Are you worried that your child may not be ready to move up to Year 1?

Have you got a child moving up to Year 1 this September? Then you may be wondering what changes are ahead, whether they’re ready and what you can do to help them adjust.  

Year 1 is not just a move to a different room down the corridor. It’s the first year of your child being taught the national curriculum. This brings different routines to their day as well as different ways of being taught and assessed. 

There is so much you can do as parents to help this change go smoothly, not just at the beginning but throughout the whole year. Here are 3 main changes that come with moving up to Year 1 and what you can do to support your child at home.

1 - A more formal style of learning

In Year 1 most schools set their teaching and learning up so that children sit on the carpet all together for the main part of the teaching session. They then move to sitting at desks for their learning activity. When you are 5 or 6-years old, this is A LOT of sitting and very different from the free-flowing style of learning that they’re used to in Reception. 

Understandably, your child may come home needing to let off steam. Allow some time for them to be active, run around and PLAY where there is space to move.  

If they come home with homework such as reading or writing, find alternative ways for them to do these activities.  

Research shows that laying on your stomach to read can keep children focused longer, especially for boys. Also, keep in mind that the average time that a 6-year old can concentrate to learn is about 12 minutes. Knowing this will help you to understand how long you’ve got to help them before it’s time to move. 

2 - Teaching and Learning

In Reception the curriculum is based around children following their interests and learning through play. This is known as ‘child initiated learning and development.’ Children will always have more FOCUS and ATTENTION when what they are doing is coming from their own INTERESTS (I don’t think we need to think too hard to find examples of this at home too!)

Suddenly, once they are in Year 1, children no longer have the privilege to do this. Instead, they are taught topics that the national curriculum sets out. Some children find this teacher led approach frustrating and are not ready to be told what to learn. 

It is important to recognise that this is a big change for your child and although you may be tempted to support the school’s topics at home, if your child has an interest in something in particular that is not being included at school, do all you can to encourage what it is that THEY are curious about.  

Despite all we know about play being the best way for young children to learn, many Year 1 classrooms are not set up to encourage this. For this reason, parents need to fill in the gaps at home, so their children don’t miss out. The best way to do this is simply set up an area where you can put items out that encourage play. Then leave it out for them to discover it for themselves. If it feels right, you can join in and play alongside them. It is the perfect opportunity to provide a running commentary (thinking out loud), introducing new vocabulary or maybe making up stories. 

3 - Assessments

Throughout the Reception year, assessments take place by teachers observing children whilst they take part in everyday activities. Observing them as they are learning through play helps form judgments about a child’s next steps in that area of learning. Children may make something during their activity that is drawn or written but it’s a result of their play and not because they had to prove what they had learned in some particular way.  

Assessing Year 1 children relies more heavily on their written outcomes and of course there is also Year 1 phonics screening check (more about this in another blog). Although, teaching staff don’t emphasise to the children that they are being assessed, the focus on getting things right and writing things down is a big theme. This can suit some children but others may simply not be ready and so will not produce what is expected. However, this doesn’t mean that they have not learned it just as well as the child that can prove it by writing it down onto paper. 

As a parent I know how it is to be worried about your child staying on track and how easy it is to compare what they’re doing with other children in their class. You may be tempted to push a little harder to get them to do extra school work at home. My advice would be only do this if your child initiates it. Otherwise go back to point number 2 and focus on opportunities to PLAY, PLAY and PLAY some more.

The best way for you to support your little one this September as they take this big next step, is to remember what is important for learning. Small children learn best when they’re having fun and when they don’t realise they’re learning.

Want more tailored advice about how to support your child’s learning at home? Please contact me: