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GEOGRAPHY
At Telferscot Primary School, Geography plays a vital role in helping pupils understand the complexity, diversity and interconnectedness of the world. Our curriculum is designed to nurture curiosity, critical thinking and a lifelong interest in places, people and environments. We want pupils to develop a secure sense of their place in the world, while gaining the knowledge and skills needed to explore it with confidence.
In line with the DfE Geography Model Curriculum (2023), our teaching ensures pupils develop:
- Strong locational knowledge, including continents, countries, capital cities, key physical features and major world regions.
- A clear understanding of physical processes, such as weather patterns, climate zones, rivers, coasts, and the water cycle.
- An appreciation of human geography, including settlement, land use, economic activity, population, and how communities change over time.
- High-quality map and fieldwork skills, using atlases, digital mapping, OS maps, aerial photographs and a range of geographical tools.
- An understanding of global issues, including climate change, sustainability, resource use, migration and environmental responsibility.
Our curriculum encourages pupils to ask thoughtful geographical questions, analyse evidence, and communicate their findings clearly. We place strong emphasis on first-hand experiences, using our local area to bring geography to life through purposeful fieldwork.
We are proud of our diverse school community, and our curriculum reflects and celebrates the varied cultural backgrounds, languages and lived experiences of our pupils. This helps children make meaningful connections between their own lives and the wider world.
Our intent is to provide a coherent, ambitious and progressive Geography curriculum that builds pupils’ knowledge year on year. We aim to develop:
- Knowledgeable young citizens who understand how environments are shaped and how human actions influence the planet.
- Reflective learners who can compare places, identify patterns and explain geographical processes.
- Responsible individuals who recognise their role in protecting and improving the world around them.
How Geography is taught at Telferscot
Geography is taught in three units across the academic year: Autumn 2, Spring 2 and Summer 2. Learning is sequenced to ensure pupils revisit and deepen key concepts such as place, space, scale, environment and interconnection.
What our children learn about in Geography
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Autumn 2 |
Spring 2 |
Summer 2 |
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Nursery |
In nursery, geography learning happens throughout the year. In spring 2, children learn about the four countries in the UK. Topics are tailored to the cohort to make learning more relevant for them. During maths, children begin to explore directional and positional language. |
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Reception |
All About Me The children look at their connections to countries around the world. The concept of Continents and Countries are introduced. Learning is tailored to ensure it is relevant for the cohort. |
Trip Around the World Children explore similarities and differences in different locations- Australia, India, Antarctica and Arctic. They begin to compare these places to the UK.
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Arts and Literature Festival (Summer 1) The focus is now on London. Children will explore maps and travel around the city. |
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Year 1 |
Mapping Our Habitat The children use a map of the school grounds to locate different habitats.
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Our Local Area The children will think about their local area and will name key places in their local community. They will look at maps of the surrounding area and will take a trip to Tooting Common.
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School Improvements Children will use symbols to represent the different areas/buildings on their maps of the school. They will design their own dream forest school plan and begin to discuss the practicalities of their designs. |
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Year 2 |
Seasons and the Weather The children will explore the conditions plants need to grow and how the weather in certain areas of the world affect this. They will explore how weather varies between the poles and the equator. |
UK and Its Place in the World This topic allows children to identify the four countries in the United Kingdom. They will begin to develop an understanding of the physical and human features in each of the countries. They will then have a chance to compare this to a non-European country. |
Features of Our World This topic allows children to build on their knowledge of human and physical geographical features. The children will use aerial maps of their local area, in addition to the UK. They will be given the opportunity to create their own maps of their school. |
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Year 3 |
Comparing Places in the UK. This topic builds on their work from year 2 and looks at the different counties in the UK. The use of maps allows children to explore the key topographical features of the counties. |
Bird’s Eye View Throughout this topic, the children will explore and analyse aerial photos of different areas, such as woodlands or farmlands, from different times of the year. |
Questioning Our Environment This topic aims to let the children become critical thinkers by exploring how and why their local area has changed. The children will go on a trip to Balham and Tooting Common. |
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Year 4 |
Living in Different Conditions In this topic, children will begin to understand that people from different parts of the world have differing qualities of living and will explore the effect this has on them. They will explore how changes to the environment has impacted living things. |
Natural Resources and the Changing World The children will develop an understanding of their locality set in a wider geographical context. Children will learn about features and resources in their locality. Children will explore the water cycle and where water originates from in different areas.
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Geographical Skills and Fieldwork This topic allows children to study the British coastline, looking at changes overtime due to erosion. A trip to the local common allows children to explore maps and deepen their knowledge of using 6 figure grid references. |
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Year 5 |
Longitude and Latitude Children will learn about the significance of the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones. They will explore weather patterns across the globe. |
World Geography and a North America Study Children will build on prior learning and recognise the shapes of countries. Their prior knowledge of the UK will strengthen their learning as they continue to locate significant cities. They will compare the physical and human features of a region of the UK to one in North America, thinking about the similarities and differences between the areas. |
Changes to the landscape over time Children will begin to explore how the environment has changed and how humans have affected these changes. They will consider the reasons behind the changes and how humans can sustain their environment for future generations. |
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Year 6 |
Physical Geography Children will use comparison skills when comparing three diverse areas. They will be introduced to physical features. |
Comparing and Contrasting Cities and Countries With the support of maps and atlases, children will identify and locate countries in Europe and Americas. Children will explore characteristics and topographical features of UK counties and cities. They will continue to explore how these have changed over time. |
Developing Our Community Children will research amenities in the local area and begin to question things that may be lacking. They will start to consider the potential barriers to building such as noise or traffic. Using their prior knowledge, they will discuss what they believe should be included on sites, justifying their answers. |
We use a wide range of high-quality resources, including:
- Ordnance Survey maps
- Digital mapping tools
- Globes and atlases
- Aerial and satellite photographs
- The Peters Projection Map
These tools help pupils develop secure map-reading skills and understand how different representations of the world influence our perceptions.
How we enhance our children's experience of Geography at Telferscot
We make full use of our local environment to enhance geographical learning. With Tooting Common, Balham and central London nearby, pupils regularly participate in fieldwork that strengthens their understanding of geographical concepts.
Visits to locations such as Morden Hall Park, Southbank and local green spaces enable pupils to apply classroom learning to real-world contexts. As an Eco-School, pupils consider how their choices affect the environment and explore ways to protect and improve their community.
Geography is closely connected to other curriculum areas, including science, PSHE, art and literature, helping pupils develop a holistic understanding of the world.
