Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, and the environment. 

Past and Present:

By the end of Reception children will know how to talk about the lives of people around them and their roles in society. They will know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now. They will understand the past through settings, characters and events in stories and books.

People, Culture and Communities:

By the end of Reception children will know how to describe their immediate environment  using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction and maps. They will know some similarities between different religious and cultural communities in this country. They will know how to explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries.

The Natural World:

By the end of Reception children will know how to explore the natural world around them and be able to making observations and draw pictures of animals and plants. They will know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and other environments. They will know about some important processes and changes in the natural world around them eg how the seasons change, why things float and sink, why water freezes and ice melts, how caterpillars change into butterflies, why some creatures lay eggs and others do not.