Supporting your child's school journey
3. School Years 1 and 2
School years 1 and 2 are for children aged five to seven years old and is the next phase of your child's school journey, also known as Key Stage 1 (KS1).
What to expect
School years 1 and 2 are the next stage in your child's schooling after Reception. This is when you can expect:
- a more formal style of learning
- homework
- phonics screening and national tests
If you are concerned about anything, speak to your child's school, they should be able to answer your questions.
Helping your child prepare for tests
In Year 1 your child will take a phonics screening check to see how well your child can read words.
In Year 2 your child may have national tests and teacher assessments in English, and maths.
You normally don't need to do anything at home to help them, but if you want to you can help prepare and support your child by:
- reading books
- practice spelling different words
- work on learning to tell the time
- practice weighing and measuring different things
Where can I get support
There is support and advice on helping to prepare your child for School Years 1 and 2, and what to expect during this time.
The Buckinghamshire Family Learning team run a variety of free courses for parents and carers of children across Buckinghamshire.
Buckinghamshire’s Family Centres run a variety of parenting programmes to help you meet your child’s needs and reduce anxiety, stress and arguments at home.
The SEND Local Offer also has information about the help available for children with SEND in education.
There are lots of Primary educational resources for Primary School children aged 5 to 11.
Health for Kids has lots of information about keeping your family fit, healthy and happy.
NHS Buckinghamshire has resources and information on speech and language therapy and school nursing.
Speech and Language UK has a Child's progress checker to help you understand how your child is getting on with their talking and understanding of words.
The sleep charity provides information and support on helping your child to sleep better.
Your child may start to face many challenges, if you are worried there are lots of places you can get support for your child's mental health.