Year 2 maths · Key Stage 1 · Number – number and place value

Year 2 place value: tens, ones and counting in steps

Year 2 is when children get a firm grip on two-digit numbers. They learn that a digit’s value depends on its place, so that in 47 the 4 means 4 tens. They read, write, compare and order numbers to at least 100, use the signs <, > and =, and count in steps of 2, 3, 5 and 10. The skills are used in nearly all the addition, subtraction and money work that follows.

Tens, ones and counting in steps, explained

In a two-digit number the left-hand digit tells you how many tens there are and the right-hand digit tells you how many ones. In 64 there are 6 tens and 4 ones, so the number is 60 + 4. Schools say “ones” rather than “units”. Children use objects to build and see this: tens rods and single cubes, bundles of ten straws, ten-pence and one-penny coins, and place value counters. They also work with representations such as tens and ones charts and the number line, and they estimate where a number sits on a line marked 0 to 100.

Partitioning means splitting a number into parts, and Year 2 children learn that there is more than one way to do it. The usual split is 23 = 20 + 3, but 23 is also 10 + 13, or 2 tens and 3 ones, or 1 ten and 13 ones. Zero has a special job as a placeholder. In 40 it holds the ones place and shows that all the value is in the tens, so that the 4 means 40. These ideas are used to solve problems: if 3 + 4 = 7, then 30 + 40 = 70, because 3 tens and 4 tens make 7 tens.

Counting in steps is the second major strand. Children count in steps of 2, 3 and 5 from 0, and in tens from any number, forwards and backwards. Counting in 10s from 7 gives 7, 17, 27, 37, with the ones digit staying the same and the tens digit going up by one each time. Starting from 0, counting in 5s always lands on a number ending in 5 or 0, and counting in 2s lands on even numbers. Counting in 3s has no such simple pattern in the ones digits (3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30), but it is useful practice for work on thirds, and it helps with multiplication in Year 3.

Children compare and order numbers from 0 up to 100. They compare tens first, and only look at the ones if the tens are the same. They use the signs < (is less than), > (is greater than) and = (is equal to). The wide end of the sign faces the larger number, so 38 < 52 and 52 > 38. Equal to is used with partitions as well as plain numbers, such as 40 + 5 = 45 and 45 = 30 + 15. These are called number sentences, and the sign = always means “has the same value as”.

Reading and writing numbers is part of the topic, in numerals and in words, to at least 100. Children write “forty-six” as 46 and 46 as “forty-six”, with a hyphen between the tens and the ones. The spelling of forty (no “u”) and the difference between thirteen and thirty, or sixteen and sixty, need careful practice. Place value and number facts then come together in problems such as “I am thinking of a number with 5 tens and 3 more ones than tens. What is it?” There are 5 tens and 5 + 3 = 8 ones, so the number is 58.

Words your child will hear

Tens and ones: The two places in a two-digit number. In 73 there are 7 tens and 3 ones.
Partition: Split a number into parts. 73 can be 70 + 3, or 60 + 13.
Placeholder: The zero in a number such as 50, which holds the ones place so that the 5 stays in the tens place.
Estimate: A sensible guess close to the right answer, such as marking roughly where 68 belongs on a 0 to 100 line.
Compare and order: Decide which numbers are bigger or smaller and put them in a sequence.
< and >: “Is less than” and “is greater than”. The wide end of the sign faces the bigger number: 25 < 52.
Count in steps: Say the numbers that are the same distance apart, such as 3, 6, 9, 12 (steps of 3).

What the National Curriculum says

In Year 2, pupils should be taught to:

Count in steps of 2, 3, and 5 from 0, and in 10s from any number, forward and backward
Recognise the place value of each digit in a two-digit number (10s, 1s)
Identify, represent and estimate numbers using different representations, including the number line
Compare and order numbers from 0 up to 100; use <, > and = signs
Read and write numbers to at least 100 in numerals and in words
Use place value and number facts to solve problems

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

A worked example

Write <, > or = in the gap: 48 ___ 4 tens and 12 ones

Partition the first number: 48 is 4 tens and 8 ones.
```
48 = 4 tens and 8 ones
```
The second number has 12 ones, which is more than 9 ones. Exchange 10 of the ones for 1 more ten. That leaves 2 ones.
```
4 tens and 12 ones
= 4 tens + 1 ten + 2 ones
= 5 tens and 2 ones
```
5 tens and 2 ones is 52. Now compare 48 and 52. Look at the tens first: 4 tens is less than 5 tens, so 48 is less than 52. We do not need to look at the ones.
```
48 < 52
```
Check on a number line. From 48 count on 2 to reach 50, then 2 more to reach 52. So 52 is to the right of 48 and is the bigger number, and the wide end of the sign faces 52.

48 < 4 tens and 12 ones, because 4 tens and 12 ones is 52.

Common mistakes and how to help

Thinking a digit is worth its face value, so the 5 in 53 is just 5

Children are used to the digits 0 to 9 on their own. It takes time to realise that where a digit sits changes its value, and many children read 53 as “five and three”.

What helps: Build 53 with 5 tens rods and 3 cubes, or five 10p coins and three 1p coins. Ask “How many tens? How many ones? How much is the 5 worth?” Say each digit with its value: 5 tens and 3 ones.

Mixing up -teen and -ty numbers, writing sixteen as 60 or fifty as 15

The words sound alike, and the teens are said in a different order from how they are written: in sixteen the ones are heard first, though the ten is written first.

What helps: Put the pairs side by side in a tens and ones chart. Sixteen has 1 ten and 6 ones. Sixty has 6 tens and 0 ones. Say the numbers aloud, with the stress on the end: “six-TEEN” and “SIX-ty”.

Counting in 10s only from multiples of 10, or losing the pattern when starting from a number such as 17

Children learn “10, 20, 30, 40” as a chant and have not yet seen it as a rule that adds a ten each time. Counting back is even less practised.

What helps: Colour or touch the numbers on a hundred square: counting in 10s moves one row down each time, and the ones digit stays the same. Count from 7, then 23, then back from 94.

Comparing the wrong digits, so 29 is thought to be larger than 31 because 9 is larger than 3, or confusing the signs

Children look at the largest single digit instead of comparing the tens first. The signs < and > look alike and are easily swapped.

What helps: Always ask “Which has more tens?” Show both numbers with tens rods. For the signs, remind your child that the wide end faces the bigger number, and read the sentence aloud in words.

How to help at home

Count in steps on the move. Count the stairs in twos, go along the pavement counting in fives or tens, and count back down. Sometimes start at 3 and count in 3s to 30, or start at 14 and count in 10s: 14, 24, 34, 44.
Make amounts with coins. Use 10p and 1p coins to make numbers up to 99: “Show me 47p. How many tens? How many ones?” Then show the same amount in a different way, with 3 tens and 17 pennies, and see that it is still 47.
Use digit cards. Write digits 0 to 9 on small pieces of card, or use the ace (as 1) to 9 from a pack of playing cards. Pick two and make the biggest and smallest two-digit numbers. Compare two numbers and say which sign goes between them.
Estimate on a number line. Draw a line from 0 to 100 on a long strip of paper, or on the pavement in chalk. Call out a number and your child places a mark where they think it goes, then you check together by counting along in tens.
Write numbers in words. Write numbers like 36, 58 and 90 in words, and look for them on shop signs, in recipes and on sports shirts. Check spellings together, especially forty and the difference between the -teen and -ty numbers.

Builds on

Year 1: Counting and numbers to 100

Leads on to

Year 3: Place value to 1,000

Everything in Year 2 maths

Updated 20 October 2026.