Developing chronological understanding and language in the Early Years and Foundation Stage

Developing secure chronological understanding is an essential aspect of effective history learning. Chronological understanding develops over time and children’s progress in this can be most effectively secured if schools plan for development in this area and provide opportunities for children to build upon their understanding throughout their time in school.

History as a subject forms part of the National Curriculum for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 but developing early chronological understanding is crucial for younger children in order that they can make sense of their day-to-day lives and can talk about past and upcoming events with understanding. This will also support children’s future learning when they come to engage with history as a discrete subject...