Understanding the World

Through a range of topics and every day experiences children develop their understanding and knowledge of the world around them. The children have access to a vast outdoor space and attend forest school in our woodlands. This area of the curriculum involves children exploring our natural grounds and resources, celebrating festivals, looking at the past and different cultures. 

There are three Early Learning Goals in this area:

Past and Present: Children talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society. They know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class. Children understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling.

People, Culture and Communities: Children describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps. They know some similarities and differences between different religious and cultural communities in this country, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class. Children explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, drawing on knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts and maps.

The Natural World: Children explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants. They know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class. Children understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter.