Free Maps Helpline

Customer Services, Ordnance Survey, Romsey Road,
SOUTHAMPTON, SO16 4GU.

Phone: 0845 337 3133.
Fax: 023 8079 2615.

Linell Gymorth Gymraeg: 08456 05 05 04.

Email: freemapsenquiries@ordnancesurvey.co.uk 

Lines are open 8.30 am to 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.

1. Timetable for ordering free maps 2008

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2. Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What is the timetable for the 2008 Free maps for 11-year-olds scheme?

Is my school eligible for free maps?

We are a special school, can our pupils have maps?

What exactly will my school receive?

How do I know if our school has ordered the free maps?

What do I do if my school does not get a letter inviting us to order maps?

How many maps are we entitled to have?

Can we have two different maps?

Once my order has been placed can it be changed?

When will my maps arrive?

How will the maps be delivered?

We still haven't received our maps.

The wrong maps were delivered!

Who do the maps actually belong to?

Can we insist the maps are kept at school?

I've just discovered some boxes of free maps that were not given out, what shall I do?

Can schools located outside of Great Britain order free maps?

Can children educated at home order free maps?

Why did Ordnance Survey decide to distribute free 1:25 000 scale Explorer maps to 11-year-old pupils?

Why are maps distributed to secondary schools in England and Wales and primary schools in Scotland?

I have 11-year-old pupils in my Primary 6 class, why can't I have free maps for them?

What's the catch?

Who can I contact about my order?

Why is an email address required?

Can I get laminated maps?

When I try to order my maps the ordering system will not accept the pupil number I have entered.

Are my scout/girl guide group eligible?

I have sight impaired children in my class, can I get enlarged copies of the maps for them?

Can I have Welsh documentation as well as English?

Are the parent/guardian letters available in other languages?

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Is my school eligible for free maps?

All schools in Great Britain who have Year 7/Primary 7 pupils at the start of the 2008 autumn term are eligible for free maps, irrespective of school type or funding status.

You can check whether your school is in our database by clicking the ‘Has my school ordered‘ button on the home page. If you cannot find your school in this report and you think you should be eligible to apply then please ring our helpline.

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We are a special school, can our pupils have maps?

Pupils in Year 7/Primary 7 at special schools may receive free maps. It is up to the school to decide if these maps will be of benefit to pupils in this particular year group, either directly or perhaps through adult-led activity. If your pupils are of a learning age of year 7, it is accepted that you may order maps for these pupils to use despite them being of a much older age. If you require maps for partially sighted children, please contact the RNIB or look at the alternative suggestion at the bottom of the FAQ section.

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What exactly will my school receive?

• One Ordnance Survey 1:25 000 scale folded Explorer map for each Year 7/Primary 7 pupil on the school roll at the start of the autumn term. These maps are for the pupils to keep. They are exactly the same as those on sale in the shops at time of despatch.

• Additional maps are available for teachers and belong to the school.  Teachers will be able to choose how many they require up to a maximum of 1 per 25 pupils. i.e if you order 76 maps you will be sent 4 teachers maps. 

• In the same ratio a guide "Teaching with Ordnance Survey free maps" will be included. This is also available as a downloadable resource from the site.

• A copy of the leaflet "Map reading made easy peasy", for each pupil.

• Explanatory letters for parents/guardians.

• Stickers for the pupils to personalise their maps.

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How do I know if our school has ordered the free maps?

Ask your head of geography if they have received a letter from Ordnance Survey containing their school password, and who they have nominated to be the coordinator for your school. Then ask your coordinator if they have ordered maps.
All schools on our database of schools with Year 7/Primary 7 pupils will have received this letter from us at the start of the autumn term, whether or not they actually ordered any maps. If your school has pupils in this year group and did not receive a letter, please phone our Helpline.

You may also use the ‘Has my school ordered’ button on the home page to check the status of your order. This report will show whether your order has been placed and whether the maps have been despatched.


Order Helpline: 0845 337 3133

Lines are open 8.30 am to 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.

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What do I do if my school does not get a letter inviting us to order maps?

If you have Year 7 / Primary 7 pupils and your head of geography did not receive a letter at the start of the autumn term, you will need to contact our Helpline for further assistance.

Order Helpline: 0845 337 3133

Lines are open 8.30 am to 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.

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How many maps are we entitled to have?

Each eligible school is entitled to one map per Year 7/Primary 7 pupil in the autumn 2008 intake. Maps for school/teacher need to be ordered on the site.  When ordering for the pupils in the ratio of no more than 1 for every 25 pupils.  Our web site will prevent over ordering of maps and refer you to our Helpline if your school intake has suddenly increased.

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Can we have two different maps?

Only one map title per school will be supplied. It is up to the school to choose which map is most appropriate for the pupils. We regret that we cannot supply mixed orders of maps.

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Once my order has been placed can it be changed?

No, once your order has been placed and submitted we will be printing your maps and it is not possible to make further changes. It is very important to make sure that details are correct at the time of order.  Please double check your details before submitting your order.

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When will my maps arrive?

Maps will be delivered to schools as soon as practically possible. The earlier you order the maps the earlier you are likely to receive them. We aim to deliver as many maps as possible in the autumn term, but printing schedules may mean that some are delivered early in the spring term. We recommend that you teach your map skills unit in the spring term to ensure you have received your maps. The free maps coordinator at each school will receive an email informing them when the maps have been despatched.

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How will the maps be delivered?

The maps will be delivered by carrier and clearly marked Free maps for 11-year-olds. The parcel will carry the head of geography name, or will be addressed to the head of geography. A signature is required for the parcel.

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We still haven't received our maps.

If you are concerned that you have not received your maps please check your order status using the ‘Has my school ordered’ button on the homepage, if there is still a problem then please contact the free maps Helpline. 

Order Helpline: 0845 337 3133
Lines are open 8.30 am to 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.

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The wrong maps were delivered!

Before contacting the Helpline please check the contents of the package against your order confirmation email.  If the maps ordered agree with maps received we are unable to replace the maps.

Order Helpline: 0845 337 3133. Lines are open 8.30 am to 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.

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Who do the maps actually belong to?

The legal ownership of the maps, leaflets, stickers and parent letters passes to the pupils once they have been distributed. The maps should be distributed within six weeks. The pupils are advised, through the letter to parents, that they will be expected to take them to school when asked by teachers.

Any additional copies left over once all Year 7/Primary 7 pupils have been supplied are the property of the school for use as a teaching resource.

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Can we insist the maps are kept at school?

In order for parents to be kept informed, maps, leaflets and so on must be sent home with the parent's letter within six weeks. However, teachers can ask pupils to bring the maps back to school, and they may ask pupils to keep them at school for a period whilst they are in use for learning.

If a pupil leaves the school they must be allowed to take their map with them.

The use of maps out of school by pupils is encouraged by Ordnance Survey. Research shows that pupils gain most benefit when allowed to look freely at the map in their own time, or with their family. As well as improving their map skills, children develop a greater spatial understanding of their neighbourhood and confidence in understanding and using public rights of way. They often use them for exploration of their wider local environment, both on foot and by bicycle. Families report that the maps stimulate visits to new places and in finding alternative routes to known ones.

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I've just discovered some boxes of free maps that were not given out, what shall I do?

If you suspect that none of the maps were given out to pupils the previous year then you need to take action.  First check to see if pupils received maps last year.  If not, and you still have those pupils, then please give them out. Better late than never! However, your pupils won’t thank you for the fact the competition is out of date. Please note that in ordering the maps your school contracted to pass the maps to the children and in not doing so is in breach of the terms and conditions.

If the maps are clearly leftovers due to an accumulation of teacher’s copies and you feel you do not need more teachers’ maps this year, please simply reduce your order quantity accordingly. See 'What exactly will my school receive

If the post mark date on the boxes is several years old then these maps may be out of date and should be returned to Ordnance Survey as it is not recommended that out of date maps be given to pupils because the specification may have changed and this could be misleading for them.

If you would like further advice on what to do please contact our customer service team.

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Can schools located outside of Great Britain order free maps?

No, this offer is limited to schools situated in areas for which we provide mapping. This is England, Scotland and Wales.

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Can children educated at home order free maps?

Yes, children who are educated at home are eligible to receive a free map provided that they would currently be in year 7 of their education. Specifically, they should be aged 11 at the start of the autumn term 2008.

Parents will need to click on the Home Educator button on the website, where you will need to complete and submit the form.  Once this information had been received your order will be placed on the ordering system.  If your child/children in educated within a group, then the parent will need to complete the form for their own child/children.

Please be aware that once the scheme has finished your details will be removed from our database.  Neither will the details be passed to a third party.

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Why did Ordnance Survey decide to distribute free 1:25 000 scale Explorer maps to 11-year-old pupils?

The Free maps for 11-year-olds initiative was originally launched in March 2002 following research that showed that:

• There was a very significant shortage of 1:25 000 scale maps in schools, to the extent that teachers would have difficulty delivering the national curriculum for England and Wales and at Key Stage 3, where teaching with these maps is a mandatory requirement. Schools were unlikely to be able to improve map stocks with existing budgets.

• Those who had personal access to maps had significantly better developed map skills.

• Disadvantaged children often had no access to maps at home.

• Maps in the home tended to be owned by adults. Children were often not able to freely access these, even where they were available.

In short, the Free maps for 11-year-olds scheme aimed to provide all children, irrespective of home or school circumstances, with a map of their own at the stage in their school career when it was most likely to be of best use. By providing additional maps for teachers the scheme also aimed to improve school map resources.

Each year of the scheme has seen over 700 000 maps distributed to pupils via their schools. By the end of 2008 this will amount to over 4.5 million maps.

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Why are maps distributed to secondary schools in England and Wales and primary schools in Scotland?

Maps are distributed to pupils in year 7 of their education irrespective of the type of school they attend, or what country they live in within GB. This means that maps are generally distributed to primary schools in Scotland.

Scottish children are (on average) up to six months younger than English or Welsh pupils in the same year group. However, the Scottish curriculum at S1 does not make Ordnance Survey map use mandatory and pupils are also more likely to travel greater distances to secondary school than pupils in England and Wales. Our research had stressed the particular benefits that children obtain when they own a map with both their home and their school present. It was therefore decided to distribute the maps to primary schools in Scotland.

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I have 11-year-old pupils in my Primary 6 class, why can't I have free maps for them?

Ordnance Survey can only distribute maps to one year group and has chosen to do this for Year 7. However, the concept of year groups is not well understood by the press and the general public and the nearest equivalent age of the pupils is age 11. Hence Free maps for 11-year-olds.

Children in England and Wales will ALL be 11 at the start of Year 7 so some of them will already be 11 by the end of Year 6.

In Scotland, when children enter Year 7, some of the children will already be 11 and some will still be 10. At the end of their Year 7 they will ALL be at least 11 and some will be 12.

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What's the catch?

None at all. There are no vouchers or coupons to collect. There is no commercial advertising literature enclosed with the maps. We will not use your contact details for any purpose other than administering the scheme.

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Why is an email address required?

A valid email address is necessary so that confirmation of your order can be sent to you and, at a later date, you can be informed that your maps have been despatched. It is therefore very important that a valid email address is provided by you.

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Can I get laminated maps?

It is not possible for us to supply free laminated maps. If you do want maps laminated for the school then contact one of our Ordnance Survey Mapping and Data Centres, who would be happy to provide you with a quote for this service. A full list of Ordnance Survey Mapping and Data Centres can be found at www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/mdc. However, we do not recommend laminating any of the maps being distributed to pupils. These are their personal copies and do not need to be preserved for future school use.

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When I try to order my maps the ordering system will not accept the pupil number I have entered.

Our database is set up to accept the pupil numbers that you normally would expect to possess based on figures from previous years orders or from DCFS databases. If your school suddenly increases its year 7 intake by a substantial amount, then your order will be rejected. You will need to phone the helpline, who will be able to amend your setting to enable you to finish the order. Please be ready to explain the reason for the change in pupil numbers so that this can be recorded in the system.

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Are my scout/girl guide group eligible?

No. Only schools who have year7/primary 7 pupils are eligible to order.  However, there are free leaflets which are available to download from our website.

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I have sight impaired children in my class, can I get enlarged copies of the maps for them?

Unfortunately we cannot supply enlarged maps as part of the scheme, but it is possible for those children to view the same mapping at 1:25 000 scale, free and online using Get-a-map^™ on the Ordnance Survey website. Despite this being a small area of mapping, it can be enlarged by copying the desired area into Paint and, if necessary, printing it out at the enlarged scale, although the image will be much brighter if used on the screen.

To use this free service go to www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/getamap

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Can I have Welsh documentation as well as English?

Click the tick box on page 3 of 4 of the order page, to request to receive accompanying literature in Welsh as well as in English

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Are the parent/guardian letters available in other languages?

Yes, we understand that there are situations where a parent or guardian of a child at school does not have English as a first language, so we have provided a printable version of the letter in the following languages for the children to take home with their map.

Click the link for a printable version:

Polish (PDF 120kb)
Urdu (PDF 212kb)
Punjabi (PDF 172kb)
Bengali (PDF 181kb)
Gujarati (PDF 171kb)
Hindi (PDF 90kb)
Arabic (PDF 120kb)
Russian (PDF 43kb)
Swahili (PDF 33kb)
Greek (PDF 40kb)

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