Geography is about people, places and the world around us. Children see Geography each day as they learn to make sense of the world and move about within it.

Aspects of Geography appear within the Area of Learning called Understanding the World in the Early Years Foundation Stage. We are fortunate that our school is in a rich environment with many diverse geographical features within a short walk.

In EYFS the children learn about their immediate locality, so they learn about places around our school and grounds. They learn about familiar features such as houses, farms, and shops building on their everyday experiences. They will encounter distant places through topics and stories. The children observe and discuss the weather regularly during EYFS, becoming familiar with types of weather and how it can affect us such as needing coats when it is cold. The children also learn about the different jobs which people do in our community.

Pupils should develop knowledge about the world, the United Kingdom and their locality. They should understand basic subject-specific vocabulary relating to human and physical geography and begin to use geographical skills, including first-hand observation, to enhance their location awareness.

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

Use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to:

• Key physical features include beach, cliff, coast, forest, hill, mountain, sea, ocean, river, soil, valley, vegetation, season and weather.
• Key human features include 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.

Pupils should extend their knowledge and understanding beyond the local area to include the United Kingdom and Europe, North and South America. This will include the location and characteristics of a range of the world’s most significant human and physical features. They should develop their use of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their locational and place knowledge.

Pupils should be taught to:

Locational Knowledge

• Locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe (including the location of Russia) and North and South America, concentrating on their environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries, and major cities
• Name and locate counties and cities of the United Kingdom, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics, key topographical features (including hills, mountains, coasts and rivers), and land-use patterns; and understand how some of these aspects have changed over time
• Identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones (including day and night)

Place Knowledge

• Understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region within North or South America

Human and Physical Geography

Describe and understand key aspects of:

• Physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle
• Human geography, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water

Geographical skills and fieldwork

• Use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied
• Use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world
• Use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present the human and physical features in the local area using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies.