Rationale

At Old Town Infant School and Nursery, we want our children to gain a deep understanding and appreciation for their local area as well as the wider world. As a school near the coast we want our children to understand the responsibility of being environmentally aware and a kind, friendly ally to the wildlife that lives so close to our doorsteps. Each year group will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the local area by beginning to explore our own school and community in the Early Years. As children move into Year 1 they will continue to learn about the local area in a study about Poole. During this unit children will be introduced to comparing similarities and differences between human and physical features as well as the importance of keeping our oceans clean from plastic. In Year 1 children will also look to the wider area and learn about the United Kingdom, its four countries and important landmarks. This knowledge will then be built on as children enter Year 2 and begin learning about continents and oceans. Children will use their knowledge of human and physical features to explore a country outside of Europe. As a school we have chosen Brazil in South America. We wanted our children to learn about a country in the Southern Hemisphere to support their understanding of weather and climate differences across the world as well as the specific weather patterns and climate of a rainforest.