‘Geography is the subject which holds the key to our future.’ 

Michael Palin

As a school we believe our geography curriculum should instill the excitement, creativity and critical thinking about the world that will equip young people to make their own way and flourish in it beyond High Halden.
Geography focuses on the physical and human features of the planet we live on. At High Halden Church of England Primary School, we establish key knowledge of the United Kingdom, whilst also learning how to describe the earth and acquire an in-depth understanding of world geography. 

Early Years implements geography through ‘Understanding the World’. As the location of the school is within a rural setting, we believe it is vital to expose children to their local geography, whilst also exploring the differences between High Halden and larger UK cities, such as London. Children in Early Years explore simple maps of their local area and begin to understand how things can be viewed from above through taking photos and drawing their own maps. Once they have this foundation, children in Early Years explore contrasting global areas such as jungles and Antarctica. 

In Key Stage One, pupils explore the seven continents and five oceans. They begin to acquire information from globes and maps, using this to draw their own examples of the local area using symbols in a key. Attending a school in a rural area with easy access to the local village, enables children to undertake fieldwork to develop geographical skills such as data collection, interpretation of geographical sources and communication of geographical information. In Year 2, pupils begin to make comparisons between their knowledge of the UK and a variety of areas across the globe, focussing specifically on Europe, using ambitious geographical vocabulary to describe their observations of key physical and human features in the places they study. 

In Key Stage Two,  children build upon the key concepts and knowledge acquired in Key Stage One, deepening their understanding of places in and around the UK. They will locate counties and cities of the United Kingdom, identify human and physical characteristics of regions and recognise topographical features such as mountains and rivers. Children will make links with their historical enquiry skills, to consider how places and spaces have developed over time and the causes of this. Pupils will study areas further afield such as South America, China and Australia. These studies will contribute to a well-rounded understanding of significant places and equip pupils with the essential knowledge required to participate fully in society. 

This document shows the Geography curriculum coverage and progression at High Halden. As a school we have more in depth documents which detail the essential knowledge and skills children are expected to acquire by the end of each unit of work.