‘Geography enables us to understand change, conflict and the key issues which impact on our lives today and will affect our futures tomorrow.’
(Chief Inspector David Bell, November 2004.)

• Investigating landscapes - rivers, mountains coasts and settlements as well as the human activity within them - and the issues which arise as a result, begins to develop the understanding of key geographical concepts taken further in secondary school.
  
  
• Geography, which includes sustainable development in its programme of study, has an important contribution to make to the study of citizenship. We are all global citizens, with responsibilities to the planet and to each other.
  
  
• Practical fieldwork enquiries and investigations are central to the subject, providing children with active, enjoyable learning.
  
  
• Geography is ideally placed to exploit ICT resources, which can add topicality and excitement to the subject. New ways of working with interactive whiteboards, digital cameras and the internet open up tremendous opportunities for stimulating and enjoyable geography.
  
  
• Map reading and way finding are crucial to help children locate themselves in their surroundings and explore places.
  
  
• Geography builds a framework of place location and knowledge, which are often - despite greater opportunities for travel and global interconnections - poorly developed.
  
  
• Geographers use a great variety of visual aids both to investigate and to record information. Photographs, charts, diagrams as well as maps and plans communicate findings in non-verbal ways.
  
  
• Children need to study their own locality and build their own sense of identity and self-esteem whilst learning to respect diversity through appreciating other people’s places and cultures.

Geography from Square One is a Geographical Association project, supported by funding from The Frederick Soddy Trust and the DfES