Geography at Ordsall Primary School

At Ordsall Primary School, Geography is taught as a distinct subject that helps pupils understand the world, their place within it, and how people, environments and places are connected.

We follow the National Curriculum for Geography, with a clear ambition that pupils leave Ordsall with secure geographical knowledge, strong enquiry skills and the ability to think critically about the world around them.

Our Geography Curriculum

Our geography curriculum is built around two forms of knowledge:

• Substantive knowledge – the key facts, concepts and vocabulary pupils are taught, such as location, place, physical and human geography, and sustainability

• Disciplinary knowledge – how pupils think and work as geographers, including enquiry, critical thinking, fieldwork, map skills and the use of geographical data

Clear progression maps set out what pupils should know, do and understand in each year group. Learning is deliberately sequenced so knowledge builds securely and cumulatively from Nursery to Year 6.

How Geography Is Taught: Our Lesson Design

Across the school, geography lessons follow a shared lesson design that provides consistency for pupils while allowing teachers to adapt teaching to meet individual needs.

Lessons typically include:

• Big Picture – pupils understand what they are learning and why it matters

• Revisit – prior geographical knowledge and vocabulary are revisited

• Teach – clear explanation, modelling and use of maps, images or data

• Learning Together – guided discussion, enquiry and supported practice

• Independent Learning – pupils apply their learning independently

• Reflect – pupils review what they have learned and how their understanding has developed

This structure supports strong understanding, long-term memory and confident application of geographical knowledge.

Thinking and Working Like Geographers

Pupils are taught to think like geographers through regular opportunities to:

• ask and refine geographical questions

• investigate places, patterns and processes

• use maps, atlases, globes and digital tools

• analyse data, images and sources

• explain similarities, differences and change over time

Geographical vocabulary is taught explicitly and revisited frequently so pupils can communicate their ideas with accuracy and confidence.

Inclusion and Impact

We are committed to ensuring that all pupils can access and succeed in geography. Teaching is adapted to support individual needs without lowering expectations, and barriers to learning are proactively identified and removed.

The impact of our geography curriculum is seen in pupils’ secure knowledge, confident use of maps and vocabulary, ability to reason geographically, and their growing understanding of how the world works.