Geography

Geography is taught throughout Key Stage One and Key Stage Two. Geography teaching offers opportunities to:

• stimulate children's interest in their surroundings and in the variety of human and physical conditions on the Earth's surface;
• foster children's sense of wonder at the beauty of the world around them;
• help children to develop an informed concern about the quality of the environment and the future of the human habitat;
• and thereby enhance children's sense of responsibility for the care of the Earth and its people.

Early Years: Reception

The World

Comments and asks questions about aspects of their familiar world such as the place where they live or the natural world.

Can talk about some of the things they have observed such as plants, animals, natural and found objects. Talks about why things happen and how things work.

Developing an understanding of growth, decay and changes over time.

Shows care and concern for living things and the environment.

Looks closely at similarities, differences, patterns and change.

Key Stage 1

In key stage 1, Geography is about developing knowledge, skills and understanding relating to children's own environment and the people who live there, and developing an awareness of the wider world. Children:

• investigate and learn about the physical and human features of their own environment and appreciate how their locality is similar to and different from other places;
• focus on geographical questions like What/Where is it? What is it like? How did it get like this?;
• develop and use geographical enquiry skills, including fieldwork skills, geographical terms, making and using maps, and using photographs.

Key stage 2

In key stage 2, Geography is about developing knowledge, skills and understanding relating to people, places and environments at different scales, in the United Kingdom and overseas, and an appreciation of how places relate to each other and the wider world. Children:

• study places and themes at different scales from local to national in the United Kingdom and overseas, and investigate how people and places are linked and how they relate to the wider world;
• study how and why physical and human features are arranged as they are in a place or environment, and how people are influenced by and affect environments;
• focus on geographical questions like What is it like? How did it get like this? How and why is it changing?;
• develop and use geographical enquiry skills, including fieldwork and IT skills, geographical terms, making and using maps, and using photographs.