We believe that a rounded understanding of the world in which we live is vital if our children are to make informed decisions as they grow up. It also provides a huge range of opportunities to develop our learning powers, particularly curiosity, empathy and co-operation. To find out more about what we teach and how learnng fits together, take a look at our skills and knowledge progression:  

• Skills and Knowledge Progression : Geography
   

The aim of our Geography curriculum

We want all children to appreciate similarities and differences between different areas of our country, our continent and our planet, and begin to understand the effect that these have on everyday lives in these places. They will be taught about key features of physical geography, including rivers, mountains, rainforests, volcanoes and climate, learning both the processes behind them and the impact that they have on human environments. 

We also believe that locational knowledge - the ability to use and identify places on maps and globes - is crucial. All children should leave our school knowing where they live and where that is situated in the world. They will be able to name and locate the seven continents and five oceans, as well as some of the countries and regions that they have studied (such as the USA, Caribbean, Amazon rainforest, River Thames and Andes mountains). 

Finally, children will learn to behave like geographers, collecting information through fieldwork, data analysis, first– and second-hand accounts and map study. They will recognise the strengths and weaknesses of different sources of information, and use this to inform their own conclusions and decision making - both at school and in the wider world beyond.

Experiences we want every child to have at Bedwell:

• Explore our local area, through walks, visits and fieldwork to parks, shops and other places of interest 
• Visit a variety of different physical environments, including the seaside, forests and rivers 
• Have opportunities to compare life in Stevenage first hand with life in a local village and life in London 
• See nationally recognised landmarks in real life (eg. Buckingham Palace, Westminster or the Tower of London) 
• Talk to people who have lived and grown-up in different parts of the world 
• Explore the culture of different countries through in-school themed days, including tasting food from around the world

This term's learning

Year 3 and 4   - Badger class have been exploring a range of natural disasters. They investigated the effect that they can have on local communities, the reasons why they occur and some of the things that people are doing to try to limit their effects. To conclude the project they worked in teams to create posters, packed full of facts, photos and explanations of one particular type of disaster.