Geography

At Brierley, we want children to be curious about the world around them and to understand their place within it. Our Geography curriculum begins with children's immediate surroundings and gradually broadens their horizons from Brierley, Crewe and Cheshire to the United Kingdom, Europe and the wider world. Children learn about places, people and environments and explore the physical and human processes that shape them. They develop the geographical knowledge, vocabulary and practical skills needed to use maps, investigate places, interpret information, carry out fieldwork and explain what they discover. We want children to recognise that places are connected, environments change and the choices people make can have an impact locally and globally.

Strong Foundations from the Beginning

Geographical learning begins as soon as children join Brierley. In the Early Years, children begin by exploring the places and environments that are closest to them. They develop an understanding of their immediate surroundings, their community, weather, seasonal change and places that are special to them. In Reception, this includes learning about where they live, observing weather through the changing seasons, exploring special places around the world and developing observational skills through familiar and local environments. Children learn through first-hand experiences, stories, outdoor exploration, photographs and simple maps. They begin to use positional and directional language, notice human and physical features and talk about similarities and differences between familiar and unfamiliar places. They also begin to draw information from simple maps and create their own representations of places and journeys. These early experiences provide strong foundations for the increasingly detailed locational knowledge, mapwork, fieldwork and geographical enquiry children develop as they move through school.

How We Teach Geography

We want children to learn Geography by exploring, questioning, observing, comparing and making connections. Teachers introduce new geographical knowledge in manageable steps and make clear links with what children have learned before. Maps, atlases, globes, photographs, aerial images, digital mapping, diagrams and geographical data help pupils develop an increasingly detailed understanding of places and processes. Geographical vocabulary is taught explicitly so that children can describe locations, features and processes accurately and confidently. Our teaching follows the principle of I do, we do, you do. Teachers initially model geographical knowledge, thinking and skills clearly, children then practise with support before increasingly applying what they know independently. Whenever possible, children also experience Geography first-hand through observation and fieldwork. We want them to understand that Geography is not simply something found in a book or on a map. It is happening all around them.

Developing Knowledge of Place and Location

A secure knowledge of where places are provides an important framework for understanding Geography. Children begin with places closest to them before gradually developing their knowledge of the United Kingdom and wider world. In Year 1, pupils explore why their town is special, develop their geographical knowledge of Crewe and learn about the United Kingdom and the seaside. Children learn that Crewe is a town in Cheshire, England. They develop their knowledge of the four countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom and the seas surrounding it. In Year 2, children's knowledge of the world widens. They learn about the seven continents and five oceans, the Equator and the North and South Poles. They consider why some parts of the world are hotter or colder than others and compare their own locality with a contrasting location. Our Year 2 curriculum asks children, "How could we improve Brierley and the areas around it?", "Where are the hot and cold places around the world?" and "How does Nairobi compare to where I live?" As pupils move through Key Stage 2, their knowledge becomes increasingly regional and global, helping them understand where new places fit within the wider world.

Human and Physical Geography

Children learn that places are shaped by both natural processes and human activity. Physical geography includes learning about weather, climate, rivers, mountains, coasts, the water cycle, volcanoes, earthquakes, ecosystems and biomes. Human geography explores how and where people live, settlements, land use, economic activity, trade, resources, population and the ways in which people use and change environments. We help children understand that human and physical geography are closely connected. For example, pupils consider why settlements develop in particular locations, how mountains, rivers and coasts can influence people's lives, how climate affects environments and how the availability of natural resources can affect communities. Our aim is for children to move beyond simply identifying geographical features and increasingly explain why they are there, how they have developed and why they matter.

Maps and Geographical Skills

Learning to use maps confidently is an important part of Geography at Brierley. Children's mapping skills develop progressively as they move through school. In the Early Years, pupils encounter simple maps, positional and directional language and journey maps. In Key Stage 1, children use world maps, atlases, globes and aerial photographs. They learn basic compass directions and begin to create their own maps using symbols and simple keys. In Key Stage 2, these skills become increasingly sophisticated. Year 3 pupils develop their use of digital mapping, Ordnance Survey maps and four-figure grid references. Year 4 pupils develop their use of eight-point compass directions, grid references and topographical maps. By Years 5 and 6, pupils use six-figure grid references and interpret increasingly detailed maps, aerial photographs and geographical information.

Children also use digital mapping, including Google Earth, to explore places at different scales and investigate environments that would otherwise be difficult to experience first-hand. We want pupils to see maps as useful tools for answering geographical questions rather than simply pictures of places.

Fieldwork and Geographical Enquiry

Fieldwork is an important part of Geography because it gives children opportunities to investigate real places and collect their own evidence. From the Early Years, pupils observe and describe their surroundings and explore familiar environments.

In Key Stage 1, children develop simple fieldwork skills around school and the local area. They observe, ask questions, carry out surveys, collect information and begin to present what they discover. In Year 2, this is particularly evident through children's investigation of Brierley and the areas around it, where they consider how environments are used and how they might be improved.

As pupils move through Key Stage 2, fieldwork becomes increasingly purposeful and independent. Children may use observations, measurements, maps, photographs, surveys and other forms of geographical data before analysing their findings and drawing conclusions. Our Year 6 curriculum includes a Sustainability and Energy local fieldwork unit, allowing older pupils to draw together geographical knowledge and enquiry skills within a meaningful local context. We want children to understand that geographers do not simply read about places. They observe, collect evidence, ask questions, investigate patterns and use what they discover to build explanations.

Comparing Places and Making Connections

Comparing places helps children understand both what makes somewhere distinctive and what different places have in common. In Key Stage 1, pupils compare familiar places with contrasting environments and begin to explain simple similarities and differences. Year 2 pupils compare where they live with Nairobi, considering both human and physical geography.

As pupils move into Key Stage 2, comparisons become more detailed and evidence based. In Year 3, children explore different types of settlement, including hamlets, villages, towns, cities and megacities. They consider where people live and why, before investigating the Lake District and the impact of tourism. Their curriculum also introduces the Earth's biomes, climate zones and ecosystems. In Year 4, children compare Snowdonia, our nearest mountain range, with the Norwegian Fjords and consider Wales alongside Norway. They develop their understanding of physical processes such as glaciation alongside human features and land use.

We want children to move beyond simply producing lists of similarities and differences. They are encouraged to use geographical evidence to explain why places have developed in particular ways.

Our Local Area and the Wider World

Understanding the wider world begins with understanding where we live. Brierley, Crewe and the wider Cheshire area therefore have an important place within our Geography curriculum. Children learn to look closely at the community around them, considering its buildings, transport links, land use, green spaces and the ways in which people use and shape places.

Younger children explore their school, local environment and community. In Year 1, pupils develop their knowledge of Crewe before placing it within the wider geography of the United Kingdom. Crewe's distinctive transport links and development provide opportunities for children to notice how human geography can shape a place. In Year 2, pupils look even more closely at Brierley and consider how the local environment could be improved before their learning expands to global climate and a comparison with Nairobi.

As children move through school, their horizons continue to broaden, but connections with their locality remain important.

This helps children understand that global Geography is connected with everyday life. Transport, land use, energy, sustainability, weather, resources and environmental change can all be explored at different scales, from the streets around Brierley to places on the other side of the world.

Geography in Our Diverse School Community

Brierley is a diverse school community, with many of our children speaking English as an additional language and families whose languages, experiences and connections reach across different parts of the world. We see this as a strength within Geography. Children may encounter places that connect with their own family experiences as well as places that are completely new to them. This provides meaningful opportunities for pupils to share knowledge, make connections and develop curiosity about the wider world.

Where appropriate, teachers draw on children's geographical knowledge, languages and experiences to enrich discussion and deepen understanding. Maps and globes give us opportunities to explore connections between Crewe and places that are important to families within our school community.

At the same time, we are careful not to expect individual children to represent a particular country, language or culture. Every pupil should have opportunities to discover, question and learn about places beyond their own experience. Our diverse school community helps children see that Brierley is firmly rooted in Crewe while also being connected to a much wider world.

Landscapes and Physical Processes

As pupils move through school, they develop a greater understanding of how landscapes have been formed and how they continue to change. Year 3 children explore the physical geography of the Lake District, including mountains, lakes and rivers.

In Year 4, this develops through the study of Snowdonia and the Norwegian Fjords, including glaciation and the processes that have shaped these landscapes. The Year 4 curriculum also develops pupils' understanding of volcanoes, mountains and earthquakes and asks how movements of tectonic plates can create these features. Children use maps, diagrams, photographs, models and geographical vocabulary to understand processes that may take place over very long periods of time. We want pupils to recognise that the landscapes they see today have a history and continue to be shaped by natural processes and human activity.

Land Use, Settlements and How People Shape Places

Children progressively develop their understanding of why people live where they do and how land is used. In Year 3, pupils learn about different types of settlement and consider how physical geography can influence where settlements develop. Year 4 children look more closely at land use within the United Kingdom and consider how climate, topography, resources and human need can influence how different areas are used. Their long-term plan specifically asks, "How does the UK use its land?"

As children become older, they consider increasingly complex relationships between settlement, economic activity, resources, transport and the environment. This prepares them to explore large urban areas such as Manaus in Year 6 and understand why cities develop where they do.

Coasts, Rivers and Water

In Year 5, pupils develop a deeper understanding of water and the way it shapes places and people's lives. Children investigate the United Kingdom's coastline, coastal processes and erosion. They consider how changing coastlines can affect settlements and how people may respond to those changes. They also explore the relationship between coastlines and human activity, including trade and the economic importance of ports.

The water cycle provides another important area of study. Children develop their understanding of rivers, water movement and distribution and begin to consider why access to water can vary between places. Our Year 5 long-term plan includes the questions "How does our coastline affect human activity?" and "Why is the water cycle important?" alongside a regional study of North America. We want children to see water not simply as a physical feature but as something that influences environments, settlements, economies and people's everyday lives.

South America, Sustainability and Global Connections

In Year 6, children's learning brings together increasingly complex human and physical Geography. Pupils undertake a regional study of South America, including Brazil and Manaus. They develop their knowledge of the Amazon Rainforest and Amazon River alongside climate, biomes, environmental regions, population, settlements and economic activity.

Children consider what makes Manaus distinctive and how its geographical location influences the opportunities and challenges faced by the people who live there. They also explore urbanisation, migration, population distribution and the relationships between people, resources and the natural environment.

In Year 6 we look at "What makes Manaus unique?" and considers the impact of time on trade and global working before pupils undertake their Sustainability and Energy local fieldwork unit.

Environmental issues such as deforestation, natural resources, sustainability and energy give children opportunities to consider how choices made in one place can affect people and environments elsewhere. We want pupils to leave Brierley understanding that our world is interconnected and that Geography helps us make sense of some of the opportunities and challenges facing people and the planet.

Revisiting and Remembering

We know that important geographical knowledge needs to be revisited if children are to remember it and use it confidently. Geography lessons regularly begin with a short Flashback activity, giving pupils opportunities to retrieve previous learning, revisit key vocabulary and make connections with what they are learning now.

Termly revisit opportunities allow children to return to important knowledge and skills, strengthen understanding and address any gaps or misconceptions. Key geographical ideas are revisited in increasingly complex contexts. Children's early understanding of place, weather and simple maps develops into increasingly sophisticated learning about climate, settlements, landscapes, resources, environmental processes and global connections.

Geographical skills are revisited too. Children repeatedly use maps, compass directions, grid references, photographs, data and fieldwork so that these skills become increasingly secure and independent.

Our teaching follows the principle of I do, We do, You do. Teachers initially model new geographical knowledge and skills clearly, children then practise with support before increasingly applying them independently. Questioning, discussion, maps, retrieval, fieldwork and geographical data help teachers understand what children remember and where learning needs further strengthening.

A Sequenced Curriculum

Our Geography curriculum is carefully planned from the Early Years through to Year 6 so that both geographical knowledge and skills build progressively. In the Early Years, children begin with their immediate environment, weather, familiar places, positional language and simple maps. In Year 1, learning develops through Brierley and Crewe, the United Kingdom and the seaside. In Year 2, children investigate their local area before widening their knowledge to continents, oceans, hot and cold places and a comparison with Nairobi.

In Year 3, pupils explore settlements, the Lake District, biomes, climate zones and ecosystems. Year 4 develops regional comparison, land use and physical processes through the North West, Snowdonia, the Norwegian Fjords, volcanoes, mountains and earthquakes. Year 5 develops children's understanding of coasts, erosion, the water cycle, water distribution and North America. Year 6 brings together global Geography, human and physical processes, sustainability and fieldwork through the study of South America, Manaus and the local Sustainability and Energy enquiry.

Alongside this knowledge, geographical skills develop from simple observation and mapping to confident use of digital maps, Ordnance Survey maps, compass directions, four and six-figure grid references, fieldwork and increasingly complex geographical data. This allows teachers to understand what pupils have learned before, what they need to learn now and what their learning is preparing them for next.

Supporting Every Child

Geography is for every child. We have high expectations while carefully considering the barriers individual pupils may experience. For pupils who are learning English as an additional language, Geography can provide particularly valuable opportunities to develop language through maps, photographs, diagrams, objects, fieldwork and discussion.

Teachers explicitly teach and revisit geographical vocabulary and support children to connect new words with visual and practical experiences. Where appropriate, children's home languages, geographical knowledge and experiences are valued as strengths that can support learning and enrich classroom discussion.

Support for pupils may also include pre-teaching vocabulary, visual representations, physical models, additional modelling, structured questions or breaking a complex geographical process into smaller steps. Teachers may provide additional support when pupils are interpreting maps or data, before gradually reducing this as children's confidence develops.

Practical fieldwork, photographs, diagrams and first-hand experiences can make abstract geographical ideas more accessible for all learners.

Pupils who are secure in their learning are encouraged to make deeper connections, analyse evidence, explain patterns and consider geographical questions from different perspectives. Our aim is always to remove barriers while maintaining ambitious geographical learning for every child.

Assessment and Feedback

Assessment happens throughout Geography lessons. Teachers use questioning, discussion, Flashbacks, children's work, maps, fieldwork and geographical enquiries to understand what pupils know and can do. We consider whether children can recall important locational and place knowledge, use geographical vocabulary accurately, interpret maps and information, make comparisons and explain human and physical processes. We also look at children's ability to apply geographical skills. This includes fieldwork, compass directions, mapping, grid references, interpreting data and drawing conclusions from evidence.

Feedback during learning allows teachers to address misconceptions, revisit important knowledge or provide further challenge. The purpose of assessment is to understand what children know, what they can do and what geographical learning they need next.

Geography Beyond the Classroom

We want children to experience Geography beyond the classroom. The area around Brierley and Crewe provides an important resource for geographical learning. Children can investigate buildings, roads, transport, land use, green spaces and how people use and change the local environment.

Our limited school grounds do not restrict children's geographical experiences. We make use of the opportunities available within our local community and beyond the school site. Our Forest School area at the nearby Cumberland Arena gives children further opportunities to explore an outdoor environment, observe seasonal and environmental change and apply geographical skills first-hand. Fieldwork encourages children to slow down and notice places they may see every day, asking questions such as why something is located there, how an area is used, how it has changed and whether it could be improved.

As children become older, local fieldwork connects with increasingly complex ideas about settlements, land use, transport, resources, sustainability and environmental change. We want children to understand that they do not have to travel to the other side of the world to be geographers. Geography begins outside our own front door.

How You Can Help Your Child at Home

Families can help children develop geographical curiosity in very simple ways.

You can help your child by:

• looking at maps together before or during journeys

• encouraging them to notice landmarks, road signs and different types of buildings

• talking about Brierley, Crewe, Cheshire and the country in which they live

• discussing places you have visited or where family members live

• using a globe or world map to locate places mentioned in books, television or the news

• talking about countries or places that are important to your family

• sharing words for places, weather or geographical features in home languages where appropriate

• noticing changes in weather and the seasons

• encouraging children to use compass directions

• looking at rivers, hills, coastlines and other physical features when visiting new places

• comparing photographs or maps of places from different times

• discussing how people can look after their local environment

• encouraging older children to notice how places are connected through transport, trade and communication

A walk around your local area can provide lots of opportunities for geographical conversation. Questions such as "Why do you think that is here?", "What has changed?" or "How is this place different from somewhere else we know?" can encourage children to think like geographers.

Useful Geography Resources

Families may find the following resources useful for exploring Geography together.

Ordnance Survey MapZone provides games and activities designed to help children develop map-reading skills, including compass directions, symbols, grid references and scale.

Ordnance Survey MapZone https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education/discover-mapzone

Google Earth allows children to explore their own community and travel virtually to places across the world.

Explore Google Earth https://earth.google.com/

BBC Bitesize provides Geography resources for primary-aged children covering places, environments, mapping and human and physical Geography.

BBC Bitesize Geography https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zbkw2hv

Ordnance Survey also provides activities and resources for developing children's map skills.

Ordnance Survey Education https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education

Most importantly, we want children to remain curious about places. Maps, journeys, walks, weather, holidays and even the route to school can all become opportunities to explore Geography together.

Knowing Our Curriculum Is Working

We work closely with staff to make sure that the curriculum remains ambitious, coherent and progressive. Children's work, assessment information, discussions with pupils, lesson visits, fieldwork and curriculum monitoring help us understand how securely children are learning and remembering Geography. We consider both what children know about places, people and geographical processes and how confidently they can use the skills of a geographer.

This includes whether pupils can use maps and geographical vocabulary, locate places, make connections, interpret evidence, explain human and physical processes and carry out increasingly independent geographical enquiry. We also consider whether children can draw on previous learning when they encounter a new place or geographical issue.

We want to know not simply that children have completed a Geography topic, but that they have developed knowledge they can remember, connect and use.

Curious and Confident Geographers

By the time children leave Brierley, we want them to have a secure sense of where they are in the world and a curiosity about places beyond their own experience. We want pupils to use maps confidently, ask thoughtful geographical questions, investigate places carefully and understand how people and the natural world influence one another. We want them to appreciate what makes Brierley, Crewe and the wider Cheshire area distinctive while also understanding that they are part of a much wider and interconnected world.

We want children to value the different geographical experiences, languages and connections represented within our own school community and recognise that these help make Brierley part of a wider world. We want children to recognise that Geography is relevant to their lives, from the weather outside their window and the route they take to school to global questions about resources, sustainability and environmental change.

Most importantly, we want every child to believe that they can explore, question and understand the world around them. We aim to develop knowledgeable, curious and responsible young geographers who are ready for the next stage of their education and excited to discover more about the world in which they live.