Rose Hill Primary School

Rose Hill Primary Schools Fairtrade group is a group of children from Key Stage 2 who work with Miss Beard to develop other pupils’ understanding of what Fairtrade is and why it is important. In 2022, we were awarded the 'FairAware' Award for all of our hard work around Fairtrade. 

Fair trade is a way of buying and selling products that allows the farmers to be paid a fair price for their produce, and have better working conditions.  Some people get money by growing or making things to sell.  The products are sold all over the world. By choosing Fairtrade products, this helps people to get a fair price for the things that we buy.  A fair price helps people to live well.  This group will have strong links to Geography as it requires knowledge of people, resources and natural and human environments, all of which are a great lens through which to study farming around the world. 

Below are some curriculum links:

Key Stage 1 & 2 Links to Curriculum

• Interdependence means we rely on farmers to produce our food.
• There are lots of ways in which young people can change the world around them

Geography National Curriculum and Fairtrade

Purpose of study

A high-quality geography education should inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Teaching should equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.  As pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the world should help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Geographical knowledge, understanding and skills provide the frameworks and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.

Key Stage 1 pupils should be taught:

• Place knowledge - understand geographical similarities and differences through studying the human and physical geography of a small area of the United Kingdom, and of a small area in a contrasting non-European country.  This could be comparing farming and lifestyles in the UK and banana farmers in Colombia or sugar farmers in Malawi.
• Human and physical geography - identify seasonal and daily weather patterns in the United Kingdom and the location of hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the Equator and the North and South Poles.  A lot of Fairtrade products grow around the Equator which can introduce the discussion of why this is and the role of climate (and changing climate) to farmers.

Key Stage 2 pupils should be taught:

• Locational knowledge - locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe (including the location of Russia) and North and South America, concentrating on their environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries, and major cities.  There is an interactive map on the Fairtrade Foundations website have a sticker-map set that can be ordered from the e-shop (http://shop.fairtrade.org.uk/schools).  This is a great way to introduce map work.
• Place knowledge - understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region within North or South America.  This could be comparing farming and lifestyles in the UK and banana farmers in Colombia.
• Human and physical geography - describe and understand key aspects of human geography, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water.  This links perfectly to food production, supply chains and access to water.

Design and Technology (Cooking & Nutrition)

Purpose of study

Design and technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject.  Using creativity and imagination, pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values.

Fairtrade can fit quite easily into the Cooking & Nutrition part of Design and Technology which requires students to gain an understanding of food origin.

Key Stage 1 pupils should be taught to:

Understand where food comes from. We have a sticker map set that can be orderedfrom the e-shop (http://shop.fairtrade.org.uk/schools).  This is a great way to explore food origin.

Key Stage 2 pupils should be taught to:

Understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed. 
Why do different crops grow in different countries?  What can we grow locally and which products do we rely on other countries for?