Geography
Our Vision for Geography
At St. John with St. Michael’s CE Primary School, we believe Geography inspires curiosity about the world and its people. Our Geography curriculum helps pupils develop a deep understanding of their local environment and the wider world, enabling them to become responsible global citizens who care for God’s creation.
Why Geography Matters
Geography teaches children to explore places, investigate environments, and understand the relationships between people and their surroundings. It develops skills in observation, enquiry, map-reading, data interpretation, critical thinking and communication. Through Geography, our pupils learn to appreciate diversity, sustainability, and how human and physical processes shape the world.
Link to the National Curriculum
Our Geography curriculum is fully aligned with the National Curriculum for England, which states that all pupils should:
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Develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places, their physical and human characteristics, and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes.
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Understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time.
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Be competent in geographical skills including collecting, analysing and communicating with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes.
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Select, organise and communicate geographical information using maps, numerical and quantitative skills and appropriate vocabulary. (Based on the National Curriculum for England – Geography)
What Pupils Learn
Our Geography curriculum is progressive and sequenced across each year group:
In EYFS, children explore their immediate environment and begin to notice features around them.
In Key Stage 1, pupils:
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Learn about their local area and contrasting localities.
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Study simple maps and geographical vocabulary.
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Identify seasonal and daily weather patterns.
In Key Stage 2, pupils:
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Develop understanding of regions of the UK, Europe and the wider world.
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Explore physical processes such as rivers, coasts and climate, and human themes such as settlement, land use and trade.
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Use atlases, digital mapping and fieldwork to investigate questions and present findings.
How We Teach Geography
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Engaging Topics & Big Questions: Each unit is designed around meaningful enquiry questions that spark curiosity.
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Fieldwork: Pupils take part in local field visits to observe and record geographical features, enhancing real-world understanding.
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Cross-Curricular Links: Geography is linked with Science, History, RE and English to strengthen knowledge and vocabulary.
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Skills Development: Children build progressively more sophisticated skills in map reading, data handling and geographical reasoning.
Geography in Our School Community
Geography at St. John with St. Michael’s celebrates our local place — Rochdale and its surroundings — while connecting pupils to the global community. We explore sustainability and stewardship, empowering pupils to understand environmental issues and contribute positively to their world.