The World Around Us
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The World Around Us is an Area of Learning in the primary curriculum. In the Foundation Stage, it plays a key role in encouraging children’s natural curiosity through play-based learning and planned activities across Geography, History, and Science and Technology.
Teachers should enable children to develop knowledge, understanding and skills in four connected strands:
- Interdependence
- Place
- Movement and Energy
- Change Over Time.
These strands give teachers considerable flexibility in choosing content that develops children’s knowledge and understanding. Teachers should connect children’s learning across the strands and embed the key elements that underpin the curriculum objectives. This brings meaning and relevance to their experiences in school and in the world around them.
Children often ask profound questions about themselves and the nature of the world around them. This Area of Learning helps children find age-appropriate answers to some of these questions.
Children should have opportunities to use their senses to develop their powers of observation and their ability to sort and classify, explore, predict, experiment, compare, plan, and carry out and review their work.
For further details, see the Statutory Requirements for The World Around Us at Foundation Stage.
Whole Curriculum Skills and Capabilities
Children should have opportunities to develop their Cross-Curricular Skills of Communication, Using Mathematics and Using ICT, and their Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities through The World Around Us.
STEM
The World Around Us can support the future success of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) primary education by addressing some of the constraints and issues identified in the Report of the STEM Review.
Resources
Contact
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