Key Stage 1 · Year 1 · ages 5 or 6
Year 1: topics explained for parents
In Year 1 children build on Reception phonics, and in June they take the phonics screening check. In maths they count to 100, learn number bonds within 20 and meet halves and quarters, while science introduces plants, animals, everyday materials and the seasons. These guides explain each topic in plain language, with simple ways to help at home.
English
- Checking and sharing writing
- Saying and sequencing sentences
- How words make sentences
- Spaces and sentence punctuation
- Plurals, verb endings and un-
- Capital letters and digits
- Pencil grip and letter formation
- Understanding what we read and hear
- Talking about books together
- Enjoying stories, rhymes and poems
- Prefixes, suffixes and dictation
- ff, ll, ss, zz, ck, tch, nk, ve
- Adding -s, -es, -ing, -ed, -er, -est
- Vowel spellings: ai, ay, oi, oy, ee, ea and more
- Vowel spellings: oo, oa, ow, igh, air and more
- Words ending -y; ph, wh and k
- Prefix un-, compound and tricky words
- Spelling with phonics
- Spelling sounds, tricky words and the alphabet
- Capitals for names, days and I
- Spaces and joining with ‘and’
- Word endings, longer words and contractions
- Phonics, blending and tricky words
Maths
Science
Subjects taught across Key Stage 1
These subjects are planned across the whole key stage, so schools choose when in it each topic comes.