The world is changing…fast. Children today face the enviable position of living within a world growing more connected with each passing hour. Gone are the days where your locality defined you. British citizens are now globally aware of the larger community that our planet has become. The present day allows pupils in schools to look at the horizon with curiosity and begin to understand their identity within the modern world with a sense of community, knowledge and compassion.

Geography provides the opportunity to broaden pupils’ horizons and make sense of the global community they reside in. A pupils geographical learning is an integral part of understanding the world and their role as a responsible global citizen.

With the short term aim of providing each pupil with a sense of wonder of our beautiful planet, Key Stage 1 provides a sound basis for establishing the aforementioned sense of community, physical geography and allows them to begin their journey of compassion and empathy towards the communities facing issue around the world. This provides the foundation of their longer term aim of embracing their ‘global citizen’ moniker and taking lead of the decisions and actions they will undertake as adults.

Geography is taught through termly themes and topics and integrated with other subjects. The explicit learning of locational knowledge allows Solent Infant School pupils to develop an understanding of the United Kingdom and its position within the world alongside knowing the world’s seven continents and five oceans. Pupils at Solent Infant School will also study the area of Portsmouth and they will contrast against a non-European country. These two areas of geographical learning also allow the use of subject specific vocabulary and allow them to apply geographical skills and fieldwork through practical and technological resources. Through structured and progressive learning, children experience varied themes and excursions which are planned to allow continual growth in this subject.

Children in Solent Infant School end Year 2 with knowledge and experiences to understand that they have an important role as a responsible global citizen and how their ‘human footprint’ affects not only their local environment, but their wider community on planet Earth.