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Even the youngest pupils talk with confidence of the three Bible stories which exemplify the vision of achieving, believing and caring.

Siams, Jan 2020

EYFS Understanding the World

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. We aim to foster their understanding of our
culturally, socially, technologically and ecologically diverse world through listening to a broad selection
of stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems. 
 

Intent  

Our children have an increased knowledge and sense of the physical world around them, their community and the wider world. They will respect the world around them and others, celebrating our similarities and differences, including our religious and cultural differences. Our children will have a greater sense of themselves and the changing environment. Through their work our children will have experienced using a range of equipment and sources (including maps) to enable them to find out and gather information which they then used to further their understanding and learning. They will have had opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, cultures, technology and the environment, and will have taken part in rich and meaningful first-hand experiences such as visiting places in the local community (e.g. church and library), enjoy visitors and school trips that enhanced their learning. 

Implementation  

The children have amazing opportunities to explore and find out more about the world in order to understand it. The children will explore the world around them including the school grounds, the village and further afield when they join with others in the school to attend whole school trips. They will learn to sort materials and discuss what they are used for and have a variety of materials to choose from within provision. They will discuss the changing seasons and what that means in terms of weather and what they can see around them. They will sequence activities and discuss changes over time. They will spend time in the forest school and explore natural materials and explore habitats. They will compare old and new things to gain a sense of time. They will grow, water and observe plants and trees and have an understanding of what plants, humans and animals need to survive and thrive. They will use a variety of technology including programmable toys, ipads and laptops for specific purposes and within  provision.  

Impact  

The understanding of the world curriculum is designed so that children have a rich variety of experiences that prepares them for the science, geography, history and computing curriculum that leads on from this understanding.