Vision Statement and Curriculum Intent

At Stock, we aim to inspire pupils to become curious and explorative thinkers with a diverse knowledge of the world, to allow them to think like a ‘geographer’ and to allow every child to let their light shine. Our geography curriculum provides opportunities for all pupils to develop the confidence to question and observe places, measure and record necessary data in a variety of ways and analyse and present their findings. 

Through high-quality geography teaching, children develop affinity with geography by building an awareness of how geography shapes lives in the present and over time. We want them to become resourceful, active citizens who will have the skills to contribute to and improve the world around them. 

We inspire pupils to aspire by nurturing their curiosity of the world around them, and recognise their actions matter. Children are supported to take pride in their progress, challenge themselves by exploring different perspectives, reflect on ethical issues and develop resilience as they learn new skills.

Through increased awareness alongside meaningful opportunities to observe and present, pupils are supported to achieve, developing the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to grow as geographers. By valuing each child’s perspective, we ensure that all pupils feel valued and empowered to express their views and understanding of the world around them.

Pupils build geographical skills through observing, the collection of data and how to present it. They develop an understanding of the impact we have on the environment and how the environment impacts us. 

The Stock geography curriculum also supports the development of transferable skills, including teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, decision-making and presentational skills. These skills are integral to pupils’ development as learners and have wide application in their lives beyond school.

Implementation

Each class within Keystage 1 and 2 is taught geography once a week for half a term, each term.

Our curriculum is a spiral curriculum model, ensuring that pupils revisit and develop their understanding of key themes and concepts as they progress. This approach allows them to make meaningful connections, reinforce their learning and achieve mastery over time.

Revisiting key concepts – pupils encounter the same ideas multiple times throughout their education, with each revisit adding more complexity.

Progressive depth – concepts are not just repeated but expanded upon, helping pupils to make connections and develop a richer understanding over time.

Knowledge retention – regular exposure to key ideas strengthens memory and prevents knowledge from being forgotten.

Skill development – pupils refine and apply their skills in different contexts, improving their ability to think critically and solve problems.

Adaptive learning – by building on prior knowledge, the curriculum meets pupils at their current level and supports all learners, including those who need extra reinforcement and those who are ready for greater challenges.

Lesson structure

Our geography lessons follow this typical model:

Recap & recall

Each lesson begins with a short activity revisiting prior learning. This helps reinforce key knowledge, activate long-term memory and create connections between past and new learning. Recap and recall activities are varied to keep the start of the lesson engaging and fun while still supporting active recall.

Attention grabber

A short, engaging activity designed to hook pupils into the new learning in the lesson. This could be a thought-provoking question, a quick investigation or an interactive discussion to spark curiosity and enthusiasm for the topic.

Main event

The core part of the lesson, where pupils engage in activities that develop their understanding of the learning objective. This includes a mixture of teacher modelling, guided practice and independent or collaborative tasks tailored to support all learners.

Wrapping up

A final reflective activity that consolidates learning. This could involve reviewing the success criteria, discussing key learning or applying knowledge in a different context to assess understanding and encourage deeper thinking.

Impact

The impact of our geography curriculum is that pupils develop confidence in understanding how their actions impact their environment, to develop a respect for the world around them, enabling them to truly let their light shine. Through rich geography lessons, children build an affinity with geography by developing an awareness of how they can make changes and become a better citizen. They are encouraged to aspire as geographers, developing resilience, curiosity and confidence through their observations and fieldwork. As they progress, pupils achieve by developing secure geographical knowledge, skills and understanding, enabling them to share their knowledge and understanding with confidence, and take pride in themselves and their environment.

Research which underpins our curriculum design

Our geography curriculum fulfils the statutory requirements outlined in the National curriculum (2014) and was created based on the principles outlined in the Ofsted research review series: Getting out bearings, geography subject report 2023.