This article builds on an earlier publication in Primary History Issue 89 which considered the history of ‘these islands’ before 1066 in the primary history curriculum. Both articles address the first aim of the National Curriculum which indicates that children should: 

know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day… (DfE, 2013, p. 1)

‘These islands’ consist of 6,000 islands off the coast of north-west Europe. Great Britain is a sovereign state which comprises the nations of England, Scotland, and Wales, while the United Kingdom also includes Northern Ireland. The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are self-governing Crown dependencies but are not part of the United Kingdom. The Republic
of Ireland is a nation state and does not accept the term British Isles as a collective description of the archipelago...