Updated 29 October 2026

English, Year 1 to Year 6

What the national curriculum for England expects children to learn in English at primary school, from first phonics to the grammar of Year 6, summarised in plain English.

Years 1 and 2: phonics first, then fluent reading; simple sentences, capital letters, full stops and apostrophes.

Years 3 to 6: wider reading and understanding, writing for different audiences, joined handwriting, two statutory spelling lists of 100 words each, and new grammar every year.

Jump to:

Year 1 English: Phonics, first exception words, capital letters and full stops.
Year 2 English: Fluent reading, joining clauses, apostrophes, past and present tense.
Years 3 and 4 English: Paragraphs, speech marks, fronted adverbials, dictionary skills.
Years 5 and 6 English: Relative clauses, the passive, semi-colons and colons, formal writing.

How English is organised

English has four strands that run through every year:

Reading, in two parts: reading the words (decoding, starting with phonics) and understanding what is read.
Writing, also in two parts: transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (planning, drafting and editing).
Grammar, vocabulary and punctuation, set out year by year in English Appendix 2.
Spoken language: listening, discussion, presenting and performing, with one set of goals for Years 1 to 6.

Key Stage 1 is set out year by year. Key Stage 2 is set out in two-year blocks, so schools decide what goes in Year 3 and what goes in Year 4. Your school's own plan shows the order it uses.

Year 1 English

Phonics, first exception words, capital letters and full stops.

Area	What children learn
Reading words	Phonics is the route to reading: a sound for each of the 40+ phonemes, blending sounds to read new words, common exception words (the, said, was...), words ending -s, -es, -ing, -ed, -er and -est, and short forms such as I'm and we'll. Read aloud books matched to the phonics they know.
Understanding	Listen to and talk about stories, poems and non-fiction beyond what they can read alone. Get to know fairy stories and traditional tales. Learn some rhymes and poems by heart. Predict what happens next and make simple inferences.
Writing	Say a sentence out loud before writing it. Put sentences in order to tell a short story. Re-read writing to check it makes sense.
Spelling	Words using the sounds taught, common exception words and the days of the week. The alphabet in order. Adding -s, -es, un-, -ing, -ed, -er and -est. Write simple sentences dictated by the teacher.
Handwriting	Sit correctly and hold a pencil well. Form lower-case letters in the right direction, capital letters and the digits 0 to 9.
Grammar and punctuation	Spaces between words. Joining words and clauses with 'and'. Capital letters, full stops, question marks and exclamation marks. Capitals for names and for 'I'.

Year 2 English

Fluent reading, joining clauses, apostrophes, past and present tense.

Area	What children learn
Reading words	Keep using phonics until reading is fluent. Alternative sounds for the same letters, longer words, common suffixes and more exception words. Read most familiar words quickly without sounding them out.
Understanding	A wider range of poems, stories and non-fiction, including classic poetry. Talk about the order of events and how information is linked. Build up poems learnt by heart. Make inferences and predictions.
Writing	Write about personal experiences and real events, write poetry and write for different purposes. Plan by talking or noting key words. Make simple changes and corrections, then read the writing aloud.
Spelling	New spellings for known sounds, common homophones, more exception words, contractions, the possessive apostrophe (the girl's book), and suffixes such as -ment, -ness, -ful, -less and -ly.
Handwriting	Start using the strokes needed to join letters. Capitals and digits the right size compared with lower-case letters.
Grammar and punctuation	Joining clauses with when, if, that, because, or, and, but. Expanded noun phrases (the blue butterfly). Statements, questions, exclamations and commands. Past and present tense used consistently, including 'was shouting' forms. Commas in lists. Apostrophes for missing letters and for one owner.

Years 3 and 4 English

Paragraphs, speech marks, fronted adverbials, dictionary skills.

Area	What children learn
Reading words	Use root words, prefixes and suffixes to read and understand new words. Read further exception words.
Understanding	Fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference books. Myths and legends. Use a dictionary for meanings. Prepare poems and play scripts to perform. Infer characters' feelings and motives, predict, and summarise main ideas from more than one paragraph. Find and record information from non-fiction.
Writing	Plan by studying similar writing. Draft in paragraphs; build settings, characters and plot in stories; use headings in non-fiction. Edit for better words and grammar, and proof-read for spelling and punctuation.
Spelling	More prefixes and suffixes, more homophones, and words that are often misspelt, including the statutory Year 3 and 4 word list. Apostrophes with plurals (girls', children's). Use the first two or three letters of a word to find it in a dictionary.
Handwriting	Join letters, and make handwriting more legible and consistent.
Grammar, Year 3	Prefixes such as super-, anti- and auto-. 'A' or 'an'. Word families. Conjunctions, adverbs and prepositions for time, place and cause (when, before, so, because of). Paragraphs and headings. The present perfect (he has gone). Inverted commas for direct speech.
Grammar, Year 4	Plural -s versus possessive -s. Standard English verb forms (we were, not we was). Longer noun phrases. Fronted adverbials with a comma (Later that day, ...). Pronouns to avoid repetition. Full speech punctuation. Apostrophes for plural owners.

Years 5 and 6 English

Relative clauses, the passive, semi-colons and colons, formal writing.

Area	What children learn
Reading words	Use knowledge of root words, prefixes and suffixes (morphology and word origins) to read and understand new words.
Understanding	Modern fiction, books from the literary heritage and from other cultures, myths and legends. Recommend books and compare books. Learn more poetry by heart and perform it. Justify inferences with evidence from the text. Summarise main ideas. Explain how language, structure and presentation shape meaning, including figurative language. Tell fact from opinion. Present and debate.
Writing	Choose the form for the audience and purpose. Describe settings, characters and atmosphere and use dialogue to move the story on. Summarise longer passages. Link ideas within and across paragraphs. Check tense, subject-verb agreement and formal or informal register.
Spelling	Further prefixes and suffixes, words whose spelling comes from their origin, often-confused words, and the statutory Year 5 and 6 word list. Use a dictionary and a thesaurus.
Handwriting	Write legibly, fluently and with increasing speed, choosing letter shapes and whether to join.
Grammar, Year 5	Making verbs with -ate, -ise and -ify, and prefixes dis-, de-, mis-, over- and re-. Relative clauses (who, which, where, when, whose, that). Modal verbs and adverbs for possibility (might, should, perhaps). Brackets, dashes or commas for extra information. Commas to make meaning clear.
Grammar, Year 6	Formal and informal vocabulary and structures, including the subjunctive (If I were...). Synonyms and antonyms. The passive voice. Linking ideas across paragraphs. Layout devices. Semi-colons, colons and dashes between clauses; colons before lists; bullet points; hyphens to avoid ambiguity.

Checks and tests along the way

In England's state schools, English is checked at two points in primary school:

Year 1: the phonics screening check, 40 words read aloud in June.
Year 6: the KS2 tests in reading and in grammar, punctuation and spelling, plus a teacher assessment of writing.

These are England's national checks. British schools in the UAE sit outside that system, so ask your school whether it uses them or its own assessments. The words children are expected to spell are listed in full on statutory spelling lists.

Changes coming in 2028

In its November 2025 response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the UK government said it would review the grammar in the primary curriculum, including whether some harder concepts should move to secondary school, and improve how writing is assessed at the end of Key Stage 2. A revised national curriculum is due by spring 2027, for first teaching from September 2028. Until then, the content on this page applies.

Questions parents ask

What do Year 6 learn in English?

Year 6 is the second half of the Years 5 and 6 programme. Children read a wide range of books and explain how authors use language, justify inferences with evidence, and tell fact from opinion. In writing they adapt their style to the audience, use dialogue, and switch between formal and informal language. The Year 6 grammar includes the passive voice, the subjunctive, semi-colons, colons, dashes, bullet points and hyphens.

What do Year 3 learn in English?

Year 3 starts the Years 3 and 4 programme: reading a wider range of fiction, poetry, plays and non-fiction, using a dictionary, writing in paragraphs, and joined handwriting. The Year 3 grammar adds conjunctions such as when, before and because, prefixes like super- and anti-, the present perfect (he has gone) and inverted commas for speech.

Why is Key Stage 2 English set out in two-year blocks?

The national curriculum sets out English year by year in Key Stage 1, because early reading develops quickly, and in two-year blocks (Years 3 and 4, Years 5 and 6) in Key Stage 2. Schools decide how to split the content within each block. The grammar and punctuation appendix is the exception: it lists new content for each single year.

Are the spelling word lists compulsory?

Yes, in England's state schools. English Appendix 1 says the word lists for Years 3 and 4 and Years 5 and 6 are statutory. Each has 100 words. The full lists are on our statutory spelling lists page.

Where does grammar get tested?

In England, Year 6 pupils take a grammar, punctuation and spelling test in May as part of the KS2 national tests: a 50-mark questions paper and a 20-word spelling test. Writing itself is judged by the teacher, not tested.

Is the English curriculum changing?

Yes, from 2028. In its November 2025 response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the UK government said it will review the grammar content of the primary curriculum, and that the Standards and Testing Agency will review the grammar, punctuation and spelling test. A revised national curriculum is due by spring 2027, for first teaching from September 2028.

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