The Year 1 Experience: An Interactive Guide

The Year 1 Experience

An interactive guide to the curriculum, teaching, and assessment for 5-6 year olds in English primary schools.

Welcome to Year 1 🚀

Year 1 marks a child’s first formal introduction to the National Curriculum, a significant transition from the play-based learning of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). This application explores the key facets of this critical year, from the specific knowledge children are expected to learn, to the pedagogical shifts they face, and the assessments they undertake. The aim is to demystify the Year 1 experience for parents and educators alike.

📚 3

Core Subjects

(English, Maths, Science)

🎨 9

Foundation & Compulsory

(Art, History, PE, RE, etc.)

📝 1

Statutory National Test

(Phonics Screening Check)

Use the navigation above to explore the different aspects of the Year 1 curriculum in detail.

What Children Learn

The Year 1 curriculum is broad, covering core skills in literacy and numeracy alongside a range of foundation subjects. Select a subject below to see the key learning objectives as specified by the National Curriculum. This section breaks down the “what” of Year 1 learning, showing the foundational knowledge expected in each area.

🌉 The Big Jump: From Play to Formal Learning

The transition from Reception to Year 1 is one of the most significant in a child’s education. It involves moving from the holistic, play-based Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, guided by Development Matters, to the more formal, subject-based National Curriculum. This is often described as a “cliff face” by educators due to the profound shift in structure, pedagogy, and expectation. This section visually compares the two stages to highlight why this transition is so significant.

EYFS (Reception)

🌱

Learning Approach Child-led, play-based, and responsive to children’s interests.

🎨

Environment Active and free-flow, with “continuous provision” areas for exploration.

👀

Assessment Focus Observation of process and play. Valuing “talking about what you know”.

📅

Timetable Integrated, holistic, and flexible, following children’s engagement.

Year 1

🧠

Learning Approach Teacher-led, formal, and subject-focused with specific learning objectives.

🪑

Environment More sedentary and table-based, with a focus on whole-class instruction.

📝

Assessment Focus Recorded outcomes and written work. Valuing “showing what you know”.

⏰

Timetable Subject-specific, clearly timetabled, and compartmentalised.

💡

Building a Bridge

Effective schools manage this transition gradually. They often adapt the Year 1 classroom in the Autumn term to include play-based activities, slowly increasing formal instruction as the year progresses. This helps ease children into the new structure.

🗓️ A Typical Week in Year 1

The school timetable is a clear reflection of educational priorities. In Year 1, the morning is almost exclusively dedicated to the core subjects of English and Maths, when children are considered most alert. The chart below visualizes a typical weekly time allocation, illustrating the systemic emphasis on literacy and numeracy over the foundation subjects. This structure is driven by national assessment and accountability measures.

🏆 End of Year 1 Expectations

By the end of Year 1, pupils are expected to have reached certain milestones in the core subjects. These benchmarks indicate a readiness for the Year 2 curriculum. Below is a summary of what a typical child should be able to do by the end of the year.

Reading

✔Read words containing the 40+ phonemes taught.
✔Read common exception words (e.g., ‘the’, ‘they’).
✔Read aloud accurately from books at their phonic level.
✔Discuss what they have read and answer questions.
✔Make simple predictions about what might happen next.

Writing

✔Write simple sentences that can be read by others.
✔Use capital letters and full stops to demarcate sentences.
✔Use a capital ‘I’ for themselves.
✔Form lowercase and capital letters correctly.
✔Spell many words correctly using their phonic knowledge.

Mathematics

✔Count to and from 100 and read/write numbers to 20.
✔Count in 2s, 5s, and 10s.
✔Know number bonds to 20 (e.g., 8 + 12).
✔Solve simple one-step addition and subtraction problems.
✔Recognise 1/2 and 1/4 of shapes and quantities.
✔Tell the time to the hour and half-hour.

🏡 How to Help at Home

Supporting your child’s learning at home doesn’t have to be daunting. Small, regular activities can make a huge difference and build their confidence. The key is to keep it fun, positive, and focused on real-life application.

Supporting Reading 📖

✔Read a bedtime story every night. Make it a fun, cosy time.
✔Listen to them read their school book for 5-10 minutes daily.
✔Play sound-based “I Spy” (e.g., “something beginning with ‘sh'”).
✔Visit the local library and let them choose their own books.
✔Ask questions about the story to boost comprehension.

Encouraging Writing ✍️

✔Encourage writing for a purpose: shopping lists, birthday cards.
✔Praise their effort, even if spelling isn’t perfect.
✔Keep a special notebook or diary for them to draw and write in.
✔Practice letter formation with fun materials like chalk or sand.
✔Let them see you writing, showing that it’s a useful skill.

Making Maths Fun 🎲

✔Spot numbers in the environment (doors, buses, shops).
✔Play board games with dice to practice counting.
✔Involve them in cooking, counting ingredients and measuring.
✔Use pocket money to practice recognising coins.
✔Talk about the time at o’clock and half-past hours.