Year 1: what to teach and where to find it.
What the national curriculum asks of this year, which parts of the free course cover it, and a term-by-term path through Level 1, Next Steps English.
Where to start
Level 1: Next Steps English
Level 1 is written as one 36-week year but spans Years 1 and 2 in a UK primary school. We suggest weeks 1 to 18 in Year 1 and weeks 19 to 36 in Year 2, with the strand pages doing the daily phonics, handwriting and spelling work. This pacing is our suggestion, not an official one.
If it feels too easy or too hard
Use the placement check, then move up or down a year on this map. Children learning English as an additional language often sit at a different level for speaking, listening, reading and writing: that is normal.
What the national curriculum asks
- Word reading: apply phonic knowledge as the route to decode words; respond speedily with the correct sound for all 40+ phonemes; blend sounds in unfamiliar words; read common exception words; read words with -s, -es, -ing, -ed, -er and -est endings; read aloud books matched to their phonic knowledge and re-read them to build fluency (S1, Year 1).
- Handwriting: sit correctly and hold a pencil comfortably; begin to form lower-case letters in the correct direction; form capital letters and digits 0 to 9; know which letters belong to which handwriting families (S1).
- Composition: say out loud what they are going to write about; compose a sentence orally before writing it; sequence sentences to form short narratives; re-read what they have written (S1).
- Grammar terminology for pupils: letter, capital letter, word, singular, plural, sentence, punctuation, full stop, question mark, exclamation mark (S1, Appendix 2).
Summarised in our own words from the official documents listed under Sources. For exact wording, always use the official text.
How the free course covers it
| Phonics | Daily, matched to your school's programme. Use ours for extra sound-by-sound practice. |
|---|---|
| Handwriting | Letter families, capitals and digits. |
| Writing | Capital letter and full stop, 'and' sentences, a recount, a postcard. |
| Reading for pleasure | Audio stories and a reading log. |
| Spelling | Common exception words and phonics-based spelling. |
Some strand pages are still being added to the site and will open as they are published. See the full plan for every strand.
Your year, term by term
A suggested path through Level 1. Each week links to the full week on the level page, with lesson outlines and free resources.
School term 1
Level 1, weeks 1 to 6
School term 2
Level 1, weeks 7 to 12
Checks and tests this year
- The Year 1 phonics screening check, taken in the summer term. Dates and the pass mark change, so our guide is kept up to date.
At home
- Listen to your child read a decodable book aloud for ten minutes, and let them re-read favourites.
- Say a sentence together before writing it down.
- Keep reading aloud to them, from books above the level they can read alone.