Geography

Projects for 2025 - 26

Geography at Sunshine Academy

At Sunshine Academy, we are guided by the National Curriculum for Geography (2014).

At Sunshine, we believe that Geography is a key part of children’s wider education and important in the development of their knowledge of the world around them.

We teach Geography in discrete weekly lessons on a half termly basis, alternating with History. All children are provided with opportunities to develop a good understanding of their local area and the environment in which we live in, recognising the importance of the facilities we have around us. Through projects the children learn about our locality and discover what makes our area different to areas both in other UK destinations and around the world. They explore their wider world establishing a foundational knowledge and curiosity of the world from which to build on in KS2.

We provide an engaging and informative Geography curriculum that gives children a rich and varied knowledge of the world. All of our children will begin to learn about a range of locations and habitats both close to home and outside of the UK. Children will gain key geographic skills such as map reading skills and directional knowledge. Children will also be aware of both human and physical characteristics a range of locations and are encouraged to build their curiosity of both their local area and worldwide locations. At Sunshine, we aim to provide opportunities for real life experiences and learn about Geography in an active and creative way. Links to History, Science and other subjects are also explored to make links within their learning. Teachers plan lessons to ensure the learning teaches the children the skills and knowledge they need to begin their Geographical journey.

In Early Years, the children learn Geography through Understanding the World. The children access Geography through their play and through adult led activities for a range of topics across the year, as well as in weekly circle time discussions. They build the necessary skills for their future learning in Geography through inquisitive play, open ended activities, opportunities for discussion, exploration and questioning and through hands on, real life experiences.

The National Curriculum for history aims to ensure that all pupils:

Know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world.
Know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind.
Gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’.
Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses.
Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.

Within KS1 pupils should be taught to:

Locational knowledge

name and locate the world’s seven continents and five oceans
name, locate and identify characteristics of the four countries and capital cities of the

United Kingdom and its surrounding seas

Place knowledge

understand geographical similarities and differences through studying the human and physical geography of a small area of the United Kingdom, and of a small area in a contrasting non-European country

Human and physical geography

identify seasonal and daily weather patterns in the United Kingdom and the location of hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the Equator and the North and South Poles
use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to:
key physical features, including: beach, cliff, coast, forest, hill, mountain, sea, ocean, river, soil, valley, vegetation, season and weather
key human features, including: city, town, village, factory, farm, house, office, port, harbour and shop

Geographical skills and fieldwork

use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents and oceans studied at this key stage
use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language [for example, near and far; left and right], to describe the location of features and routes on a map
use aerial photographs and plan perspectives to recognise landmarks and basic human and physical features; devise a simple map; and use and construct basic symbols in a key
use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of their school and its grounds and the key human and physical features of its surrounding environment.