Geography Intent Statement Thirsk  

Community Primary School 

At Thirsk Community Primary School, our Geography curriculum aims to inspire curious, ambitious, and compassionate learners with a broad and diverse knowledge of the world—empowering them to think like geographers. Rooted in our school values of ambition, compassion, and inclusion, our curriculum encourages pupils to explore the relationships between people, places, and environments at multiple scales and over time. 

We want our pupils to develop the confidence to observe and question their surroundings, particularly within our local area of Thirsk and North Yorkshire, where they can make real-world connections through purposeful, relevant learning. Children are taught to measure and record data in a variety of ways, and to analyse and present their findings effectively, preparing them to become thoughtful, informed, and active global citizens. 

Our Geography curriculum is underpinned by a strong emphasis on vocabulary and oracy, enabling pupils to articulate their understanding with precision and confidence. Subject-specific vocabulary is explicitly taught and revisited, while structured discussion opportunities are built into every unit to strengthen pupils’ ability to explain, reason and debate geographical ideas. 

To support all learners, we embed visible learning strategies across all lessons. Techniques such as dual coding, worked examples, retrieval practice, and knowledge organisers help to reduce cognitive load and ensure that children can organise and retain both substantive geographical knowledge (place, scale, interdependence, space, physical and human processes, cultural diversity and awareness, environmental impact and sustainable development) and disciplinary knowledge (question, observe, measure, record, present). These strategies foster inclusive access for all pupils, supporting those with additional needs while stretching and challenging higher attainers. 

Our curriculum: 

• Develops both geographical skills and knowledge progressively across all year groups. 
• Promotes critical thinking through enquiry-led learning and perceptive questioning. 
• Fosters the development of fieldwork skills in a range of real-world contexts, including regular exploration of our local environment in Thirsk. 
• Encourages pupils to develop a deep interest in and understanding of their locality, and how it compares to other areas in the UK and beyond. 
• Strengthens understanding of geographical concepts, terms, and vocabulary, through a systematic, language-rich approach. 

The Geography curriculum at Thirsk Community Primary School is aligned with the National Curriculum and supports pupils to confidently meet end-of-key-stage expectations. In the EYFS, geography learning is shaped by the ‘Understanding the World’ strand of the Early Learning Goals and Development Matters statements. Our foundation stage provides meaningful opportunities for children to explore the world around them, laying the groundwork for further geographical learning in Key Stage 1. 

Through this intent, we aim to develop pupils who are inquisitive, informed, and engaged, ready to make a positive impact on the world around them with knowledge, empathy, and purpose. 

Geography  Implementation Statement Thirsk Community Primary School 

At Thirsk Community Primary School, our Geography curriculum is carefully structured to ensure all pupils access a broad, ambitious, and inclusive programme of study. Following the Kapow Primary scheme of work, our curriculum is designed around the four National Curriculum strands: 

• Locational Knowledge 
• Place Knowledge 
• Human and Physical Geography 
• Geographical Skills and Fieldwork 

These strands are embedded through a spiral curriculum, where essential geographical knowledge and disciplinary skills are revisited and deepened over time, ensuring children retain and build upon previous learning.  

Our commitment to ambition is reflected in the progressive development of substantive and disciplinary knowledge across all year groups. Every lesson is underpinned by high expectations for all pupils and is structured to ensure accessibility, challenge, and purpose.  

We explicitly teach and prioritise vocabulary and oracy as key tools for thinking and learning in Geography. Each unit introduces and reinforces key geographical terms, enabling pupils to talk like geographers, articulate their thinking confidently, and engage in meaningful discussion. Oracy is developed through structured opportunities for questioning, reasoning, debate, and reflection. 

We embrace our local context by celebrating the geography of Thirsk and North Yorkshire. Pupils are regularly given opportunities to study their immediate environment and apply key geographical concepts and techniques to purposeful, real-world learning. Local fieldwork, mapping, and comparative studies build pupils’ understanding of place and change over time. These experiences strengthen their sense of identity and connection to their community and the wider world. 

To promote inclusion and reduce cognitive overload, we apply a wide range of visible learning strategies throughout our Geography curriculum. These include knowledge organisers, and retrieval practice—tools which help pupils organise, retain, and connect learning in manageable steps.  

From the EYFS, where children begin their learning through Development Matters and the Early Learning Goals, through to Year 6, enquiry-led teaching is used to guide pupils’ thinking. Open-ended questions encourage pupils to investigate, explore, and respond thoughtfully to complex geographical ideas. Our fieldwork cycle—question, observe, measure, record, and present—is introduced early and revisited regularly, developing pupils’ competence and independence in conducting geographical enquiries. 

Fieldwork opportunities range from school-based explorations to larger-scale local visits. By beginning in familiar spaces and gradually expanding outward, children grow in confidence, compassion for others, and the ability to evaluate different places and perspectives. These experiences foster critical thinking, empathy, and environmental awareness. 

Teachers are supported through clear planning, step-by-step resources, and CPD opportunities—including expert videos—ensuring they can deliver content with confidence and subject-specific expertise. 

Our implementation ensures that all pupils are given the tools, knowledge, and mindset to become informed, thoughtful, and active global citizens, with the curiosity and skills to shape the world around them. 

Geography  Impact Statement Thirsk Community Primary School 

At Thirsk Community Primary School, the impact of our Geography curriculum is reflected in the confidence, curiosity, and global awareness of our pupils. Through our commitment to ambition, we aim for all children to achieve highly and leave primary school equipped with a rich body of knowledge and a range of disciplinary skills that allow them to transition to Key Stage 3 as independent, critical geographers. 

Pupils develop the ability to compare and contrast human and physical features, describe key processes such as climate and natural disasters, and evaluate the interconnectedness of human and physical geography. They are able to confidently locate, explain and apply key concepts including biomes, water cycles, trade, natural resources, and population distribution using maps, digital technology, and fieldwork skills. These concepts are consistently linked to our local context of Thirsk and North Yorkshire, helping pupils to deeply understand their immediate environment and its relationship to regional, national and global patterns. 

As a school that values compassion, we our pupils care for and protect both their local and global environments. Our curriculum provides opportunities for children to reflect on the human impact on the environment, both positive and negative, and to consider ethical, sustainable choices. 

We use a robust model of Assessment for Learning (AfL) to measure the impact of our teaching. Teachers continually assess pupils’ understanding through: 

Live marking and questioning 

• Retrieval practice 
• Low-stakes quizzes 
• Vocabulary recall 
• Pupil explanations and presentations 

Each Kapow unit includes a unit quiz and knowledge catcher, used formatively at the start and summatively at the end, to assess conceptual understanding and skill progression. Children also showcase their learning through independent enquiries, enabling teachers to assess their ability to collect, interpret, and present data using a range of methodologies. 

Progress in geography is tracked through our foundation subject tracking system, which captures whether pupils are working towards, meeting, or exceeding age-related expectations. Monitoring includes book looks, pupil voice discussions, and learning walks, led by subject leaders to ensure consistency, ambition, and progression across the school. 

Expected Outcomes 

By the end of their geography journey at Thirsk Community Primary School, pupils will: 

• Have a secure and broad understanding of key geographical concepts and processes 
• Demonstrate confident use of geographical vocabulary and oracy 
• Show a strong sense of place, particularly in relation to Thirsk and North Yorkshire, and how it compares with other regions 
• Be able to design, conduct, and evaluate fieldwork investigations 
• Understand spatial positioning, including the use of latitude, longitude, hemispheres, time zones and compass directions 
• Be able to draw and interpret maps, graphs and digital data sources 
• Develop the compassionate awareness to consider their role in a sustainable future 
• Meet or exceed the Early Learning Goals for ‘Understanding the World’ in EYFS and all National Curriculum end-of-key-stage expectations by the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 

In short, our pupils leave us as ambitious, compassionate and inclusive geographers, with a love for their local landscape and a readiness to explore and understand the world beyond.