Geography

“Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed forever”

Psalm 104:5

Aims:

The national curriculum for geography aims to ensure that all pupils:

Know about places – develop knowledge of significant places in the UK and the wider world, including their physical and human features.
Understand processes – learn how physical and human processes shape places and environments, and how they change over time.
Use geographical skills – collect and interpret data through fieldwork, use maps and other sources, and communicate findings in different ways.

Our Intent:
At Our Lady of Walsingham, we believe that geography inspires curiosity, understanding, and care for God’s world. Guided by our mission — “With Christ as our light, we love, learn and shine with excellence” — our geography curriculum encourages pupils to explore the beauty, diversity, and complexity of the Earth and to recognise their role as responsible stewards of creation. Through the Opening Worlds programme, we provide a knowledge-rich and carefully sequenced geography curriculum that enables all pupils to:
Know and understand places and environments – Develop secure knowledge of the world’s significant places, landscapes, people, and environments, and understand how these change and connect over time.
Think geographically – Build disciplinary understanding by asking questions, analysing evidence, interpreting maps, and communicating geographical information clearly.
Make meaningful connections – Understand the links between physical and human geography and how people’s actions affect the world, promoting respect, sustainability, and global awareness.
Grow in vocabulary and confidence – Strengthen geographical and general vocabulary, empowering pupils to speak and write about their learning with precision and confidence.
Shine with excellence – Approach geography with curiosity, creativity, and compassion, showing care for others and for God’s creation as they grow into informed, responsible global citizens.

Our Guiding Principles:

These guiding principles shape how we plan, teach, and nurture a love of geography across our school:

Christ at the Centre - Our teaching of geography reflects our Catholic faith and Gospel values. We help pupils to see the world as God’s creation — to wonder at its beauty, respect its diversity, and take responsibility for its care. We encourage compassion, stewardship, and a sense of justice for all people and places.
Knowledge-Rich and Coherent - Through the Opening Worlds programme, we deliver a geography curriculum that is ambitious, cumulative, and carefully sequenced. Each unit builds on prior learning, helping children to make meaningful connections across places, times, and themes, and to deepen their understanding of how the world works.
Vocabulary and Literacy at the Heart - We explicitly teach the language of geography. Building a strong, shared vocabulary allows pupils to think and talk like geographers — to reason, describe, and explain with confidence. Reading and writing are woven through the curriculum, supporting oracy and literacy development.
Curiosity and Enquiry - We foster curiosity about the world and promote geographical thinking. Children ask questions, investigate evidence, use maps and fieldwork, and learn to interpret data and sources critically. We want our pupils to be active learners who think deeply and ask “why” and “how”.
Inclusion and Equity - Every child is entitled to access the full richness of geography. The Opening Worlds curriculum ensures that all pupils, regardless of background or need, experience success through well-structured knowledge, clear language development, and inclusive teaching practices.
Local to Global Connections - We start with our local area - Liverpool - before expanding pupils’ understanding to the wider UK, Europe, and the world. This helps children to appreciate their place within God’s creation and to understand how local and global communities are interconnected.