prior learning. 

• Develop fieldwork skills, giving pupils opportunities to observe, measure, record, and present geographical information. 

• Foster respect for the environment and sustainability, helping children understand their role in protecting the planet. 

• Promote cultural awareness, encouraging pupils to appreciate diversity and interconnectedness across the globe. 

Skills by Key Stage 

End of Key Stage 1 (Years 1–2) 

By the end of KS1, children should be able to: 

• Name and locate the four countries of the UK and their capital cities. 

• Identify seasonal and daily weather patterns in the UK. 

• Recognise key physical features (e.g. beach, cliff, forest, hill, mountain, river). 

• Recognise key human features (e.g. city, town, village, port, harbour). 

• Use simple maps, globes, and atlases to identify places. 

• Use basic geographical vocabulary to describe their environment. 

• Carry out simple fieldwork in the school grounds and local area. 

End of Lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3–4) 

By the end of Lower KS2, children should be able to: 

• Locate and name counties and cities of the UK, and key regions of Europe. 

• Describe similarities and differences between regions in the UK, Europe, and beyond. 

• Understand key aspects of physical geography (e.g. rivers, mountains, volcanoes, earthquakes). 

• Understand key aspects of human geography (e.g. settlements, land use, trade links). 

• Use maps, atlases, globes, and digital mapping to locate countries and features. 

• Begin to use grid references, symbols, and keys. 

• Conduct fieldwork to observe, measure, and record geographical features. 

End of Upper Key Stage 2 (Years 5–6) 

By the end of Upper KS2, children should be able to: 

• Locate the world’s countries, focusing on Europe, North and South America. 

• Understand latitude, longitude, the Equator, hemispheres, tropics, and time zones. 

• Describe and explain key aspects of physical geography (e.g. climate zones, biomes, water cycle). 

• Describe and explain key aspects of human geography (e.g. economic activity, distribution of natural resources). 

• Use maps, atlases, globes, and digital mapping with confidence. 

• Use six-figure grid references, symbols, and keys to build knowledge of the UK and wider world. 

• Plan and carry out fieldwork, presenting findings using graphs, charts, and maps. 

• Demonstrate an understanding of how human actions affect the environment and sustainability.