St Mary's Catholic Primary School
St Mary's Catholic Primary School
We are Historians
Our Policy
History in Early Years
Understanding the world
In our EYFS classes History is taught through carefully planned topics. In the first few weeks, there is a big focus on themselves, their family and their immediate environment. Children will sequence events and explore patterns and routines. Children will be encouraged to talk about their findings and record them by drawing, writing or model making. These emerging skills and development of knowledge and understanding can be used to explore crucial early historical skills. Children’s learning will also be enriched through first-hand experiences such as trips to local historical places, museums and inviting visitors to school.
The EYFS Statutory Framework states that, ‘’Understanding the World involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community. The frequency and range of children’s personal experiences increases their knowledge and sense of the world around them – from visiting parks, libraries and museums to meeting important members of society such as police officers, nurses and firefighters. In addition, listening to a broad selection of stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems will foster their understanding of our culturally, socially, technologically and ecologically diverse world. As well as building important knowledge, this extends their familiarity with words that support understanding across domains. Enriching and widening children’s vocabulary will support later reading comprehension.’’
2 - year - olds will: learn that they have similarities and differences that connect them to, and
distinguish them from, others.
Has a sense of own immediate family and relations and pets.
In pretend play, imitate everyday actions and events from own family and cultural background, e.g. making and drinking tea, going to the barbers, being a cat, dog or bird
3 and 4 - year - olds will: begin to make sense of their own life-story and family’s history; talk about members of their immediate family and community; name and describe people who are familiar to them.
In reception children will: comment on images of familiar situations in the past; compare and contrast characters from stories, including figures from the past.