At Rosehill Infant School, we aim to inspire children’s curiosity about the world around them and develop their understanding of places, people and environments. From EYFS through to Key Stage 1, pupils build knowledge and skills that help them make sense of their local area and the wider world.

Early Years Foundation Stage 

In EYFS, Geography is taught through Understanding the World and is embedded within play-based learning and continuous provision.

Children:

• Explore their immediate environment and become familiar with their surroundings
• Talk about places that are special to them, such as home and school
• Begin to understand similarities and differences between environments
• Explore the natural world, including weather and seasons

Adults support learning through discussion, exploration and questioning, helping children to develop early geographical language such as place, near, far, hot, cold.

Key Stage One

In KS1, Geography is taught through a structured and progressive curriculum that builds on EYFS foundations.

Pupils are taught to:

• Name and locate the four countries of the United Kingdom and the surrounding seas
• Understand key features of their local area and compare it with other places
• Use simple maps, atlases and globes
• Identify human and physical features
• Understand basic weather patterns and seasonal changes

Lessons are designed to be engaging and enquiry-based, encouraging pupils to ask questions and explore the world around them.

Progression and Sequencing

The curriculum is carefully planned so that:

• Learning builds from familiar, local environments to the wider world
• Key concepts such as place, location and environment are revisited
• Pupils develop increasing confidence in using maps and geographical language

Children move from exploring their own experiences to understanding a broader geographical context.

Assessment

Assessment is ongoing and includes:

• Observation and discussion
• Questioning during lessons
• Simple recorded work in KS1

Teachers use this information to adapt teaching and ensure that all pupils make progress.

Impact

By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils at Rosehill Infant School:

• Have a secure understanding of their local area and the United Kingdom
• Can use simple maps and identify key features
• Understand basic geographical concepts such as human and physical features
• Use appropriate geographical vocabulary
• Show curiosity and interest in the world around them

Children leave with a strong foundation for future geographical learning and a growing awareness of the wider world.

EYFS Early Learning Goals and The National Curriculum

Understanding geography: 

Three and four years old:

Through Maths :

• Understand position through words alone. For example, “The bag is under the table,” – with no pointing.
• Describe a familiar route.
• Discuss routes and locations, using words like ‘in front of’ and ‘behind’.

Understanding of the World:

• Use all their senses in hands-on exploration of natural materials.
• Begin to understand the need to respect and care for the natural environment and all living things.
• Know that there are different countries in the world and talk about the differences they have experienced or seen in photos.

 Reception:

Understanding of the World 

• Draw information from a simple map.
• Recognise some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries.
• Explore the natural world around them.
• Recognise some environments that are different to the one in which they live.

ELG:

People, Culture and Communities:

• Describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps.
• 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.

 The Natural World

• 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.
• Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons.

Geography in Ks1  

Locational Knowledge

Pupils should be taught to:

• 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

Pupils should be taught to:

• 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

Pupils should be taught to:

• 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,

Geographical Skills and Fieldwork

Pupils should be taught to:

• 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.