KEY STAGE 1 (KS1)
Key Stage 1 (KS1) refers to the two years of schooling normally known as Year 1 and Year 2, when pupils are aged between 5 and 7.
At the end of Year 1 pupils have their phonics skills checked. This involves reading 40 words to their teacher. Half the words are real and half are made up. The test allows teachers to see how well children can read and how they pronounce different combinations of letters. If a child doesn’t do well enough in this test they’ll be given extra help with reading. Then they can retake the test at the end of Year 2.
At the end of Year 2 (when KS1 finishes) all children are required to take national tests. Schools try to make these as comfortable as possible, like an ordinary class test, rather than an important exam. This is to avoid putting young children under any unnecessary stress.
The tests taken at the end of KS1 are:
- English grammar, punctuation and spelling
- English reading (reading and understanding text)
- Mathematics (basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division)
Our key stage 1 tutors concentrate on developing the students’ core skills. Children’s attitude to learning is moulded and shaped at this stage. Our tutors focus on making learning fun, interactive and engaging - to cultivate each child’s academic self-confidence and foster the development and growth of a can-do attitude toward learning.
KS1 tests are a good indication of how well your child is doing academically in primary school.
YEAR 1
In English, the focus will be on phonics and getting children to consolidate their learning and build on being able to read more fluently. Children will also be taught poems to recite and be able to write sentences using capital letters and full stops.
In Maths, children will need to count forwards and backwards up to 100. They will need to know their addition and subtraction facts to 20. They will start to learn about times tables through the use of simple multiplication and division problems, for which they will be given objects to help them work out what is being asked.
Students will need to find half and a quarter of a shape or quantity. They will start to measure using standard units and will learn to tell the time to the hour and half-hour. They will learn to name some common 2D and 3D shapes.
YEAR 2
In year 2 your child will be expected to work a lot more independently. Greater emphasis will be placed on grammar and there will be greater emphasis on formalising the teaching of maths. With the new National Curriculum, there is a much greater emphasis on mathematical reasoning skills, even from this young age. So, for example, children will need to be able to understand that 2 times 3 is the same as 3 times 2 but that 5 subtract 1 is not the same as 1 subtract 5. All of this involves an understanding of how numbers work.
In English, there is a greater emphasis on writing, especially on the consistency of letter formation as well as joined-up writing.
The specific areas that are focused on are:
- Reading
- Writing
- Speaking and listening
- Children will learn to write for a range of purposes including stories, poetry and real events.
By the end of Key Stage 1 children’s achievement (based on teacher assessments) in English reading, English writing, mathematics and science will be submitted by the school to DfE.
