Geography

At Fishponds CE Primary we follow the Lighthouse Schools Partnership Geography curriculum. The curriculum has been carefully designed to inspire curiosity, broaden horizons and deepen pupils’ understanding of the world around them. It offers a rich, coherent journey from the Early Years Foundation Stage through to Year 6, enabling pupils to build secure geographical knowledge and develop the skills needed to think, speak and work like geographers.

Grounded in the belief that every pupil can achieve, the curriculum equips learners with a strong understanding of diverse places, people, resources, and natural and human environments. As pupils progress, they explore how physical and human processes interact, how landscapes are shaped, and how environments change over time.

Learning is structured around three vertical concepts that grow in sophistication as pupils move through the school:

1. Settlements and Land Use

Pupils explore the places where people live, how settlements develop, and why locations change over time. They develop locational knowledge, interpret maps and photographs, and compare communities in the UK and across the world.

2. Physical Processes

Children investigate the natural forces that shape our planet, including mountains, volcanoes, rivers, earthquakes and the water cycle. They learn how physical processes affect people’s lives and how humans respond to natural events.

3. Environment and Sustainability

Pupils learn about climate zones, biomes and global environmental issues. They explore topics such as the Amazon rainforest, deserts, oceans, energy use and climate change, considering the impact of human actions and how people can protect the planet.

A Clear, Ambitious Route Through the Curriculum

Each year group studies a set of enquiry-led units, such as:

• What is it like at the North and South Poles?
• Why do people choose to live near volcanoes?
• How do earthquakes change the world?
• Why are oceans important?
• How is life different in Jamaica, Northern Italy or the Mojave Desert?

Every unit is built around an enquiry question which pupils answer through carefully sequenced lessons, guided practice and a final outcome such as a presentation, discussion or written piece.

The curriculum ensures:

• Strong progression in substantive knowledge (the facts, concepts and processes of geography).
• Clear development of disciplinary knowledge (how geographers investigate the world).
• Repeated opportunities to build and apply geographical skills in mapping, fieldwork, data interpretation and geographical communication.

High-Quality Teaching and Learning

Teaching across LSP is rooted in Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction. Lessons follow a consistent, evidence-informed approach that includes:

• Clear modelling through I do, we do, you do.
• Purposeful scaffolding and adaptive teaching.
• Frequent checks for understanding.
• Regular opportunities for deliberate practice.

Every lesson begins with retrieval practice to strengthen long‑term memory and build connections across units.

Knowledge organisers support recall throughout each topic, ensuring pupils can revisit and deepen their understanding as they progress.

Assessment and Inclusion

Assessment is used meaningfully and proportionately to check that pupils know more, remember more and can do more. Teachers draw on low-stakes quizzes, lesson activities, end-of-unit outcomes and observation to understand each pupil’s progress.

The curriculum is fully inclusive. Teachers adapt lessons, scaffolds and resources so that all pupils, including those with SEND, can access and succeed within the ambitious curriculum.