Geography
Exploring our world, discovering new places and inspiring curious minds!
At Oxley Primary School, we want our children to become curious, knowledgeable and thoughtful geographers who are excited to explore the world around them. From discovering the features of our own school grounds to investigating fascinating places across the globe, our Geography curriculum encourages children to ask questions, make connections and develop a deeper understanding of the wonderful world we share.
Our Geography curriculum follows the Kapow Primary mixed-age scheme, providing an exciting, enquiry-led approach to learning. Carefully planned units build children's geographical knowledge, understanding and skills as they progress through school, ensuring that each new topic builds upon what they have already discovered.
Bringing Geography to Life
We believe Geography is about much more than locating places on a map. It is about understanding what makes places special, how people live, why environments change and how our actions can influence the world around us.
Our curriculum develops children's learning through four important areas: locational knowledge, place knowledge, human and physical geography, and geographical skills and fieldwork.
Children begin by exploring familiar places and gradually broaden their horizons to investigate contrasting environments, cultures and communities across the world. Through engaging geographical enquiries, they learn to compare places, recognise patterns, consider different perspectives and explain their findings using increasingly sophisticated geographical vocabulary.
Our Geographical Journey
In Key Stage 1, children begin their geographical adventures close to home. They explore their school and local surroundings, create simple maps, investigate weather patterns across the UK and discover the features of our beautiful coastlines. These early experiences help children understand where they live and develop an awareness of the wider world.
As children move into Lower Key Stage 2, their geographical horizons expand. They investigate life in Antarctica, explore different types of settlements and discover how rivers shape our landscapes and influence the lives of the people who live nearby. Children develop their mapping skills and begin to understand the relationships between people, places and environments.
In Upper Key Stage 2, children tackle increasingly challenging geographical questions. They explore life in the Alps, investigate the challenges of living in desert environments and discover where our energy comes from. Wider enquiries also encourage children to consider population change, migration, oceans and sustainability, helping them understand some of the important issues facing our planet.
Throughout their time at Oxley, children are encouraged to think critically, recognise that places are constantly changing and understand how the natural world and human activity are closely connected.
Learning Beyond the Classroom
Fieldwork is an important and exciting part of Geography at Oxley. We want children to experience what it really means to be a geographer by getting outside, exploring their surroundings and investigating geographical questions for themselves.
From observing features of our school grounds to collecting and presenting information about the local environment, children develop practical skills that become increasingly sophisticated as they move through school.
They learn to use maps, atlases, aerial photographs, compasses and digital mapping tools, alongside opportunities to gather evidence through observations, measurements, surveys and photographs.
As children grow in confidence, they become more independent in planning investigations, collecting information, interpreting results and presenting their findings. These experiences help them understand that Geography is not simply something we learn about in books; it is happening all around us.
Caring for Our World
An important part of our Geography curriculum is helping children recognise the relationship between people and the environment. Through learning about climate change, natural resources, population, sustainability and the impact of human activity, children begin to appreciate both the beauty and the challenges of our changing planet.
We encourage thoughtful discussions, respect for different cultures and communities, and an understanding that the choices we make can have an impact locally and globally.
Our Oxley values of ‘Be Kind’, ‘Be Brilliant’ and ‘Have an I can attitude’ are reflected in the way children approach their geographical learning. We encourage them to be inquisitive, open-minded and responsible, recognising that everyone has a part to play in caring for our world.
By the time children leave Oxley in Year 6, we want them to have developed a secure understanding of the world's diverse places, people and environments, alongside the confidence to investigate geographical questions independently.
Above all, we want our children to leave Oxley as young geographers who are curious about the world, respectful of its diversity and inspired to make a positive difference to its future.