Foundation Stage

Knowledge and Understanding of the World

In this area of learning, children are developing the crucial knowledge, skills and understanding that help them to make sense of the world. This forms the foundation for later work in science, design and technology, history, geography, and information and communication technology (ICT).

Competent learners from birth, babies only a few hours old gaze at patterns that resemble the human face in preference to others. They are able to distinguish between things and to show that they like some things better than others. As they get older, children make increasing sense of the world through touch, sight, sound, taste, smell and movement and their sensory and physical explorations affect the patterns that are laid down in the brain.

Young children are finding out more and more about the world they live in and the people they encounter. Children acquire a range of skills, knowledge and attitudes related to knowledge and understanding of the world in many ways. They learn skills necessary to this area of learning by using a range of tools, for example, computers, magnifiers, gardening tools, scissors, hole-punches and screwdrivers. They learn by encountering creatures, people, plants and objects in their natural environments and in real-life situations, for example, in the shop or in the garden. They learn effectively by doing things, for example, by using pulleys to raise heavy objects or observing the effect of increasing the incline of a slope on how fast a vehicle travels along it. They need to work with a range of materials in their activities, for example, wet and dry sand, coloured and clear liquids, compost, gravel and clay. They will begin to understand the past by examining appropriate artefacts such as toys played with by their parents when they were children. Understanding design work will come from using a variety of joining methods and materials.

To give all children the best opportunities for developing effectively their knowledge and understanding of the world, practitioners should give particular attention to:

• activities based on first-hand experiences that encourage exploration, observation, problem-solving, prediction, critical thinking, decision-making and discussion;
• an environment with a wide range of activities, indoors and outdoors, that stimulate children's interest and curiosity;
• modelling of 'correct' language, e.g. children will enjoy naming a chrysalis correctly if the practitioner does;
• the use of carefully framed open-ended questions, e.g. 'How can we…?', 'What would happen if…?';
• encouraging the children to tell each other what they have found out, to speculate on future findings or to describe their experiences, enabling them to rehearse and reflect on their knowledge and to practise new vocabulary;
• direct teaching of skills and knowledge in the context of practical activities, e.g. the words 'liquid' and 'solid' when melting chocolate or cooking eggs;
• making effective use of outdoors and the local neighbourhood;
• teaching children to use a range of ICT equipment - not just computers but cameras, copiers, tape recorders, programmable toys etc.;
• using parents' knowledge to extend children's experiences of the world;
• opportunities that help children to become aware of, explore and question issues of differences in gender, ethnicity, language, religion and culture and of special educational needs and disability issues;
• adult support in helping children communicate and record orally and in other ways;
• supplementary experience and information for children with sensory impairment.