Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.

History is an important aspect of the development of even very young children. They need to begin to develop the foundations of an understanding of the past and how it has developed and affected our present. In order to engage these children it is essential to use aspects that they can relate to - the streets and town where they live, their own families, schools and familiar buildings, e.g. local churches, castles or historic houses and museums. Children need these experiences to develop relevant language; for example, how many of us have been asked "how many ‘sleeps' to my birthday?"! Our current National Curriculum offers many opportunities to incorporate these kinds of experiences throughout the foundation stage and Key Stage 1. We need to ensure these experiences with their environmental and heritage perspectives are not lost in any revision of the curriculum.