In Social Studies we teach the children about people, past events and societies, people, place and environment, people in society, economy and business using a topic based approach which provides a ‘context’ or a ‘situation’ in which the children have opportunities to develop and practise the skills relating to history, geography and citizenship. As these aspects overlap considerably, the topic approach allows them to be taught in an integrated manner which includes discussions, role-playing, reading, research, art and a variety of written work. The children study topics based on local, national and global environments in the present and the past. Our aim is to encourage children to take an active interest in their own local community and to enable them to view people from varying backgrounds with tolerance and respect. It is important that children learn to think, inquire and have the confidence to tackle problems while extending their knowledge of the world around us. On occasions some aspects are taught separately if this is more appropriate e.g. mapping skills.