Key Stage 1 · ages 5 to 7
Key Stage 1 English: what your child learns
In Years 1 and 2 children learn to read by blending sounds, to spell, to form letters and to write sentences of their own. They also learn to listen, ask questions and take turns in conversation, and enjoy stories, rhymes and poems well beyond what they can read alone. The phonics screening check is in June of Year 1, with a retake in Year 2 for children who haven’t met the standard.
Guides for parents
Key Stage 1 English
Explaining, describing and sharing ideas
How Year 1 and Year 2 children learn to give reasons, describe, retell events in order, talk about feelings and wonder aloud, with common mistakes and home ideas.
Key Stage 1 English
Speaking clearly to an audience
How Year 1 and Year 2 children practise speaking so they are heard, using Standard English and the right tone in class, assemblies and role play, with ideas for home.
Key Stage 1 English
Listening and joining in conversations
How Year 1 and Year 2 children learn to listen, ask questions, build vocabulary and take turns in conversation, with a model chat, common hiccups and ideas for home.
Everything in the Key Stage 1 English curriculum
The National Curriculum topics for Key Stage 1, in the order the National Curriculum lists them.
Spoken language
Reading – word reading
Reading – comprehension
- Enjoying stories, rhymes, poems and non-fiction (Year 1)
- Understanding what we read and hear (Year 1)
- Talking about books together (Year 1)
- Exploring stories, poems and non-fiction (Year 2)
- Favourite words, literary language and poems by heart (Year 2)
- Understanding what we read (Year 2)
- Discussing books, poems and other works (Year 2)
Writing – transcription (spelling)
Writing – handwriting
Writing – composition
- Saying, composing and sequencing sentences (Year 1)
- Checking and sharing our writing (Year 1)
- Writing for different purposes (Year 2)
- Planning before we write (Year 2)
- Evaluating, revising and reading aloud our writing (Year 2)
Writing – vocabulary, grammar and punctuation
Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation – English Appendix 2
- Plural –s/–es, verb endings and the prefix un– (Year 1)
- How words combine to make sentences (Year 1)
- Spaces and sentence punctuation (Year 1)
- Making nouns, adjectives and adverbs with suffixes (Year 2)
- Joining clauses, noun phrases and sentence functions (Year 2)
- Past and present tense, including the progressive form (Year 2)
- Sentence punctuation, commas in lists and apostrophes (Year 2)
Spelling – English Appendix 1
- Revision of Reception phonics for spelling (Year 1)
- ff, ll, ss, zz, ck, nk, tch, ve and syllables (Year 1)
- Adding –s, –es, –ing, –ed, –er and –est (Year 1)
- Vowel digraphs and trigraphs (part 1) (Year 1)
- Vowel digraphs and trigraphs (part 2) (Year 1)
- Words ending –y; ph, wh and k (Year 1)
- Prefix un–, compound words and common exception words (Year 1)
- Soft g, soft c, kn, gn and wr (Year 2)
- Endings –le, –el, –al, –il and –y (Year 2)
- Adding suffixes: changing y, dropping e and doubling (Year 2)
- a before l, o for /ʌ/, –ey and s for /ʒ/ (Year 2)
- Spellings after w and qu (Year 2)
- Suffixes –ment, –ness, –ful, –less, –ly and words ending –tion (Year 2)
- Contractions and the singular possessive apostrophe (Year 2)
- Homophones, near-homophones and common exception words (Year 2)