History is a record of what happened in the past and why. Our children learn about significant events and people and their influence on life today.

Within the EYFS children begin to learn that as they grow up, they are increasingly able to do more things for themselves independently. This emerging knowledge and understanding can be used to explore crucial early historical skills.

Historical understanding can be used to extend the children’s learning and understanding of themselves and the world around them. During their time in EYFS, children will be increasingly aware of the changes in routines during different times of the day and seasons of the year. These changes in times have an impact on what activities they can do (sleep, eat, play, home, holidays etc) as well as what they wear and what they celebrate. Children will also spend time thinking about how they change as they grow, as well as past and present experiences.

Children often dress up and engage in role-play to enhance their learning. This usually links to the topic at the time in the class. The children in EYFS often learn and understand History by talking about the very recent past. They begin to use language like ‘yesterday’ and ‘last week’.

Pupils should develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time. They should know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods. They should use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms. They should ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events. They should understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past and identify different ways in which it is represented.

In planning to ensure the progression described above through teaching about the people, events and changes outlined below, teachers are often introducing pupils to historical periods that they will study more fully at key stages 2 and 3.

Pupils should be taught about:

• Changes within living memory. Where appropriate, these should be used to reveal aspects of change in national life
• Events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally [for example, the Great Fire of London, the first aeroplane flight or events commemorated through festivals or anniversaries]
• The lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements. Some should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods. For example, Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong, William Caxton and Tim Berners-Lee, Pieter Bruegel the Elder and LS Lowry, Rosa Parks and Emily Davison, Mary Seacole and/or Florence Nightingale and Edith Cavell.
• Significant historical events, people and places in their own locality.

Pupils should continue to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study. They should note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of historical terms. They should regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance. They should construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information. They should understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.

In planning to ensure the progression described above through teaching the British, local and world history outlined below, teachers should combine overview and depth studies to help pupils understand both the long arc of development and the complexity of specific aspects of the content.