The teaching, learning, and sequencing of our geography curriculum follows a carefully planned structure, designed to ensure depth, progression, and meaningful engagement for all children.

• Thematic Pathways: Our curriculum is organised through four key strands - Locational Knowledge, Place Knowledge, Human and Physical Geography, and Geographical Skills & Fieldwork. These provide a consistent framework through which children explore geographical concepts, enabling them to revisit and deepen understanding across different places, scales, and contexts.


• Long-Term Sequencing for Mixed-Age Classes: To reflect the structure of our school, we operate a two-year rolling cycle in EYFS–KS1 and in Years 3-6. Units are carefully sequenced so that substantive knowledge (“I know”) is continually built upon, while disciplinary knowledge (“I can”) is progressively developed and assessed at age-appropriate levels. Themes are revisited throughout a child’s school journey, strengthening connections and ensuring secure long-term understanding.


• Medium-Term Planning: Our medium-term plans break down each unit into small, purposeful steps. Each lesson combines substantive knowledge (places, environments, processes, spatial patterns) with disciplinary knowledge (enquiry, data collection, interpretation, fieldwork). Lesson-level “I know/I can” statements ensure that pupils learn not only about places but also how geographers know, supporting both knowledge and skills development.


• Progression and Assessment: Assessment is embedded within planning through clear progression statements for EYFS–KS2. These are structured by strand (e.g. Locational Knowledge, Place Knowledge, Human and Physical Geography, Skills & Fieldwork). This ensures pupils’ geographical skills are revisited and extended, supporting them to make explicit links between prior and current learning. Teachers assess against these statements at the end of lessons and units using a mastery model (working towards or expected).


• Geographical Vocabulary: Vocabulary progression is explicitly mapped across units and revisited regularly. Key terms (e.g. continent, settlement, climate, erosion, migration, sustainability) are introduced, contextualised, and reinforced, supporting children to communicate geographical ideas with accuracy and confidence.


• Pedagogy and Enquiry: Lessons are enquiry-driven, using maps, atlases, digital technology, fieldwork, and data to encourage questioning, critical thinking, and interpretation. Children are encouraged to ask, “What does this show us?”, “Why is this happening here?”, and “What impact does this have?” to foster curiosity, independence, and global awareness.


• EYFS Foundations: In Reception, geography is embedded within Understanding the World. Children explore their immediate environment, notice seasonal change, and begin to compare places beyond their local area. Stories, play, and simple fieldwork nurture early spatial awareness, vocabulary, and enquiry skills.


• Enrichment and Cross-Curricular Links: Visits, visitors, and outdoor fieldwork bring geography to life and provide experiential learning opportunities. Cross-curricular links with science, art, DT, English, and computing support creativity, literacy, and problem-solving in geographical contexts. SMSC and sustainability are woven through the curriculum, allowing children to reflect on values, responsibility, and their role in caring for people and the planet.

At Holme and Hinchliffe Mill, our geography curriculum enables children to develop into curious, reflective, and responsible global citizens, with a secure and connected understanding of people, places, and environments. The impact of our teaching is measured not only through substantive knowledge (what children know about the world) but also through disciplinary knowledge (what they can do with that knowledge as geographers), structured around four key geographical strands:

• Locational Knowledge – knowing where places are in the world and understanding their physical and human features.


• Place Knowledge – comparing and contrasting places at local, national, and global scales.


• Human and Physical Geography – understanding processes, patterns, and how people interact with the natural world.


• Geographical Skills and Fieldwork – asking questions, collecting data, using maps and digital tools, and presenting findings.

Through this structure, pupils progressively learn to:

• Develop secure locational knowledge and spatial awareness, from the local area to the wider world.


• Compare and contrast places, recognising similarities and differences in landscapes, cultures, and communities.


• Explain physical and human processes such as rivers, weather, settlements, and trade, and their impact on people and the environment.


• Apply fieldwork skills to investigate geographical questions, analyse data, and present conclusions.


• Reflect on sustainability, interdependence, and their responsibility in caring for the planet.

Assessment

Our assessment model ensures clarity and consistency. Teachers assess pupils against progression statements for each strand:

• Expected Standard – pupils meet the knowledge and skills defined for their year group.


• Working Towards – pupils are developing towards this level.

Pupils’ progress is monitored using end-of-lesson and end-of-unit assessment statements, drawn directly from our progression framework (EYFS–KS2). This ensures children not only acquire new knowledge but also revisit and deepen prior learning, making secure connections across places, scales, and themes.

The impact is seen when children:

-Retain prior geographical knowledge and explicitly connect it to new units.

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  Articulate geographical understanding using accurate vocabulary.

  
  


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  Show curiosity and independence in pursuing geographical questions and enquiries.

  
  


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  Demonstrate confidence in using maps, data, and fieldwork evidence.

  
  


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  Reflect on how human and physical processes shape their lives and communities today.

  
  

Above all, children leave Holme and Hinchliffe Mill as geographically literate young people, equipped to question, explore, and understand the world around them. Our ambition is that they move on with the confidence and inspiration to become the explorers, scientists, conservationists, or leaders of the future.