Key Stage 1 · Ages 5–6 · UK National Curriculum

Year 1 Maths — What Your Child Will Learn

Year 1 is where children build the foundations of all future maths. From counting to 100 and learning number bonds, to recognising shapes and telling the time, every skill learned this year underpins everything that follows. A strong Year 1 sets children up with confidence for the rest of primary school.

UK National Curriculum

What Your Child Will Learn in Year 1 Maths

Counting to 100 Number bonds to 10 and 20 Addition and subtraction within 20 Place value (tens and ones) Halves and quarters Measurement (length, weight, capacity) Time (o’clock and half past) 2D and 3D shapes Money (coins and notes) Ordinal numbers

Common Challenges

What Children Often Find Difficult

What children struggle with

⚠ Crossing the tens boundary (e.g. 8 + 5)

⚠ Understanding the equals sign as balance, not just a result

⚠ Counting on from the larger number rather than counting all

⚠ Telling time — especially half past

⚠ Distinguishing 2D shapes from 3D shapes

Common mistakes to watch for

✕ Writing numbers back to front (e.g. 6 written as 9)

✕ Confusing ‘more than’ with ‘add’

✕ Stopping the count at 29 before crossing to 30

✕ Mixing up half and quarter

✕ Calling a rotated square a diamond

Parent Guidance

How You Can Help at Home

🧮

Count with real objects

Use everyday objects to count — stairs, toys, coins. Physical counting builds genuine number sense before pencil-and-paper practice starts.

🔢

Number bonds to 10 are the priority

Number bonds to 10 and 20 are the single most important Year 1 skill. Children who recall these instantly have a significant advantage across all of KS1 and KS2.

🚌

Numbers are everywhere

Point at numbers on doors, buses, and price tags. Ask ‘What comes next?’ Connecting numerals to the real world builds fast and lasting recognition.

Year 1 & KS1 SATs Relevance

There are no formal SATs in Year 1. The Year 2 KS1 assessment (optional for schools) draws directly on Year 1 foundations — number bonds, simple addition and subtraction, and shape recognition. A child who leaves Year 1 secure in these skills is significantly better placed for every year that follows.

No Year 1 SATs Feeds directly into KS1 Year 2 assessment Number bonds tested throughout KS1 & KS2 Shape recognition — KS1 Paper 2 Reasoning

Homework Examples

Example Homework Questions

Question

What is 7 + 5?

Expected Answer

Skill Tested

Addition crossing the tens boundary

Question

13 = 10 + ___

Expected Answer

Skill Tested

Place value and number bonds to 20

Question

Circle the shapes that have 4 sides.

Expected Answer

Square, rectangle, and any quadrilateral

Skill Tested

2D shape recognition

Out of School Platform

Track Your Child’s Year 1 Progress Week by Week

With Out of School, you never have to guess how your child is getting on in Year 1. Our parent dashboard shows exactly which number bonds have been practised, where mistakes are happening, and what your child’s tutor has set for homework. You will know before the school does.

📊

Topic-by-topic tracking

See which curriculum areas are strong and which need work — broken down by individual topic, not just a single percentage.

📋

Homework visibility

Every piece of homework set is visible to parents in real time — questions, answers, and accuracy — as soon as the session ends.

📝

Tutor reports

After every session, parents receive a progress update covering what was covered, what went well, and what to focus on next.

Start 1 Month Free Trial — Track Your Child’s Year 1 Maths Progress

Explore by Year Group

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 11 Plus