The KS1 curriculum covers children aged 5 to 7 in Year 1 and Year 2, focusing on core subjects like English, maths and science. It builds essential skills through phonics, number work and creative learning. When you understand what your child learns during Key Stage 1, you can support their education at home and help them feel more confident during these early years.
This UK educational platform shares curriculum-aligned resources so parents can join their children on the learning journey.
Michelle Connolly, founder of LearningMole and a former primary teacher with over 15 years in the classroom, says, “Key Stage 1 is about laying strong foundations in literacy and numeracy whilst nurturing curiosity and creativity.” She believes parents who know what their kids are learning can make a real difference with simple daily activities.
Whether you want to help with homework, understand national curriculum assessments, or find practical ways to reinforce classroom learning, this guide offers plenty of practical tools.
From phonics and early reading to basic maths concepts and hands-on subjects, the KS1 years shape your child’s educational journey. You’ll see what to expect in each year group, how schools check progress, and which strategies can help at home.
Key Takeaways
Key Stage 1 covers Years 1 and 2 for children aged 5 to 7 in the UK education system. This stage gives your child the foundation for primary school learning through core subjects like English, maths and science. They also get introduced to structured assessments.
Key Stage 1 marks the start of formal education within a structured curriculum. The National Curriculum sets out which subjects must be taught and how children get assessed during these two years.
Children study compulsory subjects: English, maths, science, design and technology, history, geography, art and design, music, PE and computing. Schools must also provide relationships and health education, plus religious education.
KS1 builds essential literacy and numeracy skills. Children work on reading fluency with phonics, basic writing and understanding numbers up to 100. Teachers assess progress through observations and optional tests in Year 2 that cover English reading, grammar, punctuation, spelling and maths.
In Year 1, your child completes a phonics screening check by reading 40 words aloud to a teacher. This shows whether they need extra reading support.
Moving from preschool to Key Stage 1 is a big change for your child. The school day becomes longer with more structured lessons and formal learning goals.
Children move from play-based learning to subject-specific teaching. Teachers still use creative and hands-on activities, but lessons follow National Curriculum requirements with clear goals. Kids sit at desks for longer and complete teacher-led tasks.
The social side changes too. Your child joins bigger classes and follows routines like assembly, break times and homework. They start working more independently, following instructions without constant help, and managing their own things.
Teachers help bridge the gap by keeping some Early Years practices. Many Year 1 classrooms still have play areas and let children learn through practical activities. The curriculum builds on Reception skills, so it doesn’t feel like starting from scratch.
Key Stage 2 follows KS1 and covers Years 3 to 6 for children aged 7 to 11. The subjects are mostly the same, but KS2 adds ancient and modern foreign languages as compulsory.
Key differences between the stages:
| Aspect | KS1 | KS2 |
|---|---|---|
| Year groups | Years 1-2 | Years 3-6 |
| Age range | 5-7 years | 7-11 years |
| Formal tests | Optional in Year 2 | Mandatory SATs in Year 6 |
| Foreign languages | Optional | Compulsory |
| Times tables test | Not applicable | Year 4 assessment |
KS2 raises expectations for independent work and homework. Children tackle more complex maths like fractions and multiplication tables. Reading gets tougher with longer texts and trickier comprehension questions.
Assessment ramps up at Key Stage 2. Children take mandatory national tests in Year 6 for English reading, grammar, punctuation, spelling and maths. They also do a times tables check in Year 4. These formal assessments don’t exist in KS1, where schools decide whether to test and teacher assessments matter more.
Key Stage 1 covers children aged 5 to 7 in Years 1 and 2, setting the foundations for formal learning with core subjects and creative areas. Your child follows a structured programme that mixes essential skills with discovery and exploration.
The KS1 national curriculum includes ten compulsory subjects. The core subjects are English, maths and science, which get the most teaching time each week.
Foundation subjects add variety to your child’s education: design and technology, history, geography, art and design, music, physical education and computing. Swimming is part of PE, though sometimes it’s taught later in Key Stage 2.
Children in Year 2 might start learning a modern or ancient foreign language, but this only becomes compulsory at Key Stage 2. Schools must provide relationships and health education plus religious education, though you can withdraw your child from RE lessons if you want.
Subject Categories:
| Category | Subjects |
|---|---|
| Core | English, maths, science |
| Foundation | Design and technology, history, geography, art and design, music, PE (including swimming), computing |
| Additional | Foreign languages (Year 2), relationships and health education, RE |
The Department for Education decides what schools must teach in each subject. This keeps things consistent across England, so every child gets the same core knowledge. Schools can’t skip subjects or major parts of the curriculum.
The curriculum provides an outline of core knowledge that teachers use to build lessons. Teachers have the freedom to deliver this content in a way that works for their class. Many schools use a thematic approach, linking subjects around central topics to make learning feel more connected.
Spoken language gets special attention in all subjects, since it supports cognitive, social and language development. Your child will practise speaking and listening skills throughout the day, not just in English.
The curriculum also brings in specific assessments. Your child will do a phonics screening check in Year 1, reading 40 words aloud to their teacher in June. Schools might run tests in Year 2 covering English reading, grammar, punctuation, spelling and maths.
Teachers deliver the statutory curriculum content and adapt their approach for individual learners. Your child’s teacher plans lessons to cover required knowledge but also responds to the class’s interests and needs. This balance means children get the key curriculum content without feeling boxed in.
Schools often teach extra subjects beyond the minimum. Many include personal, social and health education (PSHE), citizenship and sex education. You can withdraw your child from sex education lessons if you wish.
Education resources like LearningMole offer curriculum-aligned videos and materials to support KS1 learning at home. You’ll find free resources covering maths, English, science and phonics that match what your child learns at school.
Your child’s school will share curriculum information through welcome meetings, newsletters and parent consultations. Teachers check progress all the time, not just in tests, by watching how your child uses skills across subjects and situations.
Children in Year 1 and Year 2 follow the national curriculum for Key Stage 1, covering core subjects like English and maths. Your child develops key skills in reading, writing and numeracy that build on what they learned in Reception.
The Year 1 curriculum helps children build confidence with reading and number skills. Your child works with numbers up to 100 and learns to add and subtract within 20.
In English, children develop phonics skills and blend sounds to read simple words. They’ll practise writing short sentences using capital letters and full stops.
The Year 1 English curriculum also introduces conjunctions like “and” to join ideas.
Key maths skills include:
Your child will also take the phonics screening check towards the end of Year 1. This test helps teachers see which sounds your child can blend confidently.
What to expect in Year 1 includes tips for supporting your child’s literacy development at home.
Year 2 builds on Year 1 skills with more challenging reading comprehension and two-digit number work. Your child will partition two-digit numbers into tens and ones and compare numbers up to 100.
Reading becomes more fluent as children tackle longer books on their own. They’ll learn to read for meaning and discuss different types of texts.
Writing improves as children create longer sentences, stories and poems using more punctuation.
English skills your child will develop:
LearningMole offers curriculum-aligned videos covering Year 1 and Year 2 maths concepts like place value and number bonds. Some schools still run SATs at the end of Year 2, though these are now optional, so check your school’s policy.
KS1 English gives children a solid start in reading, writing and spoken language. Kids aged 5 to 7 pick up important skills in word reading, comprehension, spelling and grammar that help them move forward in primary school.
Your child covers a few main areas during KS1 English. Reading splits into word reading and comprehension. Writing includes transcription, composition and punctuation.
Year 1 priorities include:
Year 2 builds on these with:
The spoken language curriculum stays the same across both years. Children practise listening, responding, asking questions and sharing opinions.
Children develop reading skills through systematic phonics teaching and a range of texts. Year 1 kids spend a lot of time decoding unfamiliar words with their phonics knowledge.
Your child will read fiction, non-fiction, fairy tales and poems during KS1. Teachers often encourage them to connect stories to their own lives. Maybe they’ll compare a character to someone they know or link events to things they’ve experienced.
By Year 2, children start to infer, ask questions and make predictions while reading. They talk about books, look at how texts are organised and recite poems. Spelling links closely to phonics, with children learning to spell familiar sounds alongside tricky words.
You can support reading at home with anything written, from novels to shopping lists. Ask questions like “What might happen next?” or “How did that character feel?” to boost comprehension skills.
Children in Key Stage 1 learn to read with systematic phonics. Teachers break words into sounds and show how to blend them together. Schools use structured programmes that teach letter-sound links in a set order, helping pupils decode new words for themselves.
Most UK primary schools follow synthetic phonics programmes. These teach children to turn letters into sounds and blend them to read words. Kids start with simple consonant-vowel-consonant words like ‘cat’ and ‘dog’, then move on to trickier patterns.
Phonics instruction usually goes through phases. In Phase 2, teachers introduce 19 letter sounds and basic blending. Phase 3 brings in digraphs like ‘sh’, ‘ch’ and ‘th’. By Phase 5, your child faces alternative spellings and pronunciations for the same sounds.
Teachers run daily phonics sessions for 15 to 30 minutes. They revise old sounds, teach new ones, and practise reading words with those patterns. This builds confidence, as children can sound out most words they see instead of guessing.
Phonemes are the smallest sounds in words. The word ‘ship’ has three: /sh/ /i/ /p/. Graphemes are the letters or groups of letters that show those sounds in writing.
Children learn that one sound may have different spellings. For example, /ai/ shows up as ‘ai’ in ‘rain’, ‘ay’ in ‘play’, ‘a-e’ in ‘make’, and ‘ey’ in ‘they’. This helps them spell better and read new words.
Some graphemes can stand for more than one sound. The ‘c’ in ‘cat’ sounds different from the ‘c’ in ‘cell’. Teachers use visual displays and word sorts to help children spot these patterns. When children read books that match their phonics level, they get better at recognising common graphemes.
Blending means pushing sounds together to make words. Your child says /c/ /a/ /t/ and hears ‘cat’. This skill leads to reading fluency and lets children decode new words on their own.
Segmenting works the other way for spelling. Children hear ‘dog’ and break it into /d/ /o/ /g/ to write each sound. Teachers often use sound buttons or lines under graphemes so children can count phonemes.
You can help at home with simple games. Try saying sounds in a robot voice and let your child guess the word. Use magnetic letters for hands-on word building. Children who practise blending regularly become stronger readers across all subjects.
Quick five-minute games work better than long sessions. Try them in the car or just before bedtime stories.
Children in KS1 develop handwriting step by step. They start by holding a pencil correctly and move on to forming letters confidently. Parents can help spelling progress with phonics games and practising tricky words.
Children begin by learning to sit at a table and hold a pencil with the right grip. Handwriting in Year 1 focuses on these basics before moving to letter formation.
In Reception and Year 1, children practise forming each letter correctly. Lowercase letters should sit on the line, while uppercase letters reach the top. Many schools teach letters in families with similar shapes or starting points.
Year 2 introduces diagonal and horizontal joins. Children start connecting letters in words, which boosts speed and fluency. Supporting handwriting practice works best in short, regular bursts.
Key activities you can try:
Phonics gives children a way to break words into sounds and match them to letters. This helps them spell words they haven’t seen before by listening to the sounds.
Try the “look, say, cover, write, check” method at home. Your child looks at the word, says it, covers it, writes it from memory, then checks if it’s right. This builds visual memory alongside phonics.
Practical spelling activities:
Reading together helps spelling naturally. Point out word patterns and talk about why letters go together.
Common exception words don’t follow usual phonics patterns, so children need to learn them by sight. In Year 1, these include the, said, they, and you. Year 2 brings in harder words like could, should, and people.
Tricky Words Jolly Phonics Phase 1 resources offer fun ways to practise these sight words. Put them on the wall or use flashcards for quick daily practice.
Homophones sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. KS1 children meet pairs like to/too/two, their/there, and see/sea. Make up simple sentences to show the difference, like “I can see the sea” or “I went to the shop too“.
Ways to practise exception words:
Keep practice short and upbeat. Celebrate progress and don’t worry too much about mistakes.
Children aged 5 to 7 build number skills through counting, addition and subtraction and explore the world with simple experiments and observation.
Year 1 and Year 2 pupils develop number sense by working with numbers up to 100. They learn to count forwards and backwards, spot patterns and see that ten ones make a ten.
Addition and subtraction are at the heart of early maths. Children start with objects like counters or toys, then move to number lines and written sums. By the end of Year 2, most can add and subtract two-digit numbers.
Key maths skills include:
Measuring activities make maths part of daily life. Children compare lengths, weigh ingredients and tell the time to the hour and half hour. They start learning about money by recognising coins and making different amounts.
Fractions appear as halves and quarters of shapes or objects. Sharing a pizza equally between four people shows what one quarter is in a way children get straight away.
KS1 science gets children to observe plants, animals, materials and seasonal patterns. Kids pick up ideas by investigating, not just reading about them.
Plant topics show what seeds need to grow and the main parts of flowering plants. Growing cress on a windowsill lets children see how water and light affect growth.
Animal work lets pupils group creatures and understand simple life cycles. They look at how animals change as they grow.
Materials come up as another big topic. Pupils name everyday materials like wood, plastic, metal and glass. They test if materials float, bend or let water pass through.
The human body comes in when children name body parts and learn about the five senses. Kids try taste tests or blindfold games to explore how their senses work.
Some classes talk about the human body structure and what each part does. These activities are always hands-on.
Seasonal changes tie into nature walks and weather charts. Children notice how trees look different through the year and which animals they spot in each season.
Your child explores hands-on learning through art, design and technology, building creative thinking and practical skills. These subjects let children express ideas, work with different materials and solve problems by making things.
Key Stage 1 children use a range of materials to develop their artistic skills and techniques. They draw, paint, sculpt and collage, creating their own pieces and learning a bit about famous artists.
The National Curriculum picks out three main areas. Children use materials creatively and build techniques with colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space.
They also look at the work of artists, craft makers and designers to spot different creative styles. Teachers often link art and design to other subjects.
A topic about the Great Fire of London might include making art inspired by St Paul’s Cathedral. Your child might create self-portraits, design animal prints or make seasonal decorations.
Teachers encourage children to talk about their artwork and explain their choices. This builds confidence and helps children learn words for colours, shapes and techniques.
Design and technology gets children to design, make and review practical products. They use tools safely, join materials, and create things that solve problems or meet needs.
Your child will go through the process of designing, making and reviewing. They might make simple food products like fruit salads or design moving vehicles with construction kits.
Projects could include making puppets, building structures or creating seasonal items. The subject covers cooking and nutrition, textiles and mechanisms.
Children learn basic food prep skills, try simple sewing, and find out how wheels, axles and levers work. They build practical skills while thinking about how things are made and what they do.
Your child’s progress in Key Stage 1 is measured through ongoing teacher observations, phonics checks and end-of-key-stage assessments. Schools track progress against age-appropriate curriculum expectations, not the old levels system.
The phonics screening check happens at the end of Year 1, usually in June. Your child reads 40 words aloud to their teacher one-to-one.
The test has 20 real words and 20 made-up words (pseudo-words). This checks if your child can decode using phonics, not just spot familiar words.
Children need a score of 32 out of 40 to meet the standard. If your child misses the mark in Year 1, they’ll retake the check at the end of Year 2.
Most children don’t even notice they’re being formally assessed, and the test isn’t meant to feel stressful. Teachers use the results to spot who needs extra phonics support.
The pseudo-words might sound odd, but they show if your child can really blend sounds together.
At the end of Year 2, your child takes KS1 assessments in reading, maths and grammar, punctuation and spelling. The tests are set externally but teachers mark them.
The tests are optional for schools, but many still use them. Your child gets a scaled score out of 100, where 100 means they’ve met the expected standard.
Teacher assessment runs alongside tests throughout the year. Teachers watch how your child works alone, uses skills in different situations, and completes activities.
Writing is judged by teacher judgement rather than tests. Teachers look at your child’s work across the year to decide if they’re working below, at or above the expected standard.
Individual results stay private, but schools use them to measure progress when your child moves to Key Stage 2.
Schools use their own systems to track how your child moves towards end-of-key-stage expectations. Most schools check regularly if children meet curriculum objectives.
Teachers set up activities and tasks to see if learning goals are achieved. You’ll get reports showing if your child is working below, at or above expectations.
Some schools give more detailed breakdowns, showing progress in areas like number, calculation or reading comprehension. The new approach focuses on understanding, not rushing through to higher levels.
Assessment methods include:
Teachers use this information to plan what your child needs to learn next. If you want to help at home, LearningMole has free curriculum-aligned videos for maths, English and phonics, matching what your child learns at school.
Some children at Key Stage 1 work below the standard of national curriculum tests but still need their progress measured. Pre-key stage standards support pupils learning specific subjects, while the engagement model is for children not yet working with set subjects.
Your child might be assessed using the engagement model if they have SEND and can’t show skills in reading, writing or maths. This usually applies to pupils with severe or profound learning difficulties.
The model measures engagement in five areas: exploration, realisation, anticipation, persistence and initiation. These aren’t steps your child must climb in order.
Instead, teachers use them to understand how your child interacts with activities and picks up new skills. They watch for curiosity, predicting what might happen, or trying to control what happens around them.
The assessment celebrates all progress, even if a child maintains skills or slows decline in regressive conditions. Schools use these observations to adjust teaching and set personalised targets in your child’s Education, Health and Care plan.
Pre-key stage standards are for pupils learning specific subjects who work below the expected test standard. Your child can show skills in reading, writing and maths but needs smaller steps than the usual curriculum.
Teachers track progress in English reading, English writing and mathematics using these standards. Each subject breaks down into clear descriptors showing what your child knows and can do.
This helps teachers set targets and plan lessons that fit your child’s current stage. The standards give you more useful information about your child’s achievements than a simple test score.
Schools report this progress in your child’s annual report, showing specific skills they have built up through the year.
You can make a real difference in your child’s KS1 learning by using the right resources at home, building their confidence, and helping them get ready for the next stage. Small daily actions often have more impact than big efforts now and then.
You don’t need fancy materials to support your child’s learning at home. Many everyday activities teach important KS1 skills naturally.
Home learning packs offer structured activities for English, maths and science that match what your child learns at school. These give you ideas when you’re not sure where to start.
Cooking together teaches maths in the kitchen through measuring and counting. When you bake, your child practises reading scales, following instructions and understanding quantities.
Sharing food equally introduces fractions in a way that makes sense to young children.
Simple home activities that support KS1 learning:
LearningMole offers free curriculum-aligned videos that explain KS1 concepts in a straightforward way. These help fill gaps or back up what your child learns at school.
Your approach to learning shapes how your child feels about school. When you show interest in what they’re learning, they see that education matters.
Praise effort, not just ability. Try saying “you worked really hard on that” instead of “you’re so clever”.
This helps your child realise that practice makes them better. Mistakes are part of learning, not something to avoid.
If your child struggles with homework, stay calm and patient. If they can’t answer a question right away, that’s fine.
Research shows that effective parental engagement can lead to learning gains of three months over a year. Building a good relationship with your child’s teacher helps too.
Ways to stay connected with school:
KS2 can feel like a big step up. You can help your child get ready bit by bit during Year 2.
Start with small responsibilities at home. Ask your child to organise their own school bag and remember their reading book.
Let them pick out their clothes and get dressed on their own. These skills really matter because KS2 classrooms expect more independence.
Reading stamina becomes more important in KS2. If your child reads for 10 minutes, try nudging it up to 15 or 20 minutes.
Pick longer books together so they get used to following stories over a few days. It makes a difference.
Talk about Year 3 in a positive way. Mention new subjects and older children they might know.
Try visiting the KS2 playground during school events. That way, it feels a bit more familiar when September comes.
Keep routines steady over the summer before KS2 starts. Regular bedtimes, reading habits and healthy meals help your child feel settled during changes.
Parents often wonder what their children actually learn in Key Stage 1 and how to support them during these first school years.
Understanding the curriculum, assessment methods and learning expectations helps you guide your child through Years 1 and 2 with more confidence.
The Key Stage 1 curriculum covers children aged 5 to 7. It focuses on building strong foundations in core subjects.
English, maths and science take up most of the week. Teachers teach these subjects in detail using the National Curriculum.
Your child also learns foundation subjects like art, design and technology, geography, history, music and physical education. Computing gets included too.
Religious education comes alongside these, though the content varies between schools.
Teachers plan lessons around the core knowledge from the National Curriculum. They create activities that help your child build understanding and skills across all subjects.
The curriculum aims to give every child the same learning opportunities, no matter which school they attend.
Reading with your child every day makes the biggest difference. Even 10 or 15 minutes together helps them with phonics and comprehension.
Ask questions about the story. Let them read to you and listen to them as well.
Practise counting and simple maths in everyday life, like when you’re cooking or shopping.
Your child can help measure ingredients, count items or work out change. These real-life activities make maths more meaningful.
Talk to your child’s teacher about what they’re learning in class. LearningMole has free curriculum-aligned videos for maths, English, science and phonics.
Many parents also use library books, educational apps and crafts to support classroom learning at home.
By the end of Year 2, most children read simple texts accurately and with some fluency. They should understand what they’ve read and answer questions about stories.
Writing skills develop so children can compose simple sentences with full stops and capital letters.
In maths, children count confidently to 100 and understand place value. They work with addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers.
Most children recall number bonds to 20 and know multiplication facts for the 2, 5 and 10 times tables.
Your child should tell the time to the nearest quarter hour and understand basic fractions like halves and quarters.
These milestones guide teachers, but children develop at different rates. Some reach these goals earlier, while others need more time and support.
Primary school pupils take a phonics screening check in June of Year 1. This check assesses their ability to decode words.
Teachers use this short one-to-one check to spot children who need extra phonics support. Your child reads a mix of real and made-up words to their teacher.
Key Stage 1 tests are now optional and administered at the school’s discretion at the end of Year 2. If your school uses them, these tests cover reading, maths and sometimes grammar and spelling.
Teachers mostly rely on their own assessments of your child’s work across the year.
The best preparation is sticking with your usual learning routine at home. Read together, practise maths and make sure your child gets enough sleep.
Try not to put pressure on your child or use the word ‘test’ in a way that feels stressful.
Your child’s school will share their end of Key Stage 1 results with you directly. You’ll find out whether your child is working at, above or below the expected standard for their age.
Teachers base these judgements on a mix of test results (if used) and their observations of your child’s work throughout the year.
Results from national curriculum assessments help calculate primary school progress measures, which show how well schools support children’s learning.
These measures help other parents compare school performance when making choices. Your child’s results matter most for spotting their strengths and any areas where they need more support.
KS1 results are just one snapshot of your child’s learning journey. They don’t decide your child’s future.
Children develop at different speeds, and what really matters is that they’re making progress from where they started.
Key Stage 2 covers Years 3 to 6. It builds on the basics from KS1, but the content gets more detailed and challenging.
Children explore a wider range of topics in science, history and geography. Teachers go into greater depth with these subjects.
In KS2, your child will take a multiplication tables check in June of Year 4. This online test checks how well they remember times tables up to 12 x 12.
The main SATs exams take place in May of Year 6. These results are mandatory, unlike the optional KS1 tests.
The jump from Year 2 to Year 3 can feel big for some children. Lessons last longer and teachers expect more independent work.
Teachers also set up more formal homework routines. Children start learning a foreign language, usually French or Spanish.
It can take a bit of adjusting, but most children settle in after a while.
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