Geography Intent – What We Aspire for Our Children

At Green Park Community Primary School, our Geography curriculum is designed to spark curiosity and deepen our children’s understanding of the world—both right here in our school and in the wider community and beyond. We want every child to explore and appreciate the physical features of the Earth, as well as the human elements that shape our local and global environments. Our aim is to empower our pupils to become informed global citizens. By nurturing the skills they need to navigate a rapidly changing world, we help them recognise the importance of sustainability, care for the planet, and the value of their own heritage—especially in a unique place like Dover, where local history and identity are celebrated. Through engaging fieldwork and hands-on investigations, children learn to use geographical skills to explore places across Britain and abroad, building their locational knowledge and a deep understanding of the world around them.

Geography Implementation – Bringing Our World to Life in the Classroom

At Green Park, our children follow a carefully structured, ambitious, and engaging Geography curriculum designed to ensure they know more, remember more, and can do more as they progress through school. The curriculum is built around four Golden Threads:
• Physical – understanding the natural features of our world.
• Environmental – exploring how natural and human activities interact.
• Human – examining the people, cultures, and societies that shape places.
• The World – looking at our global interconnections and the broader context of our local experiences.

Our journey in Geography begins in the Early Years, where children start to explore their immediate surroundings, talk about places they have visited, and observe similarities and differences in the natural world. In Key Stages 1 and 2, this learning is extended as children delve into the features of their locality, the wider world, and the diverse peoples and environments that make it so fascinating.

We have designed our curriculum using National Curriculum content, enriched with themes chosen to inspire, challenge, and engage. It is taught in focused blocks, ensuring comprehensive coverage and meaningful engagement. Our detailed schemes of learning support continuity and progression, all underpinned by quality-first and adaptive teaching practices. Hands-on experiences, field trips, investigations, and enquiries are integral to our approach, with learning enhanced by a range of innovative resources such as maps, Google Earth, globes, floor maps, Enrich orienteering activities, and iPads. Our curriculum is informed by the latest research and undergoes regular reviews and updates to remain both relevant and effective.

Geography Impact – The Difference It Makes for Our Children

The impact of our Geography curriculum is evident in the way our children understand and interact with the world around them. At Green Park, we are proud that our pupils develop:
• A robust knowledge of where places are and what makes them unique.
• An understanding of how places are interdependent and interconnected.
• Insight into the relationship between human activities and physical environments.
• An extensive base of geographical vocabulary and conceptual knowledge.
• The ability to draw informed conclusions and develop reasoned arguments based on their findings.
• A passion for, and commitment to, the subject—along with a real curiosity about the world and its people.
• The capacity to express well-balanced opinions grounded in solid knowledge and understanding of both contemporary and global issues.

Our children’s achievements in Geography support their overall progress throughout their primary journey. We continually observe and assess learning against our curriculum end points, using this information to plan next steps that both challenge and consolidate their skills. The impact of our curriculum is further measured through celebratory displays of learning, active pupil discussions (Pupil Voice), and robust internal monitoring by our SLT and Geography Team.

By the time they leave Green Park Community Primary School, our children possess a deep, confident understanding of the world in which they live. They have developed excellent locational knowledge, can identify both the physical and human features of places, and are sensitive to the challenges we face globally. Embracing our Rights Respecting and Global Goals culture, they are well-equipped to engage with wider geographical debates and to become the thoughtful, informed citizens of tomorrow.