What we teach

At Uplands Infant School, our Geography curriculum is designed to build children’s cultural capital through our curriculum drivers, the National Curriculum, and the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework. We aim to inspire curiosity about the world and develop a strong sense of place.

Through engaging, hands-on experiences, children explore:

Their local environment
Different places around the world
Key geographical concepts such as maps, weather, and human and physical features

Our curriculum helps pupils understand how places and people are connected, recognise patterns in the world around them, and develop pride in their local community while appreciating the wider world beyond.

“A high-quality geography education should inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.”
— Department for Education

Revised January 2026

How we teach it

Our Geography curriculum is organised around three key concepts:

1. Weather

2. Investigate places using Locational and Place Knowledge

3.Maps

Learning takes place through practical, creative, and exploratory activities such as storytelling, map work, outdoor learning, and discussions. Geography is integrated into everyday learning, making it meaningful and accessible for all children.

Lessons are adapted to meet the needs of all learners, including those with SEND, through inclusive strategies and differentiated outcomes. Teachers use high-quality questioning, oracy, and sentence stems to support and extend learning for every child.

In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), children explore their immediate environment and begin to recognise human and physical features through play, local walks, stories, continuous provision and map-based activities. This child-centred approach encourages curiosity, questioning, and early geographical thinking, laying the foundation for future learning.

In Key Stage 1, children build on this foundation by developing map skills, recognising human and physical features, identifying weather patterns, and locating continents and oceans. They begin to understand how people and places are linked, both locally and globally.

Revised January 2026

What pupils have learnt

By the end of Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) children will be able to:

Describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps.
Know some similarities and differences between different religious and cultural communities in this country, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.
Explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, drawing on knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts and – when appropriate – maps.
Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.

By the end of Key Stage 1, children demonstrate:

A growing awareness of the world around them
The ability to use geographical vocabulary with confidence
An understanding of how people and places are connected

Through early geographical experiences, pupils develop curiosity, confidence, and a lasting interest in exploring their world. Geography at Uplands Infant School enables children to develop a strong sense of community, respect for diversity, and a secure foundation for future geographical learning.

Revised January 2026

Long Term Plan

Mid Term Plan

Progression

British Values

Geography Long Term Plan

Geography Medium Term Plan

Geography Progression of Skills

British Values

In Class learning 2025-2026

Weather

Pre Nursery/Nursery

Reception

Year 1

Year 2

Nursery

In Nursery, the children have been using all of their senses to explore how the leaves change as autumn arrives. They have noticed the colourful leaves and the crunchy textures. It was great fun to make snow angels, sweep the leaves, collect leaves in the wheel barrow and toss them into the air and watch how they fall. (covered through the Science Curriculum)

In Reception, the children have been exploring how the weather and seasons change throughout the year. They have been noticing the cooler temperatures, the different clothes we wear, and the ways nature on our school grounds transforms around us. Through hands‑on experiences—such as throwing leaves, investigating their colours and textures, and observing how they fall—children have enjoyed discovering the signs of autumn and developing their understanding of seasonal change.

(covered through the Science Curriculum).

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The children began by identifying the key features of hot and cold places, creating a class mind map to gather their ideas. They then compared two contrasting locations—Kenya and Antarctica—by sorting facts and pictures into a Venn diagram. This helped them spot similarities and differences while deepening their understanding of how climate affects each place. It was an engaging, hands‑on session that strengthened their geographical knowledge.

Investigate Places using Locational and Place Knowledge

Pre Nursery/Nursery

Reception

Year 1

Year 2

Pre-Nursery

Our pre‑nursery children have been exploring their classroom and outdoor areas with curiosity, noticing what’s around them and learning through real experiences. Through play, they are beginning to act out familiar moments from their everyday lives, helping them make sense of the world in a joyful and meaningful way.

Our Reception children enjoyed a walk around the local area, spotting shops, different types of houses, trees, bushes and important places like the post office and the doctor’s surgery. They loved noticing the features of their community and talking about what they saw. It was a wonderful way to bring their learning to life!

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The children practised reciting the names of the seven continents and five oceans, using songs to help them remember key facts and characteristics. They then explored the world using Google Earth, locating each continent and ocean in real time. This interactive approach helped deepen their geographical understanding and made global learning exciting and memorable.

The children learned to locate the seven continents on a world map, using atlases and globes to support their understanding. They carefully coloured and labelled each continent, helping them remember their names and positions. Finally, the class ordered the continents from largest to smallest, strengthening their sense of scale and global geography. It was a focused and engaging map‑skills session.

Maps

Pre Nursery/Nursery

Reception

Year 1

Year 2

Nursery

In Nursery, the children have been enjoying exploring familiar places through play. Using small-world resources and construction materials, they’ve been creating homes, towers and environments inspired by the places they are familiar with.

Through continuous provision, the children are beginning to understand how spaces are organised, while developing their language, collaboration skills, and independence — including carefully tidying away resources after playing.

Our Reception children have been exploring the wonderful world of maps! We’ve been learning how colours help us understand places — blue shows water, and green shows land. The children enjoyed spotting these features on different maps and talking about where we live. We looked at Leicester on the map and even found our school in Highfields. It’s been an exciting first step in understanding the world around us!

Children in reception are exploring early geographical skills by creating their own maps, using blue to show water and adding suns to represent weather. They also included small world play to bring their ideas to life. Through drawing and imaginative play, they developed problem‑solving skills, collaboration, creativity, and an understanding of how maps help us make sense of the world.

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After learning about maps and capital cities, the children put their new knowledge into practice. Working with globes, atlases, and a range of maps, they set out to locate different countries and their capitals. The activity encouraged careful searching, teamwork, and growing confidence in using geographical tools. It was a hands‑on session that brought their map‑reading skills to life.

Useful links

Leicester

London

Great things to do in London for kids, teens and families

Farms and zoos

Weather

World

Places to visit

Places to Visit

Twycross Zoo

Tropical Birdland

Windmill Farm

Stonehurst Farm

Gorse Hill City Farm

Leicester Botanic Gardens

The National Forest

Parks (Victoria Park, Spinney Hill Park, Bradgate Park, Brocks Hill Park, Watermead Park)

Abbey Park Pets Corner

London Landmarks (St James Park, London Eye, Buckingham Place, Hyde Park, Regents Park, River Thames & Tower Bridge)

Books and Songs

Books/Songs

Early Years

Books

· Shark in the park

· Peppa goes to the Library

· We’re going on a bear hunt

· Handas Surprise

· Topsy and Tim go Camping

· If you were a Penguin

· Walking Through the Jungle

Songs

· Grand old duke of York

· Row, row, row your boat

· Hickory Dickory

· Wind the bobbin up

· Wheels on the bus

· Old McDonald had a farm

· The Farmers in his Den

Key Stage 1

Books

· Meet the weather

· A Wonderful World of Weather

· Wild Weather

· Tree: Seasons come Seasons Go

· Poles apart

· The Frozen Worlds

· Lost and Found

· The Big Book of the UK

· A walk in London

· Martha Maps it Out

· Me on the Map

Songs

Seven Continents Song

UK | United Kingdom | United Kingdom Song | A Geography Song About the UK and its Capitals