The British curriculum, year by yearUpdated 29 October 2026
Maths, Year 1 to Year 6
What the national curriculum for England expects children to learn in maths in each primary year, summarised in plain English from the official programmes of study.
Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2): counting, place value, number bonds to 20, the 2, 5 and 10 times tables.
Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6): all times tables to 12 × 12 by the end of Year 4, then written methods, fractions, decimals and percentages, and in Year 6 ratio and algebra.
Jump to a year:
- Year 1: Counting to 100, number bonds to 20, halves and quarters.
- Year 2: Place value to 100, the 2, 5 and 10 times tables, telling the time to 5 minutes.
- Year 3: Numbers to 1000, the 3, 4 and 8 times tables, column addition and subtraction.
- Year 4: All times tables to 12 × 12, decimals to two places, area by counting squares.
- Year 5: Numbers to a million, prime numbers, long multiplication, percentages.
- Year 6: Long division, ratio, algebra, area of triangles, pie charts and the mean.
How to use this page
The maths programme of study is written year by year, but schools only have to cover each key stage's content by the end of it. A topic listed here for Year 3 might be taught in Year 4 at your child's school, or earlier. Schools in England must publish their own year-by-year maths plan online. Your school's own plan is the best guide to what your child is doing this term.
Every year also builds 'reasoning' and 'problem solving': using the maths in word problems and explaining answers. Those run through all the content below.
Year 1 maths
Counting to 100, number bonds to 20, halves and quarters.
| Area | What children learn |
|---|---|
| Numbers | Count to and across 100, forwards and backwards. Read and write numbers to 100 in digits, and 1 to 20 in words. Count in 2s, 5s and 10s. Find one more and one less. |
| Adding and taking away | Number bonds and subtraction facts within 20. Add and subtract one-digit and two-digit numbers to 20, including zero. Read and write sums using +, − and =. |
| Multiplying and dividing | Simple one-step problems using objects, pictures and arrays, with the teacher's help. |
| Fractions | A half and a quarter of an object, shape or amount. |
| Measures | Compare and measure length, weight, capacity and time. Know coins and notes. Days, weeks, months and years. Tell the time to the hour and half past. |
| Shape and position | Name common 2-D and 3-D shapes. Describe position and movement, including whole, half, quarter and three-quarter turns. |
Year 2 maths
Place value to 100, the 2, 5 and 10 times tables, telling the time to 5 minutes.
| Area | What children learn |
|---|---|
| Numbers | Tens and ones in two-digit numbers. Compare and order numbers to 100 using <, > and =. Count in 2s, 3s and 5s from 0, and in 10s from any number. |
| Adding and taking away | Know addition and subtraction facts to 20 fluently and use them for facts to 100. Add and subtract two-digit numbers, a two-digit number and ones or tens, and three one-digit numbers. Know that adding can be done in any order but subtracting cannot. |
| Times tables | Recall and use the 2, 5 and 10 times tables, including odd and even numbers. Use the × and ÷ signs. |
| Fractions | Find ⅓, ¼, 2/4 and ¾ of a length, shape, set or amount. Know that 2/4 is the same as ½. |
| Measures | Measure in cm, m, kg, g, °C, litres and ml. Use £ and p and give change. Tell the time to five minutes; know minutes in an hour and hours in a day. |
| Shape and position | Sides, edges, faces and vertices of shapes. Lines of symmetry. Patterns, sequences and turns (clockwise and anticlockwise). |
| Data | Pictograms, tally charts, block diagrams and simple tables. |
Year 3 maths
Numbers to 1000, the 3, 4 and 8 times tables, column addition and subtraction.
| Area | What children learn |
|---|---|
| Numbers | Read, write and order numbers to 1000. Hundreds, tens and ones. Count in 4s, 8s, 50s and 100s. Find 10 or 100 more or less. |
| Adding and taking away | Mental sums with a three-digit number and ones, tens or hundreds. Written column addition and subtraction with up to three digits. Estimate and check answers. |
| Times tables | Recall the 3, 4 and 8 times tables. Two-digit times one-digit numbers, moving to written methods. |
| Fractions | Tenths. Fractions of amounts. Equivalent fractions with small denominators. Add and subtract fractions with the same denominator within one whole. Compare and order simple fractions. |
| Measures | Length (m, cm, mm), mass and capacity. Perimeter of simple shapes. Money with change. Time on an analogue clock including Roman numerals I to XII, 12- and 24-hour clocks, days in each month and in a leap year. |
| Shape | Draw 2-D shapes and make 3-D shapes. Right angles and turns. Horizontal, vertical, perpendicular and parallel lines. |
| Data | Bar charts, pictograms and tables, including 'how many more?' questions. |
Year 4 maths
All times tables to 12 × 12, decimals to two places, area by counting squares.
| Area | What children learn |
|---|---|
| Numbers | Numbers beyond 1000; thousands, hundreds, tens and ones. Count in 6s, 7s, 9s, 25s and 1000s. Round to the nearest 10, 100 or 1000. Count back through zero into negative numbers. Roman numerals to 100. |
| Adding and taking away | Column addition and subtraction with up to 4 digits. Two-step word problems. |
| Times tables | Recall multiplication and division facts up to 12 × 12. Multiply two-digit and three-digit numbers by a one-digit number with a written method. Factor pairs. |
| Fractions and decimals | Families of equivalent fractions. Hundredths. Add and subtract fractions with the same denominator. Decimals for tenths and hundredths, and for ¼, ½ and ¾. Divide by 10 and 100. Round decimals to the nearest whole number. |
| Measures | Convert between units (for example km to m, hours to minutes). Perimeter of rectangles and other straight-sided shapes. Area by counting squares. Convert between analogue and digital 12- and 24-hour time. |
| Shape and position | Types of triangle and quadrilateral. Acute and obtuse angles. Lines of symmetry. Coordinates in the first quadrant and simple translations. |
| Data | Bar charts and time graphs. |
Year 5 maths
Numbers to a million, prime numbers, long multiplication, percentages.
| Area | What children learn |
|---|---|
| Numbers | Read, write and order numbers to at least 1,000,000. Negative numbers in context. Round to the nearest 10, 100, 1000, 10,000 or 100,000. Roman numerals to 1000 (M), including years. |
| Calculating | Add and subtract numbers with more than 4 digits. Multiples, factors, prime numbers (know those up to 19), square and cube numbers. Multiply up to 4 digits by 1 or 2 digits, including long multiplication. Divide up to 4 digits by 1 digit with short division. Multiply and divide by 10, 100 and 1000. |
| Fractions, decimals and % | Compare fractions; equivalent fractions; mixed numbers and improper fractions. Add and subtract fractions with related denominators. Multiply fractions by whole numbers. Thousandths and numbers with three decimal places. The % sign and simple percentage equivalents. |
| Measures | Convert metric units; rough equivalents for inches, pounds and pints. Perimeter of composite shapes. Area of rectangles in cm² and m². Estimate volume and capacity. |
| Shape and position | Angles in degrees: measure, draw, estimate; acute, obtuse and reflex. Angles on a straight line (180°) and around a point (360°). Regular and irregular polygons. Reflection and translation. |
| Data | Line graphs, tables and timetables. |
Year 6 maths
Long division, ratio, algebra, area of triangles, pie charts and the mean.
| Area | What children learn |
|---|---|
| Numbers | Read, write and order numbers to 10,000,000. Negative numbers and intervals across zero. |
| Calculating | Long multiplication (4 digits by 2 digits). Long division and short division, with remainders as whole numbers, fractions or by rounding. Order of operations. Common factors, common multiples and primes. |
| Fractions, decimals and % | Simplify fractions. Add and subtract fractions with different denominators and mixed numbers. Multiply pairs of fractions; divide a fraction by a whole number. Decimal equivalents (for example ⅜ = 0.375). Percentages of amounts. |
| Ratio and proportion | Compare the relative sizes of two quantities, scale factors and similar shapes, and unequal sharing. |
| Algebra | Simple formulae, linear number sequences, missing number problems written with letters, and equations with two unknowns. |
| Measures | Convert units with up to three decimal places; miles and kilometres. Area of parallelograms and triangles. Volume of cubes and cuboids. Shapes with the same area can have different perimeters. |
| Shape and position | Draw shapes and make nets. Missing angles in triangles, quadrilaterals and polygons; vertically opposite angles. Parts of a circle (radius, diameter, circumference). Coordinates in all four quadrants. |
| Data | Pie charts and line graphs. Calculate and interpret the mean. |
The milestones the curriculum names
- End of Year 2: know the number bonds to 20 and be precise with place value.
- End of Year 4: know the multiplication tables up to and including 12 × 12. Year 4 pupils in England's state schools take the multiplication tables check.
- End of Year 6: be fluent in written methods for all four operations, including long multiplication and division, and with fractions, decimals and percentages. In England this is tested in the KS2 maths tests.
A new curriculum is coming in 2028
In its response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review (November 2025), the UK government said it aims to publish a revised national curriculum by spring 2027, for first teaching from September 2028. It also said the Standards and Testing Agency will consider changes to the Key Stage 1 and 2 maths tests once the new content is confirmed. Until then, the content above is what England's schools teach. British schools in the UAE are not bound by England's timetable, so ask your school about its plans.
Questions parents ask
What do Year 6 learn in maths?
Year 6 brings primary maths together: numbers up to 10 million, long multiplication and long division, the order of operations, adding and multiplying fractions, percentages, ratio, simple algebra, area of triangles and parallelograms, volume, angles, coordinates in all four quadrants, pie charts and the mean. By the end of Year 6 the curriculum expects children to be fluent in written methods for all four operations and in fractions, decimals and percentages.
What do Year 4 learn in maths?
The big one is times tables: by the end of Year 4, children should know all multiplication facts up to 12 × 12. Year 4 also covers numbers beyond 1000, rounding, negative numbers, Roman numerals to 100, column methods with 4 digits, decimals to two places, area by counting squares, and coordinates.
Which times tables should my child know in each year?
Year 2: the 2, 5 and 10 times tables. Year 3: the 3, 4 and 8 times tables. Year 4: all tables up to 12 × 12. Year 4 pupils in England's state schools take the multiplication tables check in June.
Does my child's school have to teach exactly this in each year?
No. The national curriculum sets maths out year by year, but schools only have to cover each key stage's content by the end of that key stage, and may teach topics earlier or later within it. The curriculum is also the law only for state schools in England; British schools in the UAE follow it by choice. Your school's own year plan is the best guide.
Is the national curriculum for maths changing?
Yes, but not yet. After the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the UK government said it aims to publish a revised national curriculum by spring 2027, for first teaching in schools from September 2028. Until then, the 2014 programmes of study summarised on this page remain in force.
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