Intent

At Our Lady of Fatima, we believe every child should leave us with a deeper appreciation and understanding of the world God has created - our common home. Our Geography curriculum is designed to spark curiosity, nurture inquisitiveness, and empower children to become thoughtful global citizens who can reflect on the beauty, diversity, and challenges of the world around them.

Rooted in Catholic Social Teaching and inspired by Laudato Si’, we teach our pupils to care for creation and respect the people and places within it. Geography at Our Lady of Fatima is more than knowledge of places - it’s about developing a sense of identity, belonging, and responsibility. Through purposeful learning, children are guided to:

• Understand their place in the world and how their choices impact the environment and others;
• Develop strong locational, place, human, and physical geography knowledge;
• Engage with real-world issues including sustainability, climate change, and social justice;
• See geography as meaningful and connected to their lives, starting from their immediate surroundings and expanding to global contexts;
• Experience geography through cross-curricular links with subjects like RE, history, art, science and technology.

Our intent is that every pupil learns to live with awareness, love with compassion, and learn with purpose—becoming stewards of creation who care for the earth and all people who share it.

Implementation

Our geography curriculum is taught explicitly and sequentially developing both substantive knowledge (what pupils learn about the world) and disciplinary knowledge (how they become geographers).

Key features of implementation at Our Lady of Fatima include:

• Strong topic-based learning which ensures depth in geography and across the wider curriculum;
• Clear progression of geographical knowledge and skills including fieldwork, data analysis, and map reading;
• Use of local area studies (e.g. Lapworth Museum, Bournville,  Birmingham Canal Network) to ground learning in real-life experience;
• Regular opportunities for educational visits and enrichment, including:
• Tamworth Castle (physical geography and local history)
• Local canal explorations (human geography and industry)
• External visitors and workshops to bring learning to life;
• Embedded Catholic values and Gospel Virtues, with pupils learning how to respond to global challenges with compassion, dignity and responsibility;
• Integration of digital resources, including map-based technology to enrich learning;
• Formative and summative assessment to tailor learning to pupil needs and to monitor progress.

Geography is also integrated with wider curriculum aims - encouraging reading, writing, mathematical reasoning and spiritual reflection, especially through stewardship and understanding the needs of others.

Impact

By the time children leave Our Lady of Fatima, they are confident, articulate and reflective young geographers. They:

• Demonstrate a secure understanding of their local, national and global environment;
• Can interpret and analyse geographical data and sources with increasing independence;
• Understand key physical and human processes, and how they interact;
• Talk knowledgeably about places, people and environments using correct geographical vocabulary;
• Show a genuine respect for the earth and a deepened understanding of the importance of looking after it, in the light of Gospel values;
• Are equipped with the skills, attitudes and knowledge to make informed decisions as future stewards of God’s creation.

Geography at Our Lady of Fatima ensures that children live, love and learn as active, caring members of both their community and the wider world, always guided by the example of Jesus Christ.