What Should a 6th Grader Know? Checklist by Subject

Math · Geometry

Your child is developing advanced spatial skills — working with 3D shapes and nets, using coordinate grids with negative numbers, calculating angles, and understanding geometric transformations like reflection and translation.

• Angles in triangles (age 11+)

  Derive and apply formulae for the area of triangles, parallelograms, and trapezia, and for the volume of cuboids and other prisms (including cylinders), connecting each formula to its geometric reasoning

  • Calculate the area of a trapezium using A = ½(a + b) × h and explain why the formula works
  • Find the volume of a triangular prism by calculating cross-sectional area × length
  • Derive the formula for the volume of a cylinder as π × r² × h by reasoning from the prism formula

• Angle sums in triangles and polygons

  Derive and use the angle sum in a triangle (180°), use it to deduce the angle sum in any polygon ((n−2) × 180°), and calculate interior and exterior angles of regular polygons

  • Calculate a missing angle in a triangle by subtracting the known angles from 180°
  • Find the sum of interior angles in a hexagon by dividing it into triangles
  • Calculate each interior and exterior angle of a regular polygon given the number of sides

• Types of angles (age 8+)

  Use and interpret standard geometric diagram conventions: mark right angles with a small square, equal lengths with single or double tick marks, and equal angles with arc marks; label angles in three-letter notation (∠ABC) and individual angles with a single letter or number; draw diagrams showing angles at a point, angles on a straight line, and angles inside polygons with these conventions; read diagrams with these marks to identify given information and find unknown values

  • Mark a right angle with a small square symbol in a diagram and explain what it means
  • Use tick marks to show equal lengths in a shape and double tick marks for a second pair of equal sides
  • Read and interpret angle notation (e.g. angle ABC) and identify the angle being referred to in a diagram

• Coordinate Transformations

  Identify properties of translations, rotations, and reflections; describe and perform these transformations on given figures, and understand that the image is congruent to the original

  • Reflect a shape in a given mirror line (including diagonal lines) and state the coordinates of the image
  • Rotate a shape about a given centre by 90° or 180° and describe the result
  • Translate a shape by a given vector and verify that lengths and angles are preserved

• Coordinates (age 10+)

  Describe positions on the full coordinate grid (all four quadrants); use coordinates with negative values

  • Plot points with negative coordinates such as (−3, 4) and (2, −5) on a four-quadrant grid
  • Identify the quadrant in which a given point lies
  • Describe the position of a shape using coordinates in all four quadrants

• Translating and reflecting shapes

  Draw and translate simple shapes on the coordinate plane; reflect shapes in the axes

  • Translate a triangle 3 units right and 2 units down on a coordinate grid and state the new coordinates
  • Reflect a shape in the x-axis and list the coordinates of the reflected vertices
  • Explain how translation changes coordinates (add/subtract) while reflection changes the sign of one coordinate

• Classifying shapes by properties

  Compare and classify geometric shapes based on their properties and sizes; understand that attributes belonging to a category also belong to all subcategories; classify two-dimensional figures in a hierarchy based on properties

  • Explain why all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares
  • Place quadrilaterals in a hierarchy diagram showing subset relationships
  • Identify properties shared by all parallelograms and explain why rhombuses and rectangles are special cases

• Numbers on a number line

  Understand a coordinate system defined by two perpendicular number lines (axes) with an origin at (0,0); know that an ordered pair (x, y) specifies a unique point where the first number gives horizontal distance and the second gives vertical distance from the origin

  • Identify the x-axis, y-axis, and origin on a coordinate grid
  • Explain that (3, 5) means go 3 along the x-axis and 5 up the y-axis
  • Distinguish (2, 4) from (4, 2) by explaining each coordinate's meaning

• Plotting points in the first quadrant

  Plot and read ordered pairs in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane; represent real-world and mathematical problems by graphing points and interpreting coordinate values in context

  • Plot the point (4, 7) accurately on a first-quadrant grid
  • Graph a set of data pairs (e.g. time vs distance) as points on the coordinate plane
  • Read coordinates of a plotted point and explain what they represent in a given scenario

• Angles in triangles (age 10+)

  Find unknown angles in triangles, quadrilaterals, and regular polygons using angle sum properties

  • Find a missing angle in a triangle given two angles (using angle sum = 180°)
  • Calculate a missing angle in a quadrilateral (angle sum = 360°)
  • Calculate the interior angle of a regular hexagon from the angle sum formula

• Types of angles (age 11+)

  Use conventional geometric terms and notation to describe, sketch, and draw points, lines, parallel and perpendicular lines, right angles, regular polygons, and reflectively/rotationally symmetric polygons

  • Use correct notation for line segments (AB), angles (∠ABC), and parallel lines (AB ∥ CD)
  • Sketch a regular hexagon and describe its rotational and reflective symmetry
  • Identify and label perpendicular and parallel lines in a given figure using standard symbols

• Properties of triangles and quadrilaterals

  Derive and illustrate properties of triangles, quadrilaterals, and circles using appropriate language, including interior angles, diagonals, symmetry, and relationships between side lengths

  • List and verify properties of a parallelogram (opposite sides parallel/equal, opposite angles equal, diagonals bisect each other)
  • Explain why a square is a special case of both a rectangle and a rhombus
  • Derive the relationship between the radius, diameter, and circumference of a circle

• 2-D shapes (age 10+)

  Draw 2-D shapes using given dimensions and angles, using a ruler and protractor accurately

  • Draw a triangle with sides 5 cm, 7 cm and an included angle of 60°
  • Construct a rectangle with given length and width using a ruler and set square
  • Draw a regular pentagon given the side length and interior angle

• Understanding angles (age 10+)

  Recognise angles where they meet at a point, are on a straight line, or are vertically opposite; find missing angles using these properties

  • Find a missing angle at a point given the other angles (total 360°)
  • Use the straight-line property (angles sum to 180°) to find an unknown angle
  • Identify vertically opposite angles and use the property that they are equal to find unknowns

• Measuring angles (age 11+)

  Draw and measure line segments and angles accurately using ruler and protractor, and interpret scale drawings to extract real measurements

  • Draw a triangle accurately given two sides and the included angle (SAS)
  • Measure angles in a geometric figure to the nearest degree using a protractor
  • Read a scale drawing to determine actual lengths, explaining the scale used

• Understanding angles (age 11+)

  Apply the properties of angles at a point (360°), on a straight line (180°), and vertically opposite angles to find unknown angles in multi-step problems

  • Find a missing angle using the fact that angles on a straight line sum to 180°
  • Use vertically opposite angles are equal to set up and solve an equation for an unknown
  • Combine multiple angle facts in a single diagram to find several missing angles step by step

• Transformations on a grid

  Represent and carry out geometric transformations on squared paper or a coordinate grid: reflections (in horizontal, vertical, and diagonal mirror lines, including the axes), translations (described as a vector or as left/right/up/down moves), and rotations (90° or 180° about a stated centre point); describe each transformation precisely using the correct language; identify which transformation maps one shape onto its image by comparing position, orientation, and size

  • Reflect a shape in a given mirror line on a grid and label the new coordinates
  • Translate a shape by a given number of squares horizontally and vertically and describe the movement
  • Rotate a shape 90° or 180° about a given centre on a grid and check the image is congruent to the original

• Nets of 3-D Shapes

  Identify, draw, and interpret nets of common 3-D shapes — cubes, cuboids, triangular prisms, and square-based pyramids — by predicting which 3-D shape a given flat arrangement of faces will fold into, checking whether a net will close completely, and sketching a net from a description or 3-D model; understand the relationship between the number of faces and the structure of the net

  • Draw the net of a cube, cuboid, or triangular prism and fold it mentally to identify which faces connect
  • Build a 3-D shape from its net and check that all faces, edges, and vertices match
  • Identify which of several given nets will fold into a specific 3-D shape and explain why the others won't

• 3-D shapes (age 10+)

  Recognise, describe, and build simple 3-D shapes, including making nets

  • Identify which net will fold into a given 3-D shape
  • Construct the net of a triangular prism and fold it to verify
  • Describe a 3-D shape by naming its faces, edges, and vertices

• 3-D shapes (age 11+)

  Use the properties of faces, surfaces, edges, and vertices of 3-D shapes (cubes, cuboids, prisms, cylinders, pyramids, cones, and spheres) to solve problems, including visualising cross-sections

  • Count and describe the faces, edges, and vertices of a triangular prism and a square-based pyramid
  • Describe the 2-D cross-section produced by slicing a cylinder horizontally or a cone vertically
  • Use properties of 3-D shapes to determine whether a given net will fold into a specified solid

• Parts of a circle

  Illustrate and name parts of circles, including radius, diameter, and circumference; know that the diameter is twice the radius

  • Label the radius, diameter, and circumference on a circle diagram
  • Calculate the diameter given a radius of 4.5 cm (diameter = 9 cm)
  • Explain the relationship between radius and diameter in their own words

Math · Fractions

Your child is mastering advanced fraction operations — adding, subtracting, and multiplying fractions with different denominators, dividing with fractions, and solving real-world problems using visual models and mathematical reasoning.

• Decimals and fractions (age 10+)

  Associate a fraction with division and calculate decimal fraction equivalents for simple fractions (e.g. 3/8 = 0.375); recall and use equivalences between simple fractions, decimals, and percentages in different contexts

  • Convert 3/8 to 0.375 by dividing 3 ÷ 8
  • State that 1/5 = 0.2 = 20% from memory
  • Use fraction–decimal–percentage equivalences to compare 30%, 1/3, and 0.35 and put them in order

• Fractions of a whole (age 10+)

  Interpret a fraction as division of the numerator by the denominator (a/b = a ÷ b); solve word problems involving division of whole numbers leading to fractional or mixed-number answers

  • Explain that 3/4 means 3 ÷ 4 and verify by showing 3/4 × 4 = 3
  • Solve: '9 people share a 50-pound sack equally — how many pounds each?' and express the answer as 5 5/9
  • Use a visual model to show that sharing 3 wholes among 4 people gives each person 3/4

• Multiplying fractions (age 11+)

  Interpret fractions and percentages as operators — find a fraction or percentage of an amount by multiplying, understanding that 'of' means multiply (e.g., 3/4 of 200 = 3/4 × 200 = 150)

  • Calculate a fraction of a given amount by multiplying
  • Calculate a percentage of a given amount by converting to a decimal and multiplying
  • Use the operator interpretation to solve multi-step problems involving discounts, taxes, and portions

• Decimal & Percent Notation

  Read, write, and use decimal and percentage notation correctly — decimal, decimal point, tenths, hundredths, thousandths, percentage, per cent, % symbol, convert, terminating decimal — and understand the relationships between fractions, decimals, and percentages as three ways of expressing the same value

  • Read and write decimal numbers correctly, identifying the value of each digit (ones, tenths, hundredths)
  • Use the % symbol correctly and explain that per cent means 'out of 100'
  • Convert between simple fractions, decimals, and percentages (e.g. 1/2 = 0.5 = 50%) and explain why they are equal

• Mixed & Improper Fractions

  Use the four operations with formal written methods applied to integers, decimals, proper and improper fractions, and mixed numbers, all both positive and negative

  • Add, subtract, multiply, and divide with positive and negative integers
  • Apply formal written methods to calculations with decimals of any size
  • Perform all four operations with proper fractions, improper fractions, and mixed numbers

• Simplifying Fractions

  Use common factors to simplify fractions to their simplest form; use common multiples to express fractions with a common denominator

  • Simplify 18/24 to 3/4 by identifying the HCF of 18 and 24
  • Express 2/3 and 5/8 with a common denominator of 24
  • Explain why dividing numerator and denominator by a common factor produces an equivalent fraction

• Dividing fractions (unit fractions)

  Interpret and compute division of a unit fraction by a non-zero whole number (e.g. 1/3 ÷ 4 = 1/12); use visual models and the relationship between multiplication and division to explain the result

  • Compute (1/3) ÷ 4 = 1/12 and explain using a visual model of splitting 1/3 into 4 equal parts
  • Create a story context for (1/6) ÷ 3 and solve it
  • Verify (1/3) ÷ 4 = 1/12 by showing (1/12) × 4 = 1/3

• Decimals and fractions (age 11+)

  Work interchangeably with terminating decimals and their corresponding fractions (such as 3.5 and 7/2 or 0.375 and 3/8); convert fluently between the two forms

  • Convert any terminating decimal to a fraction in simplest form
  • Convert any fraction with a denominator whose prime factors are only 2 and 5 to a terminating decimal
  • Explain why some fractions produce terminating decimals and others do not

• Area with Fractions

  Find the area of a rectangle with fractional side lengths by tiling with unit-fraction squares; show that the area equals the product of the side lengths

  • Tile a 2/3 × 3/4 rectangle with 1/12 squares and count to find area = 6/12 = 1/2
  • Explain why the number of unit-fraction tiles equals the product of the two fractions
  • Calculate the area of a rectangle with sides 1 1/2 and 2/3 using fraction multiplication

• Dividing unit fractions and whole numbers

  Solve real-world problems involving division of unit fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by unit fractions, using visual models and equations

  • Solve: '3 people share 1/2 lb of chocolate equally — how much each?' (1/6 lb)
  • Solve: 'How many 1/3-cup servings in 2 cups of raisins?' (6 servings)
  • Create a story context for a given unit-fraction division expression

• Multiplication as scaling

  Interpret multiplication as scaling (resizing): compare the size of a product to a factor based on the size of the other factor without computing; explain the effect of multiplying by fractions greater than, equal to, or less than 1

  • Predict without calculating whether 3/4 × 7 is greater or less than 7
  • Explain why multiplying by 5/3 makes a number larger and multiplying by 2/5 makes it smaller
  • Relate multiplying a/b by n/n = 1 to the principle of fraction equivalence

• Dividing by Fractions

  Interpret and compute division of a whole number by a unit fraction (e.g. 4 ÷ 1/5 = 20); use visual models and the relationship between multiplication and division to explain why the quotient is larger than the dividend

  • Compute 4 ÷ (1/5) = 20 and explain: 'How many fifths fit in 4 wholes?'
  • Create a story context for 6 ÷ (1/4) and solve it
  • Verify 4 ÷ (1/5) = 20 by showing 20 × (1/5) = 4

• Real-world fraction multiplication

  Solve real-world problems involving multiplication of fractions and mixed numbers, using visual fraction models or equations

  • Solve: 'A recipe needs 2 1/3 cups of flour; you want to make 1 1/2 batches. How much flour?'
  • Draw a fraction model to represent and solve a multiplication word problem
  • Check the reasonableness of a fraction product in context using estimation

• Dividing fractions

  Divide a fraction by a fraction using the 'keep-change-flip' method and visual models; interpret and solve word problems involving division of fractions by fractions

  • Divide a fraction by a fraction using the reciprocal method
  • Use visual fraction models to represent and explain fraction division
  • Create story contexts for fraction division problems and solve them

• Multiplying fractions (age 10+)

  Multiply a fraction or whole number by a fraction, including proper fractions by proper fractions; interpret (a/b) × q as a parts of q partitioned into b equal parts; write answers in simplest form

  • Compute (2/3) × (4/5) = 8/15 and show with an area model
  • Use a visual model to demonstrate (2/3) × 4 = 8/3 = 2 2/3
  • Simplify the product 3/4 × 2/3 = 6/12 = 1/2

• Adding Fractions (Unlike Denominators)

  Add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators (including mixed numbers) by replacing given fractions with equivalent fractions to produce a common denominator

  • Compute 2/3 + 5/4 by converting to twelfths: 8/12 + 15/12 = 23/12
  • Subtract 1 3/5 from 3 1/4 using a common denominator
  • Explain the strategy of finding a common denominator and verify using a visual model

• Fraction Word Problems

  Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions with unlike denominators, using visual models and benchmark fractions to estimate and assess reasonableness

  • Solve: 'Tara ate 2/5 of a pizza and Sam ate 1/3. How much did they eat together?'
  • Recognise that 2/5 + 1/2 ≠ 3/7 because 3/7 < 1/2 but the sum should exceed 1/2
  • Estimate a fraction sum using benchmarks (0, 1/2, 1) before computing exactly

• Comparing fractions (age 10+)

  Compare and order fractions including fractions greater than 1, by converting to common denominators or using benchmarks

  • Order 3/4, 7/8, 5/6, and 11/12 from smallest to largest
  • Compare 7/5 and 4/3 using common denominators
  • Place improper fractions and mixed numbers on a number line in correct order

Math · Multiplication & Division

Your child is advancing to sophisticated multiplication and division — using formal written methods for complex calculations, working with decimals, and applying the order of operations to solve multi-step problems.

• Long multiplication (age 10+)

  Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers (up to 4 digits by 2 digits) using the formal written method of long multiplication

  • Correctly compute 2,463 × 37 using long multiplication
  • Explain each partial product in a long multiplication and why they are added
  • Multiply a four-digit number by a two-digit number without procedural errors

• Division with remainders (age 10+)

  Divide numbers up to 4 digits by a two-digit divisor using formal written long division, interpreting remainders as whole numbers, fractions, or by rounding as appropriate

  • Compute 4,752 ÷ 13 using long division and express the remainder as a fraction
  • Decide whether to round up or down a division remainder in a real-life context (e.g. buses needed)
  • Explain each step of the long division algorithm for a 4-digit ÷ 2-digit calculation

• Rounding Answers

  Solve problems which require answers to be rounded to specified degrees of accuracy

  • Compute a division and round the result to one decimal place as specified
  • Determine the appropriate degree of accuracy for a measurement context (e.g. round to nearest penny)
  • Solve a problem where an unrounded decimal answer must be interpreted in context (e.g. whole containers needed)

• Brackets in Expressions

  Use parentheses, brackets, or braces in numerical expressions and evaluate expressions containing these grouping symbols

  • Evaluate 3 × (4 + 5) by computing inside the parentheses first
  • Evaluate {2 × [3 + (7 − 1)]} with nested grouping symbols
  • Insert parentheses into an expression to make it equal a target value

• Order of operations

  Understand and apply the conventional order of operations (PEMDAS/BODMAS) to carry out calculations involving the four operations

  • Explain why 8 + 2 × 5 = 18 (not 50) by referencing multiplication before addition
  • Evaluate a multi-step expression like 12 ÷ 3 + 4 × 2 correctly as 12
  • State the correct order: brackets, then orders/exponents, then multiplication/division (L→R), then addition/subtraction (L→R)

• Writing Number Sentences

  Write simple numerical expressions that record calculations with numbers, and interpret numerical expressions without evaluating them (e.g. recognise that 3 × (18932 + 921) is three times as large as 18932 + 921)

  • Write an expression for 'add 8 and 7, then multiply by 2' using parentheses
  • Explain what 4 × (365 − 12) represents without computing it
  • Compare two expressions and determine which is larger without evaluating

• Decimal place value

  Multiply one-digit numbers with up to two decimal places by whole numbers (e.g. 3.47 × 6)

  • Correctly compute 4.56 × 7 using a written method
  • Use place-value reasoning to explain why 3.2 × 5 = 16.0
  • Model a decimal multiplication using an area diagram or expanded form

• Division with Decimals

  Use written division methods in cases where the answer has up to two decimal places; divide decimals to hundredths by whole numbers

  • Compute 14.76 ÷ 4 using a written method to get 3.69
  • Explain how to continue long division past the decimal point to obtain a decimal quotient
  • Solve a context problem that requires dividing a decimal amount equally (e.g. sharing £18.60 among 5 people)

• Multi-step problems: choosing operations

  Solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, deciding which operations and methods to use and why; solve multi-step problems in contexts

  • Solve a three-step word problem involving a mix of all four operations
  • Explain why particular operations were chosen for each step of a multi-step problem
  • Identify and correct an error in a multi-step solution that used the wrong operation

• Using inverse operations

  Recognise and use relationships between operations including inverse operations; use these relationships to check answers and simplify calculations

  • Use addition and subtraction as inverse operations to check and solve problems
  • Use multiplication and division as inverse operations to check and solve problems
  • Recognise that squaring and square-rooting are inverse operations

• Multiplying and dividing (age 10+)

  Multiply and divide numbers by 10, 100, and 1000 giving answers up to three decimal places, understanding that digits shift position in the place-value chart

  • Compute 3.456 × 100 = 345.6 correctly
  • Compute 45.2 ÷ 1000 = 0.0452 correctly
  • Explain why multiplying by 10 shifts each digit one place to the left

• Factors, multiples, and primes

  Find all factor pairs for a whole number in the range 1–100; identify common factors and common multiples of two numbers; use these concepts to solve problems

  • List all factor pairs of 36: (1,36), (2,18), (3,12), (4,9), (6,6)
  • State the first five multiples of 7
  • Find the common factors of 24 and 36

• Estimation to check answers to calculations

  Use estimation to check answers to calculations and determine, in the context of a problem, an appropriate degree of accuracy

  • Estimate 487 × 23 by rounding to 500 × 20 and use this to check a calculated answer
  • Determine whether an exact answer or an estimate is more appropriate in a given context
  • Spot an unreasonable answer by comparing with a quick mental estimate

• Ratio (age 11+)

  Use conventional notation for the priority of operations including brackets, powers, roots, and reciprocals; apply BIDMAS/BODMAS consistently to evaluate complex numerical expressions

  • Evaluate expressions involving brackets, indices, and all four operations in the correct order
  • Explain why the order of operations is necessary to avoid ambiguity
  • Use the reciprocal of a number and understand that a number multiplied by its reciprocal gives 1

• Ratio (age 10+)

  Perform mental calculations including with mixed operations and large numbers, using strategies such as partitioning, compensation, and derived facts

  • Mentally compute 45 × 8 by partitioning into 40 × 8 + 5 × 8
  • Use known facts to derive 6.5 × 4 mentally
  • Solve a multi-operation mental calculation such as 250 × 3 + 500 and explain the strategy used

• Dividing by two-digit numbers

  Divide numbers up to 4 digits by a two-digit number using formal written short division where appropriate, interpreting remainders according to context

  • Use short division to compute 3,648 ÷ 16 efficiently
  • Explain when short division is more appropriate than long division
  • Interpret a remainder as a decimal or fraction in a measurement context

• Factors, multiples, and primes (age 11+)

  Use the concepts and vocabulary of prime numbers, factors, multiples, common factors, common multiples, highest common factor (HCF), lowest common multiple (LCM), and prime factorisation including product notation and the unique factorisation property

  • Express any integer as a product of its prime factors using index notation
  • Find the HCF and LCM of two numbers using prime factorisation
  • Apply the unique factorisation theorem to explain why every number has exactly one set of prime factors

• Sign Rules for Multiplication

  Multiply and divide with positive and negative integers and rational numbers, understanding the rules for the sign of the product or quotient

  • Apply the sign rules when multiplying two integers (positive × negative, negative × negative)
  • Apply the sign rules when dividing two integers
  • Solve multi-step real-world problems involving all four operations with positive and negative rational numbers

Math · Algebra

Your child is beginning to work with algebra — using letters to represent unknown numbers, creating and following rules for number patterns, and translating word problems into mathematical equations.

• Numbers on a number line

  Understand inequalities as statements comparing expressions, represent solutions on a number line, and solve simple linear inequalities using the same inverse-operation methods as equations

  • Write an inequality from a worded constraint (e.g., 'must be at least 12' → x ≥ 12)
  • Represent the solution set of an inequality on a number line with open or closed circles
  • Solve a one-step or two-step inequality such as 3x + 1 < 10

• Coordinates (age 11+)

  Plot and read coordinates in all four quadrants of the Cartesian plane, using positive and negative x- and y-values to describe positions precisely

  • Plot points with negative coordinates accurately in all four quadrants
  • Identify the quadrant a point belongs to from its coordinate signs
  • Read coordinates from a graph including fractional and negative values

• Using Simple Formulae

  Use simple formulae expressed in words or symbols to calculate values (e.g. perimeter = 2 × (length + width))

  • Substitute values into P = 2(l + w) to find the perimeter of a rectangle
  • Use the formula for area of a triangle (A = 1/2 × b × h) given base and height values
  • Interpret a formula expressed in words and use it to compute an output

• Writing Algebraic Equations

  Express missing number problems algebraically using letters for unknowns; translate word problems into equations

  • Write 'I think of a number, double it, and add 5 to get 17' as 2n + 5 = 17
  • Solve a one-step equation such as 3x = 24 and explain the reasoning
  • Express a word problem as an algebraic equation and find the unknown value

• Algebraic Notation

  Use and interpret algebraic notation including: ab for a × b, 3y for y + y + y, a² for a × a, a/b for a ÷ b, coefficients as fractions, and brackets for grouping; read and write algebraic expressions fluently

  • Read and interpret expressions using standard algebraic conventions for multiplication, division, and powers
  • Write algebraic expressions from word descriptions using correct notation
  • Understand that juxtaposition means multiplication and that a/b means a divided by b

• Solving Linear Equations

  Use algebraic methods to solve linear equations in one variable, including equations that require rearrangement, expanding brackets, and collecting terms on both sides; solve equations with rational number coefficients

  • Solve one-step and two-step linear equations in one variable
  • Solve equations requiring expansion of brackets and collection of like terms
  • Solve equations with the unknown on both sides and with fractional or negative coefficients

• Collecting Like Terms

  Simplify algebraic expressions by collecting like terms — combine terms with the same variable and power (e.g., 3a + 2b + 5a = 8a + 2b) while maintaining equivalence

  • Identify like terms in an algebraic expression
  • Combine like terms involving positive and negative coefficients
  • Simplify expressions involving multiple variables and constant terms

• Expanding Single Brackets

  Expand (multiply out) a single term over a bracket using the distributive property, e.g., 3(2x + 5) = 6x + 15; expand expressions involving negative multipliers

  • Multiply a single positive term over a bracket to expand the expression
  • Multiply a negative term over a bracket, correctly handling signs
  • Combine expanding brackets with collecting like terms to simplify fully

• Expressions & Equations Vocabulary

  Understand and use the concepts and vocabulary of expressions, equations, inequalities, terms, and factors; distinguish between an expression (no equals sign), an equation (equals sign), and an inequality (inequality sign)

  • Define and distinguish between expression, equation, and inequality
  • Identify terms, coefficients, and factors in algebraic expressions
  • Use the vocabulary of algebra precisely in mathematical discussions

• Algebraic Transformations

  Model situations or procedures by translating them into algebraic expressions or formulae and by using graphs; move between word problems, algebraic representations, tables, and graphical representations

  • Translate a word problem or real-world situation into an algebraic expression or formula
  • Construct a table of values from an algebraic rule
  • Plot the corresponding graph and interpret it in the context of the problem

• Substituting into Formulae

  Substitute numerical values into formulae and expressions including scientific formulae; evaluate expressions by replacing variables with given values and computing the result using correct order of operations

  • Substitute positive and negative values into algebraic expressions and evaluate
  • Substitute values into formulae involving multiple operations and powers
  • Use correct order of operations when evaluating expressions after substitution

• Generating Sequences

  Generate terms of a sequence from a term-to-term rule (e.g., 'add 3 each time') or a position-to-term rule (e.g., '2n + 1'), and identify whether a sequence is arithmetic, geometric, or neither

  • Continue a sequence given a term-to-term rule involving addition, subtraction, or multiplication
  • Generate the first five terms from a position-to-term formula such as 3n − 2
  • Classify sequences as arithmetic (constant difference), geometric (constant ratio), or other

• Number Pattern Relationships

  Generate two numerical patterns using two given rules; identify relationships between corresponding terms; form ordered pairs and graph them on a coordinate plane

  • Generate sequences starting at 0 with rules 'add 3' and 'add 6'; observe terms in one are twice the other
  • Form ordered pairs from corresponding terms and plot them on a coordinate grid
  • Explain informally why the relationship between the two sequences holds

• Equations with Two Unknowns

  Find pairs of numbers that satisfy an equation with two unknowns (e.g. find pairs (a, b) where a + b = 10 or 2a + b = 15)

  • List all whole-number pairs (a, b) where a + b = 12 with a, b > 0
  • Find three pairs that satisfy 2x + y = 20
  • Explain systematically how to generate all integer solutions to a two-variable equation within a given range

• Systematic Listing

  Enumerate possibilities of combinations of two variables systematically (e.g. all ways to choose from a set of options)

  • List all possible meal combinations from 3 starters and 4 mains
  • Organise combinations into a systematic table to ensure none are missed
  • Explain why the total number of combinations equals the product of the options in each category

• Linear number sequences

  Generate and describe linear number sequences, including those with negative and decimal steps; identify the term-to-term rule

  • Continue the sequence 2.5, 4.0, 5.5, ... and state the rule as 'add 1.5'
  • Generate terms of a sequence that crosses zero (e.g. 3, 1, −1, −3, ...)
  • Describe the term-to-term rule for a given linear sequence and predict the 10th term

Math · Ratio & Proportion

Your child is learning to compare quantities and solve problems involving ratios, proportions, percentages, and scale — essential skills for understanding relationships between numbers in real-world contexts.

• Compound Units

  Use compound units such as speed (distance ÷ time), unit pricing (cost ÷ quantity), and density (mass ÷ volume); solve problems involving compound units

  • Calculate average speed given distance and time, converting between km/h and m/s if needed
  • Compare unit prices of two products sold in different quantities to find the better deal
  • Use the density formula to find mass, volume, or density given the other two values

• Scale and similar shapes (age 11+)

  Use scale factors to interpret and create scale diagrams and maps, calculating real-life distances from map measurements and vice versa

  • Calculate a real-life distance from a map measurement using a given scale (e.g. 1:25,000)
  • Draw a scale diagram of a room using a chosen scale factor
  • Convert between map distance and actual distance in problems involving different units

• One Quantity as a Fraction

  Express one quantity as a fraction of another where the result may be less than 1 or greater than 1, and interpret the meaning in context

  • Express 45 minutes as a fraction of 2 hours (= 3/8)
  • Express a larger quantity as a fraction of a smaller one and explain why the result exceeds 1
  • Simplify the resulting fraction and interpret its meaning in the original context

• Calculating Percentages

  Solve problems involving the calculation of percentages of amounts (e.g. 15% of 360) and the use of percentages for comparison

  • Calculate 15% of 360 by finding 10% and 5% and combining
  • Compare two discounts given as percentages of different original prices
  • Explain a strategy for finding any percentage of an amount using known percentage facts

• Scale and similar shapes

  Solve problems involving similar shapes where the scale factor is known or can be found

  • Find the missing side of a similar rectangle given a scale factor of 3
  • Determine the scale factor between two similar triangles from given side lengths
  • Use a scale factor to enlarge or reduce a shape and verify that all sides are in the same ratio

• Percentages as Fractions

  Define percentage as 'number of parts per hundred'; interpret percentages and percentage changes as a fraction or a decimal; express one quantity as a percentage of another; compare quantities using percentages; work with percentages greater than 100%

  • Convert fluently between percentages, fractions, and decimals
  • Express one quantity as a percentage of another
  • Calculate percentage increases and decreases and interpret percentages greater than 100%

• Unit Conversions

  Convert freely between related standard units of measurement (time, length, area, volume/capacity, mass) using decimal notation to up to three decimal places where appropriate

  • Convert between area units such as cm² and m² using the square of the linear scale factor
  • Perform multi-step conversions (e.g. convert 2.5 hours to seconds via minutes)
  • Convert volume units such as cm³ to litres and explain the relationship

• Ratio Problems

  Solve problems involving the relative sizes of two quantities where missing values can be found by using integer multiplication and division facts

  • If the ratio of red to blue beads is 3:5 and there are 15 blue beads, find the number of red beads
  • Use multiplication facts to find the missing value: 'For every 2 apples there are 5 oranges; if there are 20 oranges, how many apples?'
  • Explain the multiplicative relationship between two quantities in a ratio context

• Ratio Notation

  Use ratio notation to describe the relationship between two or more quantities, simplify ratios to their simplest form, and convert between ratio and fraction representations

  • Write a ratio from a word problem and simplify it (e.g. 12:8 = 3:2)
  • Convert a ratio to equivalent fractions of a whole (e.g. 3:2 means 3/5 and 2/5)
  • Simplify ratios involving decimals or fractions by finding a common multiplier

• Understanding fractions

  Solve problems involving unequal sharing and grouping using knowledge of fractions and multiples

  • Share 40 sweets between two children in the ratio 3:5
  • Solve: 'Tom gets twice as many as Sam and Sam gets three times as many as Jo. If there are 30 altogether, how many does each get?'
  • Use fraction knowledge to explain why sharing in ratio 2:3 means one person gets 2/5 of the total

• Dividing Quantities by Ratio

  Divide a given quantity into two parts in a given part:part or part:whole ratio, and express the division as a fraction of the whole

  • Share £60 between two people in the ratio 2:3 by finding the value of one part
  • Express the result of sharing 24 sweets as 10 and 14 in ratio form as 5:7
  • Solve problems involving three-part ratios (e.g. divide 180 in the ratio 1:2:3)

• Bar Models for Ratios

  Represent ratio and proportion problems using bar models (rectangular strips divided into equal parts labelled with quantities) and tape diagrams (segmented strips showing part-to-part and part-to-whole relationships); use these visual models to set up and solve unequal sharing, scaling, and percentage problems — drawing the diagram first, then reading off the answer

  • Draw a bar model to represent a ratio problem — e.g. sharing £20 in the ratio 3:2 by drawing 5 equal blocks
  • Use a bar model to solve a proportion problem and explain each step
  • Compare bar models with other representations (tables, double number lines) and explain when each is most useful

• Percentages (age 9+)

  Know and use the vocabulary of ratio and proportion — ratio, proportion, percentage, scale, equivalent, unequal, relative size, part-to-part, part-to-whole, and out of — and understand the difference between ratio (comparing parts to parts) and proportion (comparing a part to the whole)

  • Explain the difference between a 'ratio' and a 'proportion' using a concrete example like mixing paint
  • Use 'per cent' correctly and convert between fractions, decimals, and percentages in context
  • Define 'scale factor' and use it to describe how a shape has been enlarged or reduced

• Proportional Reasoning Vocabulary

  Know and use advanced vocabulary of multiplicative reasoning — direct proportion, inverse proportion, ratio, rate, unit rate, compound unit, scale factor — accurately in problem-solving contexts

  • Distinguish between 'direct proportion' and 'inverse proportion' with real-world examples
  • Use 'rate', 'speed', and 'density' correctly and explain what units they are measured in
  • Calculate using compound measures — e.g. work out the speed of a car that travels 120 miles in 2 hours

• Proportion Graphs

  Represent proportional relationships using double number lines (two parallel number lines aligned at 0) and ratio tables; recognise that equivalent ratios generate straight lines through the origin when graphed

  • Plot pairs of proportional values on a coordinate grid and draw the straight line through the origin
  • Explain why a directly proportional relationship always passes through (0,0)
  • Read a proportion graph to find an unknown value — e.g. 'If 3 kg costs £6, how much does 5 kg cost?'

Math · Number Representation & Place Value

Your child is mastering large numbers and decimals — reading, writing, and comparing numbers up to 10 million, understanding how decimal places work, and using negative numbers in real-world contexts like temperature and money.

• Place Value × 10 and ÷ 10

  Recognise that in a multi-digit number, a digit in one place represents 10 times as much as in the place to its right and 1/10 of what it represents in the place to its left

  • Explain that the 4 in 0.04 is 1/10 of the 4 in 0.4
  • State that a digit moving one place left is ×10 and one place right is ÷10
  • Compare the value of the 6 in 6,000 and in 0.006

• Reading and writing numbers (age 10+)

  Read, write, and compare decimals to thousandths using base-ten numerals, number names, and expanded form; compare using >, =, < based on place-value meaning

  • Write 347.392 in expanded form: 3×100 + 4×10 + 7×1 + 3×(1/10) + 9×(1/100) + 2×(1/1000)
  • Compare 0.372 and 0.38 using place-value reasoning
  • Write 'five and sixty-two thousandths' as 5.062

• Fractions on a number line (age 11+)

  Order positive and negative integers, decimals, and fractions on a number line; use the symbols =, ≠, <, >, ≤, ≥ to compare values including negative numbers and mixed representations

  • Order a mixed set of positive and negative integers, decimals, and fractions
  • Use the symbols =, ≠, <, >, ≤, ≥ correctly in mathematical statements
  • Compare numbers presented in different forms such as 0.75 and 3/4

• Numbers to Ten Million

  Solve number and practical problems involving reading, writing, ordering, comparing, rounding, and negative numbers up to 10,000,000

  • A country's population is 8,274,500 — round to the nearest million for a headline
  • Order the depths of three ocean trenches given in metres including negative values
  • Estimate the total attendance at three events by rounding each to the nearest 100,000

• Reading and writing numbers to 10,000,000

  Read, write, order, and compare numbers up to 10,000,000 and determine the value of each digit

  • Write 4,302,561 in words
  • Order four seven-digit numbers from smallest to largest
  • State the value of the 7 in 7,045,200 as seven million

• Reading Decimal Places

  Identify the value of each digit in numbers given to three decimal places (e.g. in 4.378, the 7 represents 7 hundredths)

  • State the value of each digit in 2.635 (2 ones, 6 tenths, 3 hundredths, 5 thousandths)
  • Explain the relationship between adjacent decimal places (each place is ten times smaller)
  • Write a number given digit values (e.g. 4 ones, 0 tenths, 7 hundredths, 3 thousandths = 4.073)

• Fractions on a number line

  Understand and use place value for decimals, measures, and integers of any size; extend the number system to include all positive and negative integers, decimals, and fractions on a single number line

  • Identify the value of any digit in numbers of any size including decimals
  • Place positive and negative integers, decimals, and fractions on a number line
  • Use place value to compare and order numbers across the full number system

• Decimal place value

  Round decimals to any place using place-value understanding; round any whole number to a required degree of accuracy

  • Round 3.4567 to 2 decimal places (3.46)
  • Round 7,654,321 to the nearest 100,000 (7,700,000)
  • Use rounding to estimate 4.83 × 2.17 ≈ 5 × 2 = 10

• Decimal place value (age 11+)

  Round numbers and measures to an appropriate degree of accuracy including to a specified number of decimal places or significant figures

  • Round numbers to a given number of decimal places
  • Round numbers to a given number of significant figures
  • Choose an appropriate degree of accuracy for a given context

• Square and cube numbers

  Use integer powers and associated real roots (square, cube, and higher); recognise powers of 2, 3, 4, and 5; distinguish between exact representations of roots and their decimal approximations

  • Calculate squares, cubes, and higher integer powers of whole numbers
  • Find square roots and cube roots of perfect squares and perfect cubes
  • Recognise key powers (powers of 2 up to 2¹⁰, powers of 3 up to 3⁵, etc.) and distinguish exact roots from approximations

• Measuring temperature

  Use negative numbers in context (temperature, finance, sea level); calculate intervals across zero

  • The temperature falls from 3°C to −5°C — what is the drop? (8 degrees)
  • Calculate the difference between a bank balance of −£120 and £350
  • Order −7, −3, 0, 2, 5 on a number line and find the interval from −7 to 5

• Patterns with Powers of Ten

  Explain patterns in zeros when multiplying by powers of 10 and in decimal-point placement when multiplying/dividing by a power of 10; use whole-number exponents to denote powers of 10 (e.g. 10³ = 1000)

  • Write 10⁴ = 10,000 and explain the exponent means four factors of 10
  • Explain why 3.4 × 10² = 340 by describing the decimal shift
  • Predict 2.56 × 10³ without calculating and explain the pattern

• Numbers on a number line

  Understand the absolute value of a rational number as its distance from zero on the number line; interpret absolute value as magnitude in real-world contexts; distinguish absolute value comparisons from ordering statements

  • Define absolute value as distance from zero on a number line
  • Calculate the absolute value of positive and negative rational numbers
  • Distinguish between comparing absolute values and comparing signed numbers in real-world contexts

Math · Measurement

Your child is mastering advanced measurement skills — calculating volume and area using formulas, converting between different units of measurement, and solving real-world problems involving length, mass, and capacity.

• Area of Triangles & Parallelograms

  Calculate the area of parallelograms and triangles using formulae (A = b × h for parallelograms, A = ½ × b × h for triangles)

  • Calculate the area of a parallelogram with base 8 cm and height 5 cm
  • Calculate the area of a triangle with base 12 cm and height 7 cm
  • Explain why the area of a triangle is half the area of a related parallelogram

• Miles & Kilometres

  Convert between miles and kilometres using the approximate relationship (5 miles ≈ 8 km)

  • Convert 40 miles to approximately 64 km
  • Explain why the conversion factor between miles and km is approximately 1.6
  • Use the miles↔km relationship to compare a 10 km race with a 6-mile run

• Volume as additive

  Recognise volume as additive; find volumes of composite solid figures made of two or more non-overlapping right rectangular prisms

  • Decompose an L-shaped solid into two cuboids and calculate total volume
  • Solve a real-world problem requiring the volume of a composite figure (e.g. a step-shaped structure)
  • Explain why splitting a composite solid into rectangular prisms allows calculation of total volume

• Decimal place value

  Convert among different-sized standard measurement units within a given system (e.g. 5 cm to 0.05 m) using decimal notation to up to three decimal places; convert between smaller and larger units of length, mass, volume, and time

  • Convert 3,250 g to 3.25 kg using decimal notation
  • Convert 0.45 km to 450 m
  • Explain the relationship between mm, cm, m, and km using powers of 10

• Measurement Conversions

  Solve problems involving the calculation and conversion of units of measure, using decimal notation and multi-step reasoning in real-world contexts

  • Solve: 'A recipe uses 0.75 kg of flour. How many grams are needed for 3 batches?'
  • Compare 2.5 litres and 2,450 ml by converting to the same unit
  • Solve a multi-step problem involving time, distance, and unit conversion

• Estimating answers (age 10+)

  Find the volume of right rectangular prisms by packing with unit cubes and show it equals l × w × h (or base area × height); apply V = l × w × h and V = B × h to solve real-world problems; calculate, estimate, and compare volumes of cubes and cuboids in standard units (cm³, m³)

  • Use V = l × w × h to find the volume of a cuboid 4 cm × 3 cm × 5 cm = 60 cm³
  • Explain why packing a prism with unit cubes gives the same result as multiplying edge lengths
  • Compare volumes of two cuboids and identify which has greater capacity

• Perimeter (age 10+)

  Recognise that shapes with the same area can have different perimeters and vice versa; explore this relationship systematically

  • Draw two rectangles with area 24 cm² but different perimeters
  • Find two shapes with perimeter 20 cm but different areas
  • Explain why a long thin rectangle and a square can have the same area but different perimeters

• Counting Unit Cubes

  Measure volumes by counting unit cubes using cubic cm, cubic in, cubic ft, and other units

  • Count unit cubes in a 3D diagram to determine volume in cm³
  • Measure the volume of a small container by filling it with centimetre cubes
  • Express a measured volume using the correct cubic unit notation

• Measuring length (age 10+)

  Recognise volume as an attribute of solid figures; understand that a unit cube (side length 1 unit) has 'one cubic unit' of volume and can be used to measure volume; a solid packed with n unit cubes has volume n cubic units

  • Explain what 'volume' means for a 3D shape and how it differs from area
  • Identify a unit cube and explain that it represents one cubic unit of volume
  • Determine the volume of a small solid by counting the unit cubes that fill it

Math · Mathematical Thinking

Your child is developing advanced mathematical reasoning skills — learning to construct logical arguments, make connections between different mathematical concepts, and solve complex real-world problems involving fractions, algebra, and ratio.

• Advanced Multi-Step Problems

  Make sense of complex multi-step problems involving ratio, proportion, algebra, negative numbers, and all four operations with fractions and decimals by analysing given and unknown quantities, planning solution strategies, and evaluating reasonableness using estimation and inverse operations

  • Break down a three-step ratio problem into sub-problems and plan a solution pathway
  • Identify which quantities are known/unknown in an algebraic word problem and set up equations
  • Use estimation to check whether a decimal division answer is reasonable before finalising

• Understanding fractions (age 10+)

  Move fluently between real-world situations, diagrams, coordinate grids, algebraic expressions, tables, and symbolic equations involving fractions, ratio, and algebra, explaining connections between representations

  • Translate a word problem into an algebraic equation and also represent it on a bar model
  • Plot data from a table onto a coordinate grid and interpret the relationship
  • Explain how a pie chart, a fraction, and a percentage all represent the same proportion

• Real-World Mathematical Modelling

  Model real-world problems involving ratio, scale, volume, unit conversion, and proportional reasoning with appropriate tools, diagrams, or equations

  • Choose a bar model or double number line to represent a ratio problem and solve it
  • Model a volume problem with a labelled diagram, apply the formula, and interpret the result in context
  • Determine whether a measurement answer should be rounded and to what degree of accuracy

• Advanced Maths Vocabulary

  Communicate with mathematical precision: use correct vocabulary for ratio, proportion, algebra, volume, coordinate geometry, and circle parts; specify units including cm³, m³, and miles/km; use notation for algebraic expressions and order of operations accurately

  • Use 'radius', 'diameter', and 'circumference' correctly when describing a circle
  • Distinguish between an expression, an equation, and a formula in mathematical writing
  • Specify units correctly when presenting volume calculations (e.g. 60 cm³ not just 60)

• Constructing mathematical arguments

  Construct and present logical mathematical arguments involving multiple steps and formal reasoning; critique others' reasoning about fractions, algebra, ratio, or geometry and clearly explain errors or alternative approaches

  • Prove that a given angle must be 60° by chaining angle facts in a logical sequence
  • Find and explain the error in a peer's fraction division calculation
  • Construct a counter-example to disprove a false conjecture (e.g. 'multiplying always makes bigger')

• Choosing Maths Tools

  Select and use tools and representations strategically: choose between mental methods, formal written methods, algebraic approaches, coordinate grids, and technology based on the demands of the problem

  • Explain why long division is more appropriate than mental methods for 4,752 ÷ 13
  • Choose a coordinate grid approach to verify a translation rather than computing from a description alone
  • Select a formula-based approach rather than counting cubes to find volume efficiently

• Order of operations (age 10+)

  Look for and use mathematical structure: exploit the hierarchy of 2-D shapes to deduce properties; use order of operations and algebraic structure to simplify expressions; connect fraction–decimal–percentage equivalences; use ratio structure to solve proportion problems efficiently

  • Use the property that all rectangles are parallelograms to deduce missing angle facts
  • Recognise that 3 × (n + 5) = 3n + 15 by applying distributive structure
  • Use the equivalence 1/8 = 0.125 = 12.5% flexibly to solve a comparison problem

• Generalising with repeated reasoning

  Recognise and use repeated reasoning to generalise: describe algebraic rules for nth terms, use properties of operations to simplify, and verify generalisations with specific cases

  • Explain that the interior angle sum of an n-sided polygon is (n−2) × 180° based on the pattern for triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons
  • Predict the 20th term of a linear sequence by identifying and applying the general rule
  • Generalise that dividing by n always gives a denominator of n in the fraction, for any whole numbers

Math · Probability

• Complementary events

  Understand and apply the rule that probabilities of all mutually exclusive outcomes sum to one; use this to find the probability of a complementary event (P(not A) = 1 − P(A))

  • Verify that probabilities of all outcomes listed for a spinner sum to 1
  • Calculate the probability of NOT rolling a 6 as 1 − 1/6 = 5/6
  • Identify an error in a probability distribution where the values do not sum to 1

• The Probability Scale

  Understand probability as a measure on a scale from 0 (impossible) to 1 (certain); use the language of probability including likely, unlikely, certain, and impossible

  • Place everyday events on a 0-to-1 probability scale with justification
  • Explain why a fair six-sided die gives each number a probability of 1/6
  • Distinguish between equally likely outcomes (fair coin) and unequally likely outcomes (biased spinner)

• Experimental probability

  Record, describe, and analyse the frequency of outcomes from probability experiments to develop an understanding of relative frequency as an estimate of probability

  • Conduct a coin-toss experiment, record results in a frequency table, and calculate relative frequencies
  • Compare experimental results with theoretical probability and explain discrepancies
  • Predict that relative frequency approaches theoretical probability as the number of trials increases

• Calculating Simple Probability

  Calculate the probability of a simple event with equally likely outcomes using the formula: probability = number of favourable outcomes ÷ total number of possible outcomes; express the result as a fraction in its simplest form; apply to rolling dice, drawing from bags, and other simple chance situations

  • Calculate the probability of drawing a blue marble from a bag of 3 blue and 7 red as 3/10
  • Use the formula P(event) = favourable outcomes ÷ total outcomes to solve at least three different problems
  • Explain why increasing the number of favourable outcomes increases the probability

• The 0-to-1 Probability Scale

  Understand probability as a measure expressed as a number between 0 (impossible) and 1 (certain); place events on the probability scale; express probabilities as fractions, decimals, and percentages

  • Place events on a number line from 0 (impossible) to 1 (certain), expressing positions as fractions or decimals
  • Explain that a probability of 0.5 means 'even chance' and connect this to the informal word 'likely'
  • Convert between informal language ('very unlikely') and a numerical position on the 0-to-1 scale

• Probabilities Sum to One

  Understand that when all possible outcomes of a trial are listed, their probabilities must add up to 1; use this to find the probability of an event NOT happening: P(not A) = 1 − P(A); apply this shortcut to avoid counting all unfavourable outcomes directly

  • List all outcomes of spinning a 4-colour spinner and verify their probabilities add up to 1
  • Calculate P(not rolling a 3) as 1 − 1/6 = 5/6 using the complement rule
  • Spot an error in a probability table where the values don't sum to 1 and explain what's wrong

• Experimental vs Theoretical

  Run repeated probability experiments and compare experimental (relative frequency) results with theoretical predictions; understand and demonstrate that as the number of trials increases, the experimental probability tends towards the theoretical probability — and that short runs can give very different results

  • Roll a die 60 times and compare experimental frequencies with the expected 10 per number
  • Explain why experimental results don't exactly match theoretical predictions but get closer with more trials
  • Predict what would happen if the experiment were repeated 600 times instead of 60

Math · Data & Statistics

Your child is learning to interpret and create different types of graphs and charts, and beginning to calculate averages to understand what data tells us about real-world situations.

• Comparing measurements

  Describe, interpret, and compare distributions of a single variable using appropriate measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode) and spread (range), including the effect of outliers

  • Calculate mean, median, and mode for a data set and explain when each is most appropriate
  • Find the range of a data set and explain how an outlier affects the mean versus the median
  • Compare two data sets using their averages and ranges to draw conclusions

• Pictograms and tally charts (age 11+)

  Construct and interpret frequency tables, bar charts, pie charts, pictograms, and vertical line charts for both categorical and grouped numerical data, choosing appropriate representations for the data type

  • Construct a grouped frequency table from raw continuous data, choosing appropriate class intervals
  • Draw a pie chart by calculating the angle for each category
  • Interpret a bar chart comparing two data sets and draw a conclusion about the difference

• Line graphs (age 10+)

  Interpret and construct pie charts and line graphs; use these to solve problems

  • Read values from a line graph showing temperature over a day and identify trends
  • Construct a pie chart from given data by calculating sector angles
  • Use a pie chart to determine the actual quantity represented by each sector given the total

• Calculating the Mean

  Calculate and interpret the mean as an average of a data set

  • Calculate the mean of five test scores: 72, 85, 90, 68, 95
  • Explain what the mean represents and how it differs from individual data values
  • Find a missing data value given the mean and all other values

• Understanding fractions

  Make a line plot to display a data set of measurements in fractions of a unit (1/2, 1/4, 1/8); use operations on fractions to solve problems involving data in line plots (e.g. redistribute total equally)

  • Create a line plot showing lengths measured to the nearest 1/8 inch
  • Use the line plot to find the total of all measurements by adding fractions
  • Solve: 'If the total liquid were redistributed equally among all beakers, how much would each have?'

• Statistical Analysis Vocabulary

  Read, write, and use the vocabulary of statistical analysis — mean, median, mode, range, frequency, data, sample, average, chart, table, graph, pie chart, scatter graph, correlation — with understanding of what each term describes

  • Correctly define and calculate the mean, median, mode, and range of a small data set
  • Use 'outlier' correctly to identify a value that doesn't fit the pattern, and explain its effect on the mean
  • Use 'correlation' correctly when describing the relationship shown in a scatter graph

Math · Addition & Subtraction

Your child is mastering complex addition and subtraction — solving multi-step problems with large numbers and decimals, and choosing the best strategies to work out challenging calculations.

• Adding and subtracting (age 10+)

  Solve addition and subtraction multi-step problems in contexts, deciding which operations and methods to use and why, with numbers up to 10,000,000 and decimals

  • Solve a two-step word problem involving addition and subtraction of numbers beyond 1,000,000
  • Choose between mental, written, and calculator methods for a multi-step problem and justify the choice
  • Interpret a real-life context to identify which addition/subtraction operations are needed across multiple steps

• Addition and subtraction strategies (age 10+)

  Add and subtract decimals to hundredths using strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate strategies to written methods and explain reasoning

  • Correctly compute 3.45 + 2.78 and explain regrouping across decimal places
  • Use a number line or base-ten blocks to model 5.03 − 2.67
  • Explain why the standard algorithm works for decimal addition by connecting to place-value understanding

• Positive and Negative Numbers

  Understand positive and negative numbers as describing quantities with opposite directions or values; use them in context such as temperature, floors in a building, and bank balances

  • Represent positive and negative numbers on a number line and explain what zero means in context
  • Add a positive or negative number to any integer using number line reasoning
  • Subtract a positive or negative number from any integer, understanding that subtracting a negative is equivalent to adding

English · Reading Comprehension

Your child is developing sophisticated reading skills — comparing texts, analysing how authors use evidence and perspective, integrating information from multiple sources, and supporting their interpretations with quotes and reasoning.

• Justifying Views About Texts

  Provide reasoned justifications for views about texts, supporting interpretations and opinions with evidence and logical arguments

  • State an opinion about a character's motivations and support it with three pieces of textual evidence
  • Construct a reasoned argument about an author's message using quotes from the text
  • Respond to an alternative interpretation by providing counter-evidence from the text

• Evaluating Arguments in Non-Fiction

  Evaluate arguments and claims in non-fiction texts — assess whether reasoning is sound, evidence is relevant and sufficient, distinguish between fact and opinion, and recognise bias, propaganda, and rhetorical techniques

  • Identify the main claim in an argument text and evaluate whether the evidence presented is sufficient
  • Spot logical fallacies or irrelevant evidence introduced to distract from weak reasoning
  • Compare two opposing arguments on the same issue and evaluate which is more convincing, with reasons

• Figurative Language and Literary Devices

  Determine the meaning of figurative and connotative language in context, analyse the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, and identify literary devices such as metaphor, simile, personification, allusion, and irony

  • Identify a metaphor or simile in a passage and explain its effect on the reader
  • Explain how an author's word choice creates a particular tone (e.g., menacing, humorous, melancholic)
  • Recognise an allusion to a myth, the Bible, or another text and explain what it adds to the meaning

• Using and Evaluating Textual Evidence

  Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of what a text says explicitly and what can be inferred, distinguishing between strong and weak evidence and explaining how the evidence supports a point

  • Identify a relevant quotation to support an inference about a character's feelings
  • Explain why one piece of evidence is stronger than another for supporting a claim
  • Use embedded quotations in a written response to back up an analytical point

• Poetic forms and conventions

  Recognise and understand poetic conventions — including form (sonnet, ballad, free verse), metre, rhyme scheme, stanza structure, imagery, and sound devices (alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia) — and analyse how poets use them for effect

  • Identify the form of a poem (e.g., sonnet, haiku, ballad) and explain its key structural features
  • Analyse how a poet uses rhythm or sound devices to reinforce meaning or mood
  • Explain how enjambment or a caesura affects the pace and emphasis of a line

• Narrative Perspective and Unreliable Narrators

  Analyse point of view and narrative perspective — including first person, third person limited and omniscient, and unreliable narrator — and how the author's or narrator's perspective shapes the reader's understanding and creates effects such as suspense, irony, or humour

  • Identify the narrative perspective of a text and explain how it limits or expands the reader's knowledge
  • Explain how dramatic irony arises when the reader knows something a character does not
  • Compare how the same event might be told differently from two characters' perspectives

• Plot Structure and Character Development

  Analyse how plot structure unfolds through episodes or key events, and how characters develop, respond to challenges, and change over the course of a narrative — including the relationship between character, setting, and plot

  • Trace how a character's attitude changes across a story and identify the turning points
  • Explain how a specific incident in a drama propels the action or provokes a decision
  • Analyse how the setting influences a character's behaviour or the mood of a scene

• Understanding drama and performance

  Understand how dramatists communicate meaning through performance — including staging, direction, set design, lighting, and actors' choices — and how different productions can interpret the same script differently

  • Explain how a director's staging choices (e.g., set, lighting, blocking) affect the audience's understanding
  • Compare two productions or adaptations of the same play and evaluate different interpretive choices
  • Analyse how a filmed or live production stays faithful to or departs from the original script

• Self-Correcting While Reading

  Check that text makes sense while reading and self-correct inaccurate reading by re-reading or using context

  • Notice when reading does not make sense and stop to re-read
  • Self-correct errors mid-sentence (e.g. 'Wait, that doesn't sound right')
  • Use meaning, sentence structure, and visual cues together to monitor reading

• Critical comparison across texts

  Make critical comparisons across texts — comparing themes, characters, settings, styles, or arguments in two or more works, including texts from different periods, genres, or cultures

  • Compare how two novels treat a shared theme (e.g., growing up) using specific evidence from both
  • Analyse how a modern retelling draws on and transforms elements from a traditional story or myth
  • Compare conflicting accounts of the same event in two non-fiction texts and evaluate which is more convincing

• Using Multiple Sources

  Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or solve a problem efficiently

  • Use search features, indexes, and headings to locate specific information across sources
  • Synthesise information from two or more sources to answer a research question
  • Evaluate which source provides the most relevant information for a given question

• Comparing Characters, Settings and Events

  Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details about how characters interact, settings influence action, or events connect

  • Create a Venn diagram comparing two characters' traits using textual evidence
  • Explain how a change in setting affects the mood and characters' actions in a story
  • Analyse how two events in a narrative are connected through cause and effect

• Different viewpoints in texts

  Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described, recognising the difference between limited and omniscient narration and how perspective shapes storytelling

  • Identify whether a story uses first-person or third-person narration and explain the effect
  • Explain how events would be described differently if told from another character's perspective
  • Analyse how the narrator's knowledge or bias affects what information the reader receives

• Comparing Books

  Make comparisons within and across books, identifying similarities and differences in themes, characters, settings, and authorial choices across multiple texts

  • Compare how two authors develop similar themes using different narrative techniques
  • Identify similarities and differences between characters across books by the same author
  • Analyse how settings function differently in two texts from the same genre

• Wide Independent Reading Across Genres

  Read widely and independently across fiction and non-fiction — including whole novels, short stories, plays, poetry, and non-fiction from different genres, periods, and cultures — building stamina, breadth, and personal taste as a reader

  • Choose books independently that offer appropriate challenge and genuine interest
  • Read at least two Shakespeare plays and a range of pre-1914 and contemporary literature during KS3
  • Maintain a personal reading record and articulate preferences with reasons

• Finding Theme and Summarising

  Determine the theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, and provide an objective summary that captures the key events without personal opinions

  • Identify the theme of a story (e.g. courage, friendship, overcoming adversity) by examining what characters learn, how they change, and what the author emphasises across the whole text
  • Distinguish theme from topic: explain that a topic might be 'war' while the theme is 'the cost of conflict on families'
  • Summarise a story, chapter, or poem objectively, including only key events and details without inserting personal opinions or minor details

• Tracing Theme Across a Text

  Determine and analyse the theme or central idea of a text, trace how it develops across the text through key details and events, and provide an objective summary distinct from personal opinion

  • Identify a theme in a novel and explain how specific events develop it across the plot
  • Distinguish between the topic of a text (what it is about) and the theme (what it is saying)
  • Write a concise, objective summary of a chapter or article without inserting personal opinion

• Quoting Accurately from Texts

  Quote accurately from literary and informational texts when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences, using quotation marks and citations correctly

  • Select and copy exact words from a text to support an inference about character motivation
  • Use quotation marks correctly when incorporating textual evidence into written responses
  • Introduce quotes with signal phrases such as 'The author states' or 'According to the text'

• Summarising Non-Fiction Main Ideas

  Determine two or more main ideas of an informational text and explain how they are supported by key details, then summarise the text without personal opinions

  • Identify the main ideas in each section of an informational article
  • List key details that support each main idea in a multi-paragraph text
  • Write an objective summary capturing the main ideas without adding personal opinions

• Comparing Structure in Information Texts

  Compare and contrast the overall structure of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more informational texts, identifying patterns such as chronology, comparison, cause/effect, or problem/solution

  • Identify the organisational structure of two texts on the same topic
  • Explain how one text uses cause/effect while another uses problem/solution to present information
  • Analyse why an author chose a particular structure for their informational text

• How Authors Treat Similar Themes

  Compare and contrast stories in the same genre on their approaches to similar themes and topics, identifying how different authors treat common ideas

  • Compare how two mystery stories create suspense using different techniques
  • Identify common themes in adventure stories and explain how each author develops them differently
  • Analyse how two authors from the same genre approach the theme of friendship or courage

• Purpose, audience, and context

  Identify the purpose, audience, and context of a text and use this knowledge to support comprehension — recognising how writing aimed at different audiences (academic, popular, persuasive) uses different conventions, register, and tone

  • Identify the intended audience and purpose of a text and explain how the language choices reflect this
  • Compare a newspaper article and a scientific report on the same topic, noting differences in register and structure
  • Explain how knowing the historical or social context of a text deepens understanding

• How Language Choices Affect the Reader

  Evaluate how authors use language including figurative language, considering the impact of word choices, imagery, and literary devices on the reader

  • Explain how a specific metaphor or simile affects the reader's understanding or emotions
  • Evaluate an author's choice of descriptive language and its impact on atmosphere
  • Compare how different authors use figurative language to achieve similar effects

• Synthesising across multiple texts

  Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably, combining information without plagiarising

  • Combine information from three sources into a coherent paragraph using own words
  • Create a fact sheet that synthesises key information from multiple texts on one topic
  • Present information orally that draws on multiple sources while crediting the sources

• Explaining Relationships in Texts

  Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in historical, scientific, or technical texts based on specific information

  • Explain the cause-and-effect relationship between events in a historical text
  • Describe how a scientific process involves sequential steps that depend on each other
  • Identify how key individuals in a text influenced events or other people

• How Parts Build a Whole Text

  Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a story, drama, or poem, analysing how each part contributes to the whole

  • Map the structure of a novel showing how each chapter advances plot or character development
  • Explain how individual stanzas in a poem build toward a central theme or message
  • Analyse how scenes in a play work together to develop conflict and resolution

• Analysing Text Structure

  Analyse how a text's structure — including its overall organisation, use of chapters, stanzas, scenes, paragraphs, or sections — contributes to its meaning, style, and development of ideas

  • Explain how a non-chronological structure (e.g., flashback, frame narrative) creates suspense or surprise
  • Analyse the role of a specific paragraph in developing and refining a key concept in a non-fiction text
  • Compare how two texts use different structures (e.g., epistolary vs. linear narrative) and the effect of each

• Fact vs opinion

  Distinguish between statements of fact and statements of opinion in texts, recognising how authors blend factual information with subjective viewpoints

  • Identify and label statements as fact or opinion in a newspaper article
  • Explain why a statement is a fact by citing verifiable evidence or why it is an opinion
  • Recognise persuasive techniques that present opinions as if they were facts

• Multiple Accounts of Events

  Analyse multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent

  • Compare two news articles about the same event and identify differences in perspective
  • Explain how the author's background or purpose affects their account of an event
  • Identify which facts are consistent across accounts and which details differ based on viewpoint

• Supporting ideas with evidence

  Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which specific points

  • Match each of an author's main points with the evidence used to support it
  • Evaluate whether the evidence provided adequately supports the author's argument
  • Identify points in a text that lack sufficient evidence or reasoning

• Multimedia elements in texts

  Analyse how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text such as graphic novels, multimedia presentations, or illustrated editions of fiction and poetry

  • Explain how illustrations in a graphic novel convey emotion or advance the story
  • Analyse how visual elements such as colour and layout affect the tone of a multimedia text
  • Compare how the same scene is portrayed in text versus in visual or audio format

English · Grammar & Punctuation

Your child is learning advanced grammar and punctuation skills — mastering complex sentence structures, sophisticated punctuation like colons and semi-colons, and formal writing techniques that will prepare them for secondary school and beyond.

• Grammar for Effect

  Analyse the effectiveness and impact of grammatical features in texts read — understanding how authors make deliberate grammatical choices (sentence length, passive voice, fronted adverbials, listing) to create specific effects on the reader

  • Explain how an author's use of short, simple sentences creates tension or urgency in a passage
  • Analyse why an author uses a list of three (tricolon) in a persuasive text and evaluate its impact
  • Identify a grammatical choice in a text (e.g., present tense for immediacy) and explain the effect on the reader

• Literary and Language Terminology

  Discuss reading, writing, and spoken language with precise and confident use of linguistic and literary terminology — including terms for word classes, sentence types, clause types, literary devices, and text-level features

  • Use terms like 'subordinate clause', 'relative pronoun', 'metaphor', 'alliteration' accurately in discussion
  • Explain the difference between a simile and a metaphor using correct terminology
  • Use metalanguage (e.g., 'the author employs enjambment to...') confidently when writing about texts

• Grammar Terms: Voice and Punctuation

  Know and use Year 6 grammatical terminology accurately: subject, object, active voice, passive voice, synonym, antonym, ellipsis, hyphen, colon, semi-colon, bullet points

  • Define and give examples of subject and object in sentences
  • Explain the difference between active and passive voice using correct terminology
  • Use terms such as ellipsis, colon, and semi-colon accurately when discussing punctuation choices

• Active and passive voice

  Use the passive voice to shift focus from the agent to the action or recipient, understanding how passive constructions affect the presentation of information in formal and objective writing

  • Convert active sentences to passive voice and explain the change in emphasis
  • Identify passive constructions in news reports and scientific writing
  • Choose between active and passive voice based on purpose and audience

• The Present Perfect Tense

  Use the present perfect form of verbs in contrast to the simple past tense, understanding how the present perfect indicates an action completed at an unspecified time or with ongoing relevance (e.g., 'He has gone out' vs 'He went out')

  • Form the present perfect using 'has/have' + past participle (e.g., 'She has eaten', 'They have finished')
  • Choose between simple past and present perfect to match the intended meaning (e.g., 'I ate lunch' vs 'I have eaten lunch')
  • Identify the present perfect form in a text and explain why the author used it instead of simple past

• Choosing Tenses for Precise Meaning

  Use verb tense to convey various times, sequences, states, and conditions, selecting tenses deliberately to express the precise timing and nature of actions and events

  • Write a paragraph using multiple tenses to show the sequence of past, present, and future events
  • Choose between simple, progressive, and perfect tenses to express duration or completion
  • Explain why a specific tense is appropriate for expressing a condition or hypothetical situation

• Consistent verb tense

  Recognise and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense within and across sentences and paragraphs, maintaining consistency unless a shift is required by meaning

  • Identify and correct unnecessary tense shifts in a given paragraph
  • Edit own writing to ensure consistent tense use throughout a narrative
  • Explain when a tense shift is appropriate such as when describing a flashback

• Linking paragraphs with adverbials

  Link ideas across paragraphs using adverbials of time (later, meanwhile, after a while), place (nearby, far away, beyond the wall), and number (secondly, finally, in addition) to guide the reader through a multi-paragraph text

  • Begin a new paragraph with an adverbial of time to signal a shift in time or sequence, e.g. 'Meanwhile, back at the castle...' or 'Several hours later, the storm finally passed'
  • Use adverbials of place to move the reader to a new location between paragraphs, e.g. 'Beyond the forest, the land was flat and dry'
  • Use numbering or addition adverbials to structure non-fiction across paragraphs, e.g. 'The first reason... The second reason... In addition...'

• Paragraph Cohesion

  Link ideas across paragraphs using a wider range of cohesive devices including word repetition, grammatical connections such as adverbials, and ellipsis to create coherent extended texts

  • Use adverbials such as 'on the other hand' and 'as a consequence' to connect paragraphs
  • Apply ellipsis to avoid repetition while maintaining clarity across sentences
  • Create cohesion by repeating key words or using synonyms to link ideas between paragraphs

• Commas in lists

  Use commas to separate items in a list within a sentence (e.g., 'I bought apples, bananas, and oranges')

  • Write a sentence containing a list of 3+ items separated by commas: 'I bought apples, bananas, and oranges'
  • Identify where commas should go in an unpunctuated list sentence
  • Explain that commas separate items in a list so the reader knows each item

• Cohesion within paragraphs

  Use cohesive devices within a paragraph — including pronouns, adverbials (then, after that, firstly), and synonyms — to link sentences and build a coherent flow of ideas

  • Replace repeated nouns with pronouns or synonyms to maintain cohesion without ambiguity, e.g. 'The explorer found a cave. She examined it carefully'
  • Use adverbials of sequence (firstly, then, next, finally) and cause (therefore, as a result, consequently) to connect ideas within a paragraph
  • Identify where cohesion breaks down in a paragraph and insert appropriate linking devices to improve the flow

• Phrases & Clauses

  Understand and analyse the function of phrases (noun, verb, adjectival, adverbial, prepositional) and clauses (main, subordinate, relative) in general and in specific sentences, including recognising and correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers

  • Identify a prepositional phrase acting as an adverbial and explain its role in the sentence
  • Distinguish between a main clause and a subordinate clause and explain their relationship
  • Spot a dangling modifier in a sentence and rewrite it to remove the ambiguity

• Advanced Punctuation for Clarity

  Use punctuation confidently and accurately for effect and clarity — including semicolons to link related clauses, colons to introduce lists or explanations, dashes and parentheses for parenthetical information, ellipsis for omission or suspense, and commas for coordinate adjectives and nonrestrictive elements

  • Use a semicolon to link two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction
  • Set off a nonrestrictive clause with commas and explain why the commas are needed
  • Use a colon to introduce an explanation or elaboration, and a dash for a dramatic aside

• Types of Sentences

  Choose among and construct simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences to signal different relationships among ideas, varying sentence patterns deliberately for meaning, interest, and style

  • Combine short sentences into a complex sentence using a subordinating conjunction for effect
  • Rewrite a passage of monotonous simple sentences using a mix of sentence types for variety and flow
  • Identify the sentence type (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex) of given examples and explain the effect of each

• Hyphens in Prefixed Words

  Use hyphens to avoid ambiguity in compound modifiers and prefixed words, distinguishing between meanings that change based on hyphen placement

  • Distinguish between 'man eating shark' and 'man-eating shark' by adding or removing hyphens
  • Use hyphens with prefixes to clarify meaning such as 'recover' versus 're-cover'
  • Apply hyphens correctly in compound adjectives before nouns such as 'well-known author'

• Commas with yes, no, and names

  Use commas to set off the words yes and no, to set off tag questions, and to indicate direct address in sentences

  • Write sentences using commas with yes and no at the beginning such as 'Yes, I understand'
  • Punctuate tag questions correctly such as 'It's cold today, isn't it?'
  • Use commas to set off names in direct address such as 'Sarah, please pass the salt'

• Punctuating Titles of Works

  Use underlining, quotation marks, or italics to indicate titles of works, applying conventions for different types of works such as books, stories, poems, songs, and articles

  • Use italics or underlining for titles of books, films, and albums
  • Use quotation marks for titles of short works such as poems, songs, and articles
  • Apply title formatting conventions consistently in a piece of writing

• Standard English

  Know and understand the differences between spoken and written language — including differences in formality, register, grammar, and vocabulary — and between Standard English and other varieties of English, using Standard English confidently in writing and speech

  • Explain three differences between how we speak informally and how we write formally (e.g., contractions, slang, sentence completeness)
  • Identify features of Standard English and explain why it is used in formal contexts
  • Rewrite an informal spoken passage (e.g., a text message) in formal written Standard English

• Commas After Introductory Elements

  Use a comma to separate an introductory element from the rest of the sentence, including introductory words, phrases, and clauses

  • Place commas after introductory adverbs such as 'However' or 'Therefore' at the start of sentences
  • Use commas after introductory prepositional phrases like 'In the morning' or 'After the game'
  • Punctuate introductory dependent clauses correctly such as 'When the bell rang, we left'

• Varying Sentence Structure

  Expand, combine, and reduce sentences for meaning, reader interest, and style, using techniques such as embedding clauses, using appositives, and varying sentence length

  • Combine two simple sentences into one complex sentence using subordination
  • Expand a simple sentence by adding descriptive phrases and clauses
  • Reduce wordy sentences by removing redundant words while preserving meaning

• Commas Before Joining Words

  Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, so, yet) when joining two independent clauses in a compound sentence

  • Place a comma before the coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence, e.g. 'I wanted to go outside, but it was raining'
  • Distinguish compound sentences (two independent clauses) from simple sentences with compound predicates, e.g. 'She sang and danced' needs no comma but 'She sang a song, and he played the piano' does
  • Edit writing to insert missing commas before coordinating conjunctions in compound sentences

• Punctuating Clauses

  Use semi-colons, colons, and dashes to mark boundaries between independent clauses, choosing the appropriate punctuation based on the relationship between the clauses

  • Join two related independent clauses using a semi-colon in place of a conjunction
  • Use a colon to introduce an explanation or elaboration of the first clause
  • Replace commas with dashes to create stronger pauses between clauses for emphasis

• Conjunctions, Prepositions and Interjections

  Explain the function of conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections in general and in particular sentences, understanding how each word class contributes to meaning

  • Identify conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections in sentences and explain their function
  • Explain how removing a preposition or conjunction changes the meaning of a sentence
  • Use interjections appropriately to convey emotion in dialogue or informal writing

• The subjunctive mood

  Use the subjunctive form in formal writing and speech to express wishes, demands, suggestions, or hypothetical situations (e.g., 'If I were you', 'I suggest that he go', 'Were they to arrive')

  • Write sentences using 'If I were' to express hypothetical conditions
  • Transform informal sentences into formal equivalents using subjunctive forms such as 'I recommend that she attend'
  • Identify subjunctive mood in formal texts such as legal documents or formal letters

• Correlative Conjunctions

  Use correlative conjunctions correctly in sentences, pairing words such as either/or, neither/nor, both/and, not only/but also, and whether/or

  • Write sentences using each pair of correlative conjunctions correctly
  • Ensure parallel structure when using correlative conjunctions in complex sentences
  • Identify and correct errors in correlative conjunction usage in given sentences

• Colons and Semicolons in Lists

  Use a colon to introduce a list and semi-colons to separate items within lists, particularly when list items contain internal commas or are complex phrases

  • Introduce a list with a colon after an independent clause such as 'You will need the following items:'
  • Use semi-colons to separate list items that contain commas such as locations with city and country
  • Punctuate complex lists in formal writing maintaining clarity and consistency

• Bullet Point Punctuation

  Punctuate bullet points consistently to list information clearly, applying conventions for capitalisation, end punctuation, and parallel structure across items

  • Create bullet point lists with consistent capitalisation and punctuation throughout
  • Use full stops for bullet points that are complete sentences and no punctuation for fragments
  • Maintain parallel grammatical structure across all items in a bulleted list

English · Writing Composition

Your child is developing advanced writing skills — planning stories with well-developed characters, organising information clearly with headings and layouts, and learning to research and summarise information from different sources.

• Persuasive Writing

  Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence — including introducing claims, acknowledging counterclaims, organising reasons logically, maintaining a formal style, and providing a concluding statement

  • Write an argument essay with a clear claim supported by at least three pieces of evidence
  • Acknowledge and respond to a counterclaim rather than ignoring opposing views
  • Use linking words and phrases (however, furthermore, consequently) to connect claims, reasons, and evidence

• Writing Techniques for Effect

  Apply growing knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, and text structure to writing — drawing on literary and rhetorical devices from reading (e.g., rhetorical questions, tricolon, anaphora, contrast) to enhance impact

  • Use a rhetorical question or tricolon deliberately in a persuasive piece and explain the intended effect
  • Employ varied sentence openings and structures to maintain reader interest across a whole piece
  • Draw on a literary device encountered in reading and apply it consciously in own writing

• Research & Source Evaluation

  Summarise and organise material from reading and research — gathering relevant information from multiple sources, assessing credibility, integrating evidence without plagiarising, and supporting ideas with factual detail

  • Take notes from multiple sources on a topic and organise them under logical headings
  • Paraphrase information from a source accurately without copying word-for-word
  • Assess whether a source is credible and relevant before including it in research writing

• Planning, Revising and Editing Writing

  Plan, revise, and edit writing to improve coherence and effectiveness — considering how the writing reflects its intended audience and purpose, amending vocabulary, grammar, and structure, and proofreading for accurate spelling, punctuation, and grammar

  • Revise a draft to improve paragraph structure, adding or removing material for coherence
  • Edit sentence-level issues including word choice, grammar, and punctuation before finalising
  • Reflect on whether the writing achieves its intended effect on the target audience and adjust accordingly

• Writing Across Genres

  Write for a range of purposes and audiences beyond narrative — including scripts, poetry, personal and formal letters, notes for talks, and other forms — selecting the appropriate form, register, and conventions for each

  • Write a formal letter using appropriate layout, salutation, register, and sign-off conventions
  • Compose a script with stage directions, character names, and realistic dialogue
  • Adapt writing style (vocabulary, sentence structure, tone) to suit different audiences and purposes

• Writing Character & Dialogue

  Write narratives that develop real or imagined experiences using effective technique — including establishing context and point of view, developing characters through dialogue, pacing, and description, using varied transitions, and providing a reflective conclusion

  • Open a narrative by establishing setting, point of view, and a hook that engages the reader
  • Use dialogue, pacing, and descriptive detail to develop characters and advance the plot
  • Craft a conclusion that reflects on the narrated events rather than simply ending the action

• Revising and editing (age 7+)

  Evaluate and edit writing by assessing effectiveness, proposing changes to grammar and vocabulary for consistency, and proof-reading for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors at Y3-4 level

  • Read own or a peer's writing aloud and suggest specific improvements to vocabulary or sentence structure
  • Propose changes to grammar and word choice to improve clarity and consistency across a piece of writing
  • Proof-read writing at Y3-4 level for spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors and correct them independently

• Developed Informational and Explanatory Writing

  Write informative and explanatory texts that examine a topic and convey ideas clearly — organising information logically with headings and formatting, developing the topic with relevant facts, definitions, details, and quotations, and using precise vocabulary

  • Organise an explanatory essay with a clear introduction, logical body paragraphs, and a conclusion
  • Develop a topic using well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, and quotations from sources
  • Use domain-specific vocabulary and formatting (headings, graphics) to aid the reader's comprehension

• Short Research Projects

  Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic, gather information from print and digital sources, and take brief organised notes

  • Generate three research questions about an assigned topic and identify two sources for each
  • Take brief notes from a print source, sorting key facts into provided categories
  • Write a short summary paragraph synthesising information gathered from two different sources

• Cohesion and Transitions Across Writing

  Use varied transitions, cohesive devices, and paragraph-linking strategies to create coherence across a whole piece of writing — including temporal transitions, causal connectives, and techniques for signalling shifts in argument, time, or setting

  • Use a range of causal and logical connectives (consequently, nevertheless, as a result) appropriately across a discursive essay
  • Signal a shift in time or setting within a narrative using a transitional phrase or paragraph break
  • Link paragraphs using a cohesive device such as a topic sentence that refers back to the previous paragraph

• Evidence-Based Writing

  Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research in writing, applying grade-level reading standards to non-fiction

  • Write a research-based paragraph or short report that cites specific facts, details, and evidence from informational texts to support key points
  • Synthesise information from two informational sources into a written summary that accurately represents both, noting areas of agreement and difference
  • Paraphrase information from informational texts accurately and cite sources appropriately, avoiding plagiarism

• Literary Evidence in Writing

  Draw evidence from literary texts to support analysis, reflection, and research in writing, applying grade-level reading standards to literature

  • Write a response to a literary text that includes direct quotations and specific details from the text as evidence to support a claim or observation
  • Explain how a character's actions or dialogue reveal their traits or motivations, citing specific passages from the story as evidence
  • Compare how two literary texts treat a similar theme, using textual evidence from both to support the comparison

• Planning Narratives

  Plan narrative writing by considering how authors have developed characters and settings, drawing on techniques observed in texts read, heard, or performed

  • Identify specific authorial techniques for character development from a mentor text
  • Plan a character using techniques such as showing through action borrowed from a studied author
  • Analyse how an author builds setting and apply similar techniques in planning own narrative

• Research & Note-Taking

  Gather relevant information from print and digital sources, summarise or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a basic bibliography or list of sources

  • Take organised notes from multiple sources using own words rather than copying
  • Create a bibliography listing sources used in a research project
  • Paraphrase key information from a source without changing the meaning

• Writing for an audience

  Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organisation are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience, maintaining a consistent style and structure throughout

  • Identify the task, purpose, and audience before writing and make deliberate choices about structure, tone, and vocabulary to suit them
  • Organise ideas logically so that the writing flows from introduction through development to conclusion, with each section serving a clear purpose
  • Review a draft to check that the organisation, style, and level of formality are consistent and appropriate for the intended reader

• Writing Craft Vocabulary

  Know and use the vocabulary of writing craft and effect — form, structure, register, tone, voice, coherence, cohesion, argument, evidence, perspective, rhetoric, technique, formal, informal, and style — and understand that these words describe choices writers make intentionally to achieve a particular effect on the reader

  • Explain the difference between 'formal register' and 'informal register' and give an example of when each is appropriate
  • Use terms like 'coherence', 'cohesion', and 'paragraph structure' accurately when discussing or improving their own writing
  • Identify the 'purpose', 'audience', and 'form' of a piece of writing and explain how these shape the language choices

• Layout and Formatting in Informational Writing

  Use layout devices including headings, sub-headings, columns, bullets, and tables to structure text and guide the reader through informational and explanatory writing

  • Organise an informational text using headings and sub-headings to separate sections
  • Present comparative information using a table with clear row and column headers
  • Use columns and bullet points to display information in a scannable format

• Writing a Précis

  Precis longer passages by summarising the main ideas and key information concisely while maintaining the essential meaning and removing non-essential detail

  • Reduce a three-paragraph text to a single paragraph capturing all main points
  • Identify and remove redundant information while preserving essential meaning
  • Write a precis that is no more than one-third the length of the original text

• Narrative Writing

  Write narratives with developed settings, characters and plot, using dialogue and description to develop experiences and show character responses to situations

  • Write a narrative that includes a described setting, at least one developed character, and a clear plot with a problem and resolution
  • Use dialogue to show what characters say and reveal their personality or feelings
  • Use descriptive details and temporal words to organise events into a clear sequence with a satisfying ending

• Basic Informational Writing

  Compose informative or explanatory texts that introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section

  • Write an informative text that introduces a topic clearly and groups related information together
  • Use facts, definitions, and concrete details to develop and explain points about the topic
  • Provide a concluding statement or section that wraps up the information presented

• Structured Opinion Writing

  Compose opinion pieces that introduce a topic, state a clear point of view, provide organised reasons linked with connecting words, and include a concluding statement or section

  • Write an opinion piece that introduces the topic, states a clear opinion, and provides at least two reasons
  • Use linking words (because, and, also, for example) to connect the opinion to supporting reasons
  • End an opinion piece with a concluding statement that restates or reinforces the opinion

• Sharing and Publishing Your Writing

  Read own writing aloud clearly enough to be heard by peers and the teacher; use digital tools to produce and publish writing

  • Read own sentences aloud with clear voice and appropriate expression
  • Share a piece of writing by reading it to the class
  • Type simple words or sentences using a computer or tablet

English · Speaking & Listening

Your child is developing sophisticated communication skills — learning to adapt their speaking style for different audiences, participate thoughtfully in discussions, and create presentations that effectively combine spoken words with visual elements.

• Listening and responding

  Listen and respond appropriately to adults and peers; follow agreed-upon rules for discussion such as listening to others and taking turns speaking

  • Demonstrate attentive listening by making eye contact and responding relevantly
  • Follow classroom discussion rules (e.g. raise hand, wait for turn)
  • Show understanding of what was said by paraphrasing or responding appropriately

• Group discussions

  Participate actively in collaborative conversations staying on topic; continue a conversation through multiple exchanges; maintain attention in discussions

  • Stay on topic during a conversation for multiple turns
  • Build on what another speaker has said (e.g. 'I agree because...')
  • Maintain focus and contribute meaningfully in group discussions

• Performing Scripts & Poetry

  Improvise, rehearse, and perform play scripts and poetry — using role, intonation, tone, volume, mood, silence, stillness, and action to generate language, explore meaning, and add impact to performance

  • Perform a scene from a play using appropriate intonation, volume, and pauses to convey character and mood
  • Use improvisation to explore how a character might respond in a new situation
  • Rehearse and perform a poem aloud, using pace and emphasis to bring out the meaning

• Asking Questions

  Ask relevant questions to extend understanding; ask and answer questions to seek help, get information, or clarify something not understood

  • Ask a question when something is unclear or more information is needed
  • Answer questions with relevant and specific information
  • Request clarification politely (e.g. 'Can you explain that again?')

• Evaluating a Speaker's Argument

  Summarise the points a speaker makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence, evaluating the logic and relevance of the support

  • Identify the main claim in a spoken presentation and the evidence used to support it
  • Evaluate whether a speaker's reasons logically support their main argument
  • Explain which pieces of evidence most effectively support a speaker's points

• Summarising Spoken and Media Presentations

  Summarise a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats including visually, quantitatively, and orally

  • Summarise the main points of a video or audio presentation in own words
  • Identify key information from a graph, chart, or infographic and explain it orally
  • Listen to a passage read aloud and provide an accurate summary of the content

• Preparing for and Explaining in Discussions

  Come to discussions prepared, draw on preparation and known information, and explain ideas in light of the discussion

  • Read assigned material and prepare three discussion points or questions before a group conversation
  • During discussion, refer explicitly to the text or preparation notes to support a point
  • After a group exchange, explain how one's own thinking changed or was confirmed by others' contributions

• Drawing Conclusions from Discussion

  Review the key ideas expressed in discussions and draw conclusions in light of information and knowledge gained from the discussion

  • Summarise the main points made by different speakers in a group discussion
  • Draw a conclusion that synthesises multiple viewpoints expressed in the discussion
  • Explain how the discussion changed or confirmed initial understanding of a topic

• Speaking Formally and Giving Presentations

  Use Standard English confidently in formal and informal spoken contexts — give short speeches and presentations expressing own ideas clearly, keeping to the point, and adapting register and vocabulary to the audience

  • Deliver a 2-3 minute presentation on a topic with a clear opening, organised points, and a conclusion
  • Adapt language between formal and informal registers depending on the context and audience
  • Maintain eye contact, appropriate pace, and clear articulation when speaking to a group

• Adapting Speech to Context

  Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate to task and situation while adjusting tone, vocabulary, and style for different audiences

  • Present the same information formally to a panel and informally to peers
  • Adjust vocabulary and sentence structure when speaking to different audiences
  • Identify contexts that require formal English and those where informal speech is appropriate

• Reporting & Recounting

  Report on a topic or recount an experience with organised facts and descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace

  • Deliver a one-minute oral report on a chosen topic, including at least three organised facts
  • Recount a personal experience using descriptive details and a clear beginning, middle, and end
  • Self-assess a recorded presentation for pace, clarity, and inclusion of relevant details

• Multimedia Presentations

  Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes

  • Select graphics, images, or sound that support and clarify main ideas in a presentation
  • Create slides or visual aids that enhance rather than distract from the spoken content
  • Integrate multimedia elements smoothly into an oral presentation

• Building on Others in Discussions

  Pose and respond to specific questions in discussions, making comments that contribute to the discussion and elaborate on the remarks of others

  • Ask follow-up questions that build on another speaker's comment
  • Respond to a classmate's idea by adding supporting evidence or a related example
  • Redirect a discussion by posing a question that connects to the main topic

English · Vocabulary

Your child is expanding their vocabulary skills by learning to choose the right words for different situations, understanding how language changes depending on whether they're speaking formally or informally.

• Discussing and Questioning New Words

  Ask and answer questions about unknown words in texts; discuss word meanings and link new vocabulary to words already known

  • Ask 'What does ___ mean?' when meeting unfamiliar words during reading
  • Use context and pictures to work out what a new word might mean
  • Explain a new word by connecting it to a known word (e.g. 'enormous means really really big')

• Advanced Figurative Language

  Understand and interpret figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meaning — including allusion, irony, pun, oxymoron, and extended metaphor — and distinguish between connotation and denotation when analysing or choosing words

  • Explain the connotative difference between words with similar denotations (e.g., thrifty vs. stingy vs. economical)
  • Identify irony or an allusion in a text and explain what it adds to the meaning
  • Analyse an extended metaphor across a paragraph or poem and explain how it develops an idea

• Domain Vocabulary Across Subject Areas

  Acquire and use accurately academic and domain-specific vocabulary relevant to grade-level topics, including words that signal precise meaning in informational texts across subject areas

  • Identify and define academic vocabulary (e.g., compare, contrast, summarise, evidence, interpret) used across multiple subject areas and use these words accurately in discussion and writing
  • Determine the meaning of domain-specific words encountered in science, social studies, or maths texts (e.g., ecosystem, democracy, numerator) using context, glossaries, and prior knowledge
  • Use newly acquired academic and domain-specific vocabulary in sentences that demonstrate understanding of precise meaning and appropriate context

• Academic Vocabulary

  Acquire and use accurately a broad range of general academic vocabulary and domain-specific words — drawing new vocabulary from reading and listening and deploying it consciously in writing and speech to achieve particular effects

  • Use academic vocabulary (e.g., analyse, evaluate, justify, convey, imply) accurately and appropriately in essay writing
  • Incorporate domain-specific terms from a subject studied (e.g., 'photosynthesis', 'legislature') into explanatory writing
  • Draw a new word or phrase from a text read and use it consciously in own writing or speech

• Vocabulary Strategies

  Determine the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases using a flexible range of strategies — including context clues, Greek and Latin affixes and roots, reference materials, and verification of inferred meaning

  • Use context clues (the overall meaning of a sentence, a word’s position or function) to infer the meaning of an unfamiliar word
  • Break down a word using known Greek or Latin roots and affixes to deduce its meaning (e.g., 'malevolent' = mal- (bad) + volent (wishing))
  • Look up a word in a dictionary to verify or refine an inferred meaning

• Greek and Latin Roots for Word Meaning

  Use knowledge of Greek and Latin affixes (prefixes and suffixes) and roots as clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, building a bank of common roots and their meanings

  • Identify common Greek and Latin roots in unfamiliar words and use root meaning to infer word meaning, e.g. 'aqua' (water) in aquarium/aquatic, 'dict' (say) in predict/dictionary
  • Break a multi-morpheme word into prefix + root + suffix to determine meaning, e.g. un- (not) + believe + -able = not able to be believed
  • Use knowledge of Greek-origin prefixes (auto-, tele-, micro-) and Latin-origin prefixes (inter-, trans-, sub-) to decode and define unfamiliar vocabulary in context

• Similes & Metaphors

  Understand and identify similes (comparisons using like or as) and metaphors (direct comparisons stating something is something else) in texts, explaining how each creates imagery and conveys meaning

  • Identify similes in a text by locating comparisons using 'like' or 'as' and explain what two things are being compared and what quality is highlighted, e.g. 'The snow was like a white blanket'
  • Identify metaphors in a text and explain the implied comparison, e.g. in 'Time is a thief', explain that time is compared to a thief because it takes things away
  • Explain how a simile or metaphor in a poem or story creates a particular image or feeling for the reader that a literal description would not achieve

• Choosing Formal Vocabulary

  Distinguish between formal and informal vocabulary, selecting words appropriate for formal speech and writing such as 'discover' instead of 'find out' and 'request' instead of 'ask for'

  • Replace informal words with formal equivalents in a given text
  • Identify formal vocabulary choices in official letters and reports
  • Write the same message twice using formal vocabulary for a letter and informal vocabulary for a text message

• Using a Thesaurus to Choose Words

  Use a thesaurus to find synonyms and extend vocabulary choices, selecting the most appropriate word based on context, connotation, and register

  • Use a thesaurus to find three alternatives for overused words in own writing
  • Select the most appropriate synonym from thesaurus options based on context and tone
  • Explain why one synonym is more suitable than another for a specific sentence

• Dialects & Registers

  Compare and contrast the varieties of English used in stories, dramas, or poems, including dialects and registers, understanding how language varies by region, context, and purpose

  • Identify dialect features in character dialogue and explain their effect
  • Compare formal and informal registers in different types of texts
  • Explain how an author uses language variety to develop character or setting

• Antonyms & Synonyms

  Demonstrate understanding of words by relating them to their antonyms (opposites) and synonyms (words with similar meanings), using synonym and antonym relationships to refine vocabulary and improve precision in writing

  • Generate synonyms and antonyms for given words and explain subtle differences between synonyms, e.g. happy/joyful/ecstatic differ in intensity
  • Use a thesaurus to find synonyms and select the most precise word for a given context, e.g. choosing 'sprinted' rather than 'ran' to convey speed
  • Replace overused words in writing with more precise synonyms and explain how the substitution changes the tone or emphasis

• Idioms & Proverbs

  Recognise and interpret common idioms (break the ice, hit the nail on the head), adages (actions speak louder than words), and proverbs (a stitch in time saves nine), understanding their figurative meanings and when to use them

  • Explain the figurative meaning of common idioms encountered in texts, e.g. 'let the cat out of the bag' means to reveal a secret, not literally releasing a cat
  • Interpret the meaning and intended lesson of adages and proverbs, e.g. explain that 'the early bird catches the worm' advises that acting promptly gives an advantage
  • Use context clues to determine the meaning of an unfamiliar idiom or proverb encountered during reading and verify using a reference source

English · Spelling & Word Study

Your child is tackling challenging spelling patterns — distinguishing between confusing word pairs, understanding Latin and French word endings, and mastering silent letters and complex suffixes.

• Applying Spelling Rules to Complex Words

  Spell correctly and consistently, applying the spelling patterns and rules from KS1-2 to increasingly complex vocabulary encountered in KS3 reading and subject-specific study

  • Spell subject-specific vocabulary correctly when encountered in new domains (e.g., 'parliament', 'photosynthesis', 'algorithm')
  • Apply known spelling rules and etymological patterns to unfamiliar words
  • Use proofreading strategies to identify and correct spelling errors in own extended writing

• Using a Dictionary to Check Spellings

  Use the first two or three letters of a word to check its spelling in a dictionary; consult reference materials including beginning dictionaries to verify and correct spellings

  • Locate a word in a dictionary using its first two or three letters (e.g., find 'beautiful' by looking up 'be-')
  • Check and correct a misspelling by comparing with the dictionary entry (e.g., look up 'freind' → 'friend')
  • Use a glossary or beginning dictionary to confirm spelling of a word used in own writing

English · English Thinking

• Reflecting on Your Language Use

  Reflect on yourself as a language user — how your reading, writing, and speaking shift across audiences, purposes, and contexts, and where you want to develop further

  • metalinguistic awareness development
  • register and audience awareness research

Science · Organisms & Life Processes

Your child is exploring how living things get and use energy — from understanding how plants make food from sunlight and air, to learning about the human circulatory system and how lifestyle choices affect our bodies.

• How animals adapt to environments

  Identify how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment and understand that adaptation may lead to evolution over time

  • Define adaptation as a feature that helps an organism survive in its environment
  • Give at least three examples of adaptations in different organisms and explain how each helps survival
  • Explain that over many generations, organisms with helpful adaptations survive and reproduce more, leading to evolution

• Cells Under the Microscope

  Understand that all living organisms are made of cells and use a light microscope to observe, interpret, and record cell structure

  • States that all living things are made of cells
  • Prepares or examines a slide of cells (e.g. onion skin, cheek cells) under a microscope
  • Draws and labels a diagram of cells observed

• Evolution vocabulary

  Use technical vocabulary for evolution and natural selection — adaptation, evolution, natural selection, extinct, extinction, fossil record, species, common ancestor, mutation, variation — and explain the mechanism of natural selection using these terms in the correct sequence

  • Use 'adaptation' correctly to describe a feature that helps an organism survive in its environment
  • Explain natural selection using 'variation', 'selection pressure', and 'reproduction' correctly in sequence
  • Use 'extinct' and 'extinction' correctly and distinguish them from 'endangered'

• Diet, Exercise & Lifestyle

  Recognise the impact of diet, exercise, drugs, and lifestyle on the way human bodies function

  • Describe how a balanced diet provides energy and nutrients the body needs
  • Explain the positive effects of regular exercise on the heart, muscles, and mental health
  • Describe harmful effects of drugs, alcohol, or tobacco on the body

• Parts of Plant and Animal Cells

  Describe the functions of the main components of plant and animal cells: cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, vacuole, mitochondria, ribosomes, and chloroplasts

  • Names the main organelles in plant and animal cells
  • Explains the function of each organelle in their own words
  • Links organelle function to the needs of the whole cell (e.g. mitochondria produce energy for cell activities)

• The Circulatory System

  Identify and name the main parts of the human circulatory system and describe the functions of the heart, blood vessels, and blood

  • Name the main components: heart, arteries, veins, capillaries, blood
  • Describe the heart as a pump that pushes blood around the body in a continuous loop
  • Explain that blood carries oxygen and nutrients to cells and removes waste products like carbon dioxide

• Photosynthesis

  Explain photosynthesis as the process by which plants use light energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen, and describe how mineral nutrients are absorbed through roots

  • Writes and explains the word equation for photosynthesis
  • Identifies the raw materials needed and the products made
  • Explains the role of chlorophyll in capturing light energy

• Plant Cells vs Animal Cells

  Compare plant and animal cells, identifying shared features and structures unique to plant cells (cell wall, vacuole, chloroplasts)

  • Lists features common to plant and animal cells
  • Identifies structures found only in plant cells and explains why
  • Draws and annotates labelled diagrams of both cell types showing similarities and differences

• Nutrient Transport in Animals

  Describe how nutrients and water are transported within animals, including the role of the circulatory system in delivering nutrients from digestion

  • Describe how nutrients from digested food pass through the wall of the small intestine into the blood
  • Explain that blood transports dissolved nutrients and water to all parts of the body
  • Connect the digestive system and circulatory system as working together to deliver nourishment

• Cells to Organ Systems

  Describe the hierarchical organisation of multicellular organisms: cells → tissues → organs → organ systems → organism

  • Places cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems in the correct order of organisation
  • Gives a specific example of each level (e.g. muscle cell → muscle tissue → heart → circulatory system → human)
  • Explains why specialised cells are needed in a multicellular organism

• Energy from Food & the Sun

  Use models to describe that energy in animals' food was once energy from the sun, transferred through plants or other organisms

  • Explain that plants capture energy from sunlight to make food (photosynthesis)
  • Trace an energy pathway: sun → plant → animal → another animal
  • Explain that animals use food energy for body repair, growth, movement, and warmth

• Digestion & Enzymes

  Describe the organs of the human digestive system and how food is physically and chemically digested, including the role of enzymes as biological catalysts

  • Traces the journey of food from mouth to large intestine, naming each organ and its role
  • Explains what enzymes do and names where they are produced (salivary glands, stomach, small intestine)
  • Distinguishes physical digestion (chewing, churning) from chemical digestion

• Plants Grow from Air & Water

  Support an argument that plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water, not from the soil

  • Explain that plants take in carbon dioxide from air and water from soil to make food (photosynthesis)
  • Argue that most of a plant's mass comes from air (CO₂) and water, not soil minerals
  • Describe a simple investigation showing soil mass barely changes while a plant grows significantly

• Joints, Tendons & Ligaments

  Explain biomechanics — the interaction between skeleton and muscles at joints, including the roles of tendons (attach muscle to bone) and ligaments (attach bone to bone)

  • Distinguishes between tendons and ligaments and gives the function of each
  • Describes how a synovial joint works (e.g. the knee or elbow)
  • Explains how force is transmitted from muscle through tendon to bone to produce movement

• Muscles Work in Pairs

  Explain that muscles work in antagonistic pairs — one contracts while the other relaxes — to produce movement, using the bicep and tricep as a key example

  • Explains why muscles can only pull, not push
  • Describes what happens to the bicep and tricep when the arm is bent and straightened
  • Gives another example of an antagonistic muscle pair

• Nutrients in a Healthy Diet

  Identify the seven components of a healthy diet — carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre, and water — and explain the role of each in the body

  • Names all seven dietary components and a food source for each
  • Explains what each nutrient does in the body (e.g. proteins for growth and repair)
  • Identifies which nutrients provide energy and which do not

• The Human Skeleton

  Describe the structure and four main functions of the human skeleton: support, protection, movement, and production of blood cells in bone marrow

  • Lists and explains the four functions of the skeleton with examples
  • Names key bones and identifies which organs they protect (e.g. ribcage protects heart and lungs)
  • Explains what bone marrow is and where blood cells are made

• Offspring resemble parents

  Observe that young plants and animals resemble their parents but are not identical, recognising inherited similarities and individual differences

  • Describe at least three features that offspring inherit from parents (e.g. eye colour, petal colour, fur type)
  • Explain that offspring are similar to parents but not identical copies
  • Give examples from both plants and animals showing resemblance with variation

• Organ Systems Vocabulary

  Use technical vocabulary for the major organ systems — organ, organ system, circulatory system, digestive system, respiratory system, skeletal system, muscular system, nutrient, oxygen, carbon dioxide, blood vessel, artery, vein, capillary, enzyme — and describe the function of each system using these terms

  • Name the main organs in at least two body systems and state their functions using the correct vocabulary
  • Use 'circulatory', 'digestive', and 'respiratory' correctly in written descriptions of the body
  • Explain the difference between an artery and a vein using the correct anatomical terms

• Calculating Dietary Energy

  Calculate and evaluate energy intake and requirements in a healthy daily diet, interpreting food labels and nutritional data

  • Reads and interprets a nutritional information label (kJ and kcal)
  • Estimates daily energy requirements for a person of a given age/activity level
  • Compares the energy content of different diets and identifies surpluses or deficits

• Diet Imbalance & Deficiency

  Explain the health consequences of an imbalanced diet including obesity (excess energy), starvation (severe energy deficit), and deficiency diseases (lack of specific nutrients, e.g. scurvy, rickets)

  • Defines obesity, starvation, and deficiency disease and links each to dietary imbalance
  • Identifies at least two specific deficiency diseases and the missing nutrient causing each
  • Explains why the impact of poor diet can be long-term

• Single-Celled Organisms

  Explain how unicellular organisms such as bacteria and Amoeba carry out all the functions of life within a single cell

  • Names examples of unicellular organisms
  • Lists the seven life processes (MRS NERG) and explains how a single cell performs each one
  • Contrasts how unicellular organisms meet their needs compared to multicellular organisms

• Using a Microscope

  Use a light microscope correctly to prepare, focus, and examine biological specimens, including making accurate labelled drawings at an appropriate magnification

  • Sets up a light microscope safely and correctly (course focus then fine focus)
  • Prepares a wet mount slide with a biological specimen (e.g. onion skin)
  • Calculates the magnification of an image (magnification = image size ÷ actual size)

Science · Matter & Materials

Your child is exploring the fundamental nature of matter — learning that everything is made of tiny particles they can't see, and discovering that matter is conserved even when it changes form through heating, cooling, or mixing.

• Drawing Particle Diagrams

  Draw and interpret particle diagrams — dot representations showing the arrangement, spacing, and movement of particles in solids (close, regular, vibrating in place), liquids (close, random, flowing past each other), and gases (widely spaced, moving rapidly in all directions) — and use these diagrams to explain observable properties such as fixed shape, fixed volume, and compressibility

  • Draw labelled particle diagrams for solids, liquids, and gases showing the correct arrangement and spacing of particles
  • Use their particle diagram to explain why solids keep their shape but liquids flow
  • Sketch what happens to particles during a change of state (e.g. melting) and explain the energy changes involved

• Physical vs Chemical Changes

  Distinguish between physical changes (reversible, no new substances formed) and chemical changes (new substances formed, often irreversible), using conservation of mass to understand both types

  • Classifies given changes as physical or chemical with justification
  • Explains what conservation of mass means and why mass is conserved in chemical reactions
  • Names observable signs that a chemical reaction has occurred (colour change, gas produced, temperature change, precipitate)

• Conservation of Mass

  Measure and provide evidence that the total weight of matter is conserved regardless of the type of change (heating, cooling, or mixing)

  • State the principle that matter is neither created nor destroyed during physical or chemical changes
  • Describe an investigation weighing materials before and after a change to show mass is conserved
  • Explain why dissolved sugar still contributes to the total weight even though it can't be seen

• Irreversible Changes

  Explain that some changes result in the formation of new materials and are not usually reversible, such as burning, rusting, and reactions with acid

  • Define an irreversible change as one that creates new materials that cannot be changed back
  • Give at least three examples: burning, rusting, mixing bicarbonate of soda with vinegar
  • Describe observable signs of irreversible change: gas produced, colour change, heat given off, new substance formed

• Separating Mixtures

  Select and carry out appropriate separation techniques for different types of mixtures: filtration (insoluble solids), distillation (liquids by boiling point), crystallisation (dissolved solids), and chromatography (coloured substances)

  • Selects the correct separation technique for a given mixture with justification
  • Describes the steps of simple distillation and explains why it works
  • Interprets a chromatography result (Rf values, number of components)

• Pure Substances & Mixtures

  Distinguish between pure substances and mixtures, identify formulations as useful mixtures with precise compositions, and use melting and boiling points to test for purity

  • Explains why a pure substance has a sharp, fixed melting point but a mixture melts over a range
  • Identifies common formulations (medicines, alloys, paints, fuels) as deliberate mixtures
  • Explains what impurities do to melting and boiling points

• Matter Is Made of Particles

  Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen, and that this explains properties of solids, liquids, and gases

  • Describe matter as made of particles too small to see with the naked eye
  • Use a particle model to explain differences: particles tightly packed (solid), loosely arranged (liquid), spread far apart (gas)
  • Use the particle model to explain a state change (e.g. heating makes particles move faster and spread apart)

• The Particle Model

  Use the particle model to explain the properties of solids, liquids, and gases — including differences in arrangement, movement, and spacing — and apply the model to explain density, compressibility, and the anomalous expansion of water

  • Draws particle diagrams for solids, liquids, and gases showing correct arrangement and spacing
  • Explains why gases are compressible but liquids and solids are not
  • Explains why ice floats on water using the anomalous expansion of water

• Atoms, Elements & Compounds

  Explain the differences between atoms, elements, and compounds; describe the simple Bohr model of the atom (nucleus with protons and neutrons, electrons in shells); and write and interpret chemical symbols and simple formulae

  • Defines atom, element, and compound and distinguishes between them with examples
  • Draws a simple Bohr model of an atom labelling nucleus (protons/neutrons) and electron shells
  • Reads a chemical formula to identify the elements and number of each atom (e.g. H₂O, CO₂, NaCl)

• Advanced Material Properties

  Compare and group everyday materials based on advanced properties: hardness, solubility, transparency, electrical and thermal conductivity, and response to magnets

  • Define and test for at least four properties: hardness, solubility, conductivity, magnetism
  • Group a set of materials based on test results for each property
  • Use results to explain why certain materials are chosen for specific uses (e.g. copper for wires because it conducts electricity)

• Metals vs Non-Metals

  Compare the physical and chemical properties of metals and non-metals, explaining metallic properties (malleability, lustre, conductivity) and how position in the periodic table predicts reactivity

  • Lists physical properties typical of metals (shiny, malleable, good conductor) and non-metals
  • Explains why metals are used in wires, cookware, and construction based on their properties
  • Uses the periodic table to predict whether an element is likely to be reactive or unreactive

• The Periodic Table

  Describe the organisation of the periodic table into periods and groups, explain the contribution of Mendeleev, and use the table to identify metals, non-metals, and predict patterns in reactivity

  • Explains why the periodic table is arranged into periods (rows) and groups (columns)
  • States that elements in the same group have similar chemical properties
  • Locates metals, non-metals, and metalloids in the periodic table

• Material Properties Vocabulary

  Use technical vocabulary to describe and compare material properties — conductor, insulator, thermal, electrical, transparent, opaque, translucent, soluble, insoluble, magnetic, flexible, rigid, density — and apply these terms precisely when selecting and justifying materials for particular purposes

  • Classify a set of materials as electrical conductors or insulators and explain why using the correct terms
  • Use 'transparent', 'translucent', and 'opaque' correctly and distinctly in descriptions
  • Apply at least four property terms correctly when justifying a material choice for a given purpose

• How Materials Change State

  Explain melting, freezing, boiling, condensing, and sublimation using the particle model, interpreting heating and cooling curves to identify melting and boiling points

  • Describes what happens to particles during each change of state
  • Reads a heating/cooling curve and identifies the melting point and boiling point from the flat regions
  • Explains why temperature stays constant during a change of state

Science · Dinosaurs & Paleontology

Your child is exploring how scientists study dinosaurs through fossils — learning about dinosaur classification, evolution into birds, extinction events, and how paleontologists uncover and interpret evidence from millions of years ago.

• Changing Scientific Knowledge

  Evaluate competing scientific explanations about dinosaurs by weighing fossil evidence — understanding that scientific knowledge changes as new fossils are discovered and new methods of analysis are developed

  • Give an example of a scientific idea about dinosaurs that changed when new evidence was found
  • Explain that different scientists may interpret the same fossil evidence differently
  • State that the best scientific explanation is the one supported by the most evidence from multiple sources

• Reading Cladograms

  Read and create simple cladograms (branching diagrams) that show how groups of dinosaurs are related based on shared features, understanding that species sharing more features are more closely related

  • Explain that a cladogram shows evolutionary relationships based on shared features
  • Read a simple cladogram to identify which two dinosaurs share the most recent common ancestor
  • Add a new species to a partially completed cladogram based on its listed features

• Birds Evolved from Dinosaurs

  Understand that modern birds evolved from a group of small feathered theropod dinosaurs, using evidence such as the fossil Archaeopteryx, feathered dinosaur fossils from China, and shared skeletal features

  • State that birds evolved from small theropod dinosaurs
  • Name Archaeopteryx or Chinese feathered dinosaurs as key fossil evidence
  • List at least two features birds share with theropods (e.g. hollow bones, wishbone, three-toed feet)

• Dinosaur-to-Bird Transition

  Trace the evidence for the dinosaur-to-bird transition in depth: feathered theropods from the Liaoning Formation (China), the mix of dinosaur and bird features in Archaeopteryx, and the competing ground-up versus trees-down hypotheses for the origin of flight

  • Describes at least three specific feathered theropod fossils (e.g. Microraptor, Anchiornis, Sinosauropteryx) and what each tells us
  • Describes Archaeopteryx as showing a mix of bird features (feathers, wishbone) and dinosaur features (teeth, clawed wings, long bony tail)
  • Outlines the ground-up (running and leaping) and trees-down (gliding from trees) hypotheses for flight origin and the evidence supporting each

• Palaeoart & Speculation

  Understand that palaeoart — scientific illustrations and models of dinosaurs — is based on fossil evidence but involves informed speculation about skin colour, feathers, and soft tissues that don't usually fossilise

  • Explain that bones and teeth are known from fossils but skin colour and soft tissues usually are not
  • State that recent discoveries of preserved skin impressions and feather fossils have improved reconstructions
  • Give an example of how our picture of a dinosaur has changed over time (e.g. feathered vs scaly Velociraptor)

• Life Changed Over Time

  Recognise that living things have changed over time and that fossils provide information about organisms that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago

  • State that living things have changed (evolved) over millions of years
  • Describe how fossils form and what information they provide about the past
  • Compare a fossil organism with a modern relative, noting similarities and differences

• Fossils as Evidence

  Analyse and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of organisms and environments that existed long ago

  • Explain that fossils are preserved remains or traces of organisms that lived long ago
  • Use fossil evidence to make inferences about past organisms and their environments
  • Describe how comparing fossils with living organisms helps us understand how life has changed

• Radiometric Dating

  Explain how radiometric dating works — radioactive isotopes decay at a known rate (half-life), so measuring the ratio of parent to daughter isotope in a rock or fossil gives an absolute age; distinguish between carbon-14 (useful up to ~50,000 years) and uranium-lead (useful for millions to billions of years)

  • Defines half-life as the time for half the radioactive parent isotope to decay to the daughter isotope
  • Explains that the parent:daughter ratio in a sample gives an estimate of absolute age
  • Distinguishes carbon-14 (for recent organic material) from uranium-lead or potassium-argon (for deep geological time), explaining why carbon-14 cannot be used for dinosaur bones

• Rock Layers & Relative Dating

  Understand that rock layers (strata) form in sequence with the oldest at the bottom and the youngest at the top, and that fossils found in deeper layers are older — this is the principle of relative dating

  • Explain that sedimentary rock forms in layers with the oldest at the bottom
  • Use a diagram of rock strata to determine which fossil is older based on its position
  • Define relative dating as working out the age of something by comparing its position in rock layers

• How Palaeontologists Work

  Describe how palaeontologists work in the field and lab: prospecting for exposed fossils, careful excavation with hand tools, plaster jacketing for transport, preparation in the lab, and scientific description and publication

  • List the main stages: prospecting, excavation, jacketing, transport, preparation, study, display
  • Explain why careful excavation with small tools is necessary to avoid damaging the fossil
  • Describe plaster jacketing as wrapping fossils in plaster for safe transport to a lab

• Dinosaur Hip Groups

  Classify dinosaurs into the two major groups based on hip structure: Saurischia (lizard-hipped, including theropods and sauropods) and Ornithischia (bird-hipped, including Triceratops and Stegosaurus)

  • Name the two major dinosaur groups: Saurischia and Ornithischia
  • Explain the difference is based on hip bone structure (lizard-hipped vs bird-hipped)
  • Correctly classify at least two dinosaurs into each group (e.g. T. rex = Saurischia, Triceratops = Ornithischia)

• The K-Pg Extinction Event

  Describe the Cretaceous–Palaeogene (K-Pg) extinction event approximately 66 million years ago, including the asteroid impact theory and its evidence (iridium layer, Chicxulub crater), and understand that this ended the reign of non-avian dinosaurs

  • State that the K-Pg extinction happened about 66 million years ago and wiped out non-avian dinosaurs
  • Describe the asteroid impact hypothesis and name the Chicxulub crater in Mexico
  • Explain one piece of evidence: the iridium-rich layer found worldwide in rocks from that time

Science · Scientific Inquiry

Your child is developing advanced scientific investigation skills — planning fair tests, taking precise measurements, recording complex data, and evaluating evidence to draw reliable conclusions.

• Evidence Supporting Ideas

  Identify scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or arguments, evaluating the strength of evidence

  • Distinguish between a claim and the evidence supporting it
  • Evaluate whether evidence is strong (fair test, multiple trials) or weak (single observation, no controls)
  • Identify when evidence supports or refutes a scientific idea and explain why

• Drawing conclusions from evidence (age 9+)

  Report and present findings including conclusions, causal relationships, explanations, and a degree of trust in results using oral and written forms

  • Present findings clearly in written and oral form with appropriate scientific vocabulary
  • Identify causal relationships (X caused Y because...) supported by evidence
  • Discuss the degree of trust in results, considering sample size, repeat readings, and possible errors

• Controlling variables

  Plan different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions, recognising and controlling variables where necessary

  • Independently plan an investigation identifying the independent, dependent, and controlled variables
  • Choose the appropriate type of enquiry for the question (fair test, observation over time, pattern seeking, research)
  • Explain why controlling variables is essential for valid results

• Fair testing (age 9+)

  Use test results to make predictions and set up further comparative and fair tests to investigate new questions

  • Use results from an investigation to make a specific, testable prediction
  • Design a follow-up test to verify the prediction
  • Explain the reasoning linking the original results to the new prediction

• Controlling variables (age 11+)

  Form a testable scientific hypothesis linking an independent variable to a predicted outcome, plan a full investigation identifying independent, dependent, and control variables, sample size, and risk assessment

  • Writes a hypothesis in the form 'I predict that [IV] will affect [DV] because...' supported by scientific reasoning
  • Identifies and labels the independent variable, dependent variable, and at least three control variables
  • Plans repeat readings and an appropriate sample size, and identifies relevant hazards with control measures

• Science Can Be Revised

  Scientific knowledge is provisional — it is the best current explanation based on available evidence, and it can and should be revised when better evidence arrives

  • Give an example of a scientific idea that changed when new evidence was found — e.g. people once thought the Sun orbited the Earth
  • Explain that scientists update their ideas when experiments give unexpected results, and that this is a strength not a weakness
  • Describe why it is important to keep testing ideas rather than just accepting them because an expert said so

• Classifying living things (age 9+)

  Record data and results of increasing complexity using scientific diagrams, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs

  • Choose and create an appropriate graph type for the data (bar chart, line graph, scatter graph)
  • Draw graphs with correctly labelled axes, appropriate scales, and accurate plotting
  • Use classification keys and scientific diagrams to present complex findings

• Comparing Possible Solutions

  Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints

  • Generate at least three possible solutions to a defined design problem
  • Compare solutions against the specified criteria and constraints
  • Select the most promising solution with reasoning for the choice

• Fair testing (age 8+)

  Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved

  • Plan a fair test of a prototype with clearly identified variables to control
  • Carry out the test and identify failure points or weaknesses in the design
  • Propose specific improvements based on test results and retest

• Simple Design Problems

  Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost

  • Define a design problem by describing the need or want it addresses
  • Specify at least two criteria for a successful solution (e.g. must hold X weight, must cost less than Y)
  • Identify constraints such as available materials, time limits, or cost

• Accurate Measurement

  Take measurements with increasing accuracy and precision using a range of scientific equipment, taking repeat readings when appropriate

  • Use scientific equipment (scales, thermometers, measuring cylinders, stopwatches) with increasing precision
  • Explain why repeat readings improve reliability and take at least three readings
  • Identify and deal with anomalous results (measurements that don't fit the pattern)

• Repeated tests for reliability

  Distinguish between precision (consistency of repeated readings) and accuracy (closeness to true value), use significant figures and standard form correctly, and choose and use appropriate measuring instruments to minimise uncertainty

  • Explains the distinction between precision and accuracy with examples
  • Rounds measurements to an appropriate number of significant figures
  • Selects a measuring instrument with appropriate resolution for the context (e.g. choosing a 10 ml measuring cylinder rather than a 1-litre measuring jug for a 5 ml measurement)

Science · Space Exploration

Your child is discovering the wonders of space — learning about stars, planets, and galaxies, understanding how our ideas about the solar system have changed over time, and exploring humanity's journey into space.

• Why the Sun Looks Brightest

  Explain why the Sun appears much brighter than other stars: it is the nearest star to Earth, not the biggest or brightest star in the universe — understanding the difference between apparent brightness (how bright something looks) and actual brightness

  • State that the Sun is a medium-sized star that appears brightest because it is the closest star to Earth
  • Explain the difference between apparent brightness (how bright it looks) and actual brightness (how much light it gives off)
  • Give an example: a torch held close looks brighter than a distant floodlight, even though the floodlight is more powerful

• Gravity Pulls Things Down

  Understand gravity as a force that pulls objects towards the centre of the Earth, that 'down' means towards Earth’s centre regardless of where you stand on the sphere, and that gravity keeps the Moon orbiting Earth and planets orbiting the Sun

  • Define gravity as a pulling force that attracts objects towards the centre of the Earth
  • Explain that 'down' points towards Earth's centre, so people on opposite sides of the globe both feel pulled 'down'
  • State that gravity keeps the Moon orbiting Earth and planets orbiting the Sun

• Space Exploration Milestones

  Describe key milestones in human space exploration: the Space Race (Sputnik, Yuri Gagarin, Apollo 11 Moon landing), the Space Shuttle era, the International Space Station, and current missions (Artemis programme, Mars exploration plans, commercial spaceflight)

  • Name Sputnik as the first satellite (1957) and Yuri Gagarin as the first person in space (1961)
  • Describe the Apollo 11 Moon landing (1969) with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
  • Name at least one current space programme (Artemis, SpaceX, ISS) and describe its goal

• Finding Exoplanets

  Describe how astronomers detect planets around other stars using transit photometry (dip in starlight as a planet crosses) and radial velocity (Doppler wobble of the star), explain the habitable zone concept, and discuss what atmospheric biosignatures — such as oxygen, methane, and water vapour detected together — would suggest about a planet

  • Explains transit photometry: the small, periodic dip in a star's brightness when a planet passes in front of it
  • Explains the habitable zone as the range of distances from a star where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface
  • Describes two or more atmospheric biosignatures and explains why their co-presence is significant (e.g. oxygen + methane together suggests active life replenishing both)

• Seasonal Constellations

  Recognise named constellations visible in different seasons and understand why we see different constellations at different times of year — because Earth’s orbit around the Sun changes which part of the sky we face at night

  • Name at least three constellations (e.g. Orion, Ursa Major/Big Dipper, Leo, Cassiopeia)
  • State that different constellations are visible in different seasons
  • Explain that this happens because Earth's orbit means we face different directions in space at different times of year

• Changing Ideas About Space

  Understand that ideas about the solar system changed over time: ancient people believed Earth was at the centre (geocentric model, Ptolemy), until Copernicus proposed the Sun was at the centre (heliocentric model), later confirmed by Galileo’s telescope observations

  • Describe the geocentric model (Earth at the centre) and name Ptolemy as its main proponent
  • Describe the heliocentric model (Sun at the centre) and name Copernicus as the person who proposed it
  • Explain that Galileo used a telescope to find evidence supporting the heliocentric model (e.g. moons orbiting Jupiter)

• The Vast Scale of Space

  Describe the scale of the universe in nested layers: Earth is one planet in our solar system, the Sun is one star among billions in the Milky Way galaxy, and the Milky Way is one galaxy among billions in the universe

  • State that the Milky Way is our galaxy and it contains billions of stars
  • Explain the hierarchy: planet → solar system → galaxy → universe
  • Use a comparison to convey cosmic scale (e.g. if the Sun were a football, Earth would be a peppercorn 26 metres away)

• Observing with Light Waves

  Explain how the electromagnetic spectrum is the primary tool of modern astronomy — different wavelengths (radio, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-ray, gamma-ray) reveal different phenomena, why some telescopes must be in space, and what specific discoveries each wavelength range has enabled (e.g. CMB in microwave, black hole jets in X-ray, cold gas clouds in radio)

  • Lists at least four regions of the EM spectrum and gives a specific astronomical object or phenomenon observed in each
  • Explains why some telescopes must be placed in space (Earth's atmosphere blocks X-ray, gamma-ray, and much infrared radiation)
  • Describes the James Webb Space Telescope or Hubble and explains which part of the spectrum each primarily observes and why that was chosen

• Life Cycle of Stars

  Understand the basics of a star’s life cycle: stars are born in clouds of gas and dust (nebulae), shine for millions or billions of years by fusing hydrogen, and eventually die — massive stars explode as supernovae while smaller stars fade into white dwarfs

  • Describe that stars form from clouds of gas and dust called nebulae
  • State that stars produce energy by fusing hydrogen into helium in their cores
  • Explain that massive stars end in a supernova explosion while smaller stars shrink to become white dwarfs

• Scale of the Solar System

  Use scale models, diagrams, or calculations to represent the relative sizes and distances of objects in the solar system, understanding that the distances between planets are enormously larger than the planets themselves

  • Explain that if the Sun were the size of a beach ball, Earth would be a pea about 26 metres away
  • State that the distances between planets are much greater than the sizes of the planets themselves
  • Create or interpret a scale model showing both relative sizes and distances

Science · Volcanoes & Earthquakes

Your child is exploring how Earth's powerful forces work — understanding what causes volcanoes and earthquakes, how scientists monitor them, and how communities prepare for these natural events.

• Earthquake-Resistant Design

  Know that buildings can be designed to resist earthquakes, tsunami warning systems alert coastal communities, and communities prepare through evacuation plans and drills

  • Describe at least one feature that makes buildings more earthquake-resistant
  • Explain how tsunami warning systems detect danger and alert communities
  • Describe how communities prepare for earthquakes and eruptions through drills and evacuation plans

• Plate Boundaries

  Explain how plate boundaries cause earthquakes and volcanoes: plates pushing together, pulling apart, or sliding past each other create the forces that trigger these events, and mountains form where plates collide

  • Describe three types of plate boundary movement: convergent, divergent, and transform
  • Explain that earthquakes occur when plates grind or collide at boundaries
  • Explain that volcanoes form where plates pull apart or one slides under another, allowing magma to rise

• Tectonic Plates

  Understand that Earth's crust is broken into large pieces called tectonic plates that float on hotter, softer rock beneath and move very slowly — a few centimetres per year

  • Describe Earth's crust as broken into large plates
  • Explain that the plates float on hotter, partially melted rock underneath
  • State that plates move very slowly, typically a few centimetres per year

• How Tectonic Plates Move

  Understand that convection currents in the molten mantle drive the movement of rigid tectonic plates; distinguish between convergent (collision/subduction), divergent (spreading ridges), and transform (sliding) plate boundaries; explain why volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountain chains cluster at boundaries; introduce the Wilson cycle of supercontinent assembly and breakup

• Famous Eruptions & Pangaea

  Know about famous eruptions and their global effects: Mount St Helens (1980), Eyjafjallajökull (2010), and how large eruptions can affect weather and climate worldwide; understand that continents were once joined (Pangaea) and have slowly drifted apart

  • Describe at least one famous volcanic eruption and its key effects
  • Explain how volcanic ash and gases in the atmosphere can cool global temperatures
  • State that continents were once joined in a supercontinent and have slowly moved apart over millions of years

• Eruption Types & Volcano Shape

  Understand that not all volcanic eruptions are the same: some flow gently (effusive) and some explode violently (explosive), depending on the properties of the magma, and that volcano shape is related to eruption type

  • Contrast effusive eruptions (gentle lava flows) with explosive eruptions (violent blasts of ash and rock)
  • Explain that eruption type depends on properties of the magma such as thickness and gas content
  • Connect volcano shape to eruption style: shield volcanoes from runny lava, steep cones from thick explosive magma

• Monitoring Volcanoes

  Understand how volcanologists monitor volcanoes by looking for warning signs — gas emissions, ground swelling, small earthquakes — and that prediction involves evidence and uncertainty, not certainty

  • Name at least two warning signs scientists look for before an eruption
  • Explain that volcanologists combine multiple types of evidence to assess risk
  • Discuss why volcanic prediction involves uncertainty and cannot guarantee exact timing

• Measuring Earthquake Strength

  Know that scientists measure earthquakes using seismometers, that earthquakes release energy that travels as waves through the ground, and that a magnitude scale describes their strength

  • Explain that a seismometer is an instrument that detects and records ground shaking
  • Describe earthquake energy as waves that travel outward from where rocks broke
  • Interpret a magnitude number as a measure of an earthquake's strength

• The Rock Cycle

  Understand the rock cycle: rocks slowly change from one type to another over millions of years — igneous rock weathers into sediment, sediment becomes sedimentary rock, heat and pressure create metamorphic rock, and melting starts the cycle again

  • Describe the rock cycle as a continuous process with no beginning or end
  • Trace at least one complete path through the cycle from igneous to sedimentary to metamorphic and back
  • Explain that the rock cycle operates over millions of years through weathering, pressure, heat, and melting

• Seismic Waves & Earth's Interior

  Distinguish between P-waves (compression, travel through solids and liquids) and S-waves (shear, cannot pass through liquids); explain why a seismic shadow zone exists on the far side of an earthquake; describe how seismologists use wave refraction and reflection to infer that Earth has a solid inner core, liquid outer core, mantle, and crust

Science · Ecosystems & Habitats

Your child is learning how scientists classify living things into groups based on their characteristics and understanding how matter moves through ecosystems as plants, animals, and decomposers interact with their environment.

• Matter Cycling in Ecosystems

  Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment in an ecosystem

  • Describe the role of decomposers (fungi, bacteria, worms) in breaking down dead matter
  • Trace the movement of matter: plant grows using soil nutrients → animal eats plant → animal dies → decomposers return nutrients to soil
  • Create or interpret a simple diagram showing matter cycling through an ecosystem

• Food Webs & Interdependence

  Construct and interpret food webs showing the interdependence of organisms in an ecosystem, explaining how a change in one population affects others

  • Draws a food web from given data with arrows showing energy flow direction
  • Predicts how the population of one species would change if another species increased or decreased
  • Distinguishes a food web from a food chain and explains why webs are more realistic

• Evidence-Based Classification

  Give reasons for classifying plants and animals based on specific characteristics, using evidence to justify classification decisions

  • Classify an unfamiliar organism using specific observable characteristics with reasoning
  • Compare two similar organisms and explain which characteristics distinguish their classification
  • Justify a classification decision using at least two pieces of evidence from observation

• Classifying Organisms

  Describe how living things are classified into broad groups (micro-organisms, plants, animals) according to common observable characteristics, similarities, and differences

  • Name the broad classification groups: micro-organisms, plants, animals (and fungi if known)
  • Describe observable characteristics used for classification (e.g. plants make own food, animals move and eat)
  • Give examples of organisms in each group, including micro-organisms like bacteria

• Pollination & Pollinator Decline

  Explain the importance of insect pollination for plant reproduction and human food security, and discuss the consequences of pollinator decline

  • Explains why many food crops depend on insect pollination to produce fruit and seeds
  • Names examples of crops that require insect pollination (e.g. apples, almonds, oilseed rape)
  • Discusses the potential impact of bee population decline on food production

• Communities Protecting Resources

  Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth's resources and environment

  • Describe at least three real-world examples of communities protecting resources or the environment
  • Explain the science ideas behind each example (e.g. solar panels convert sunlight to electricity, reducing fossil fuel use)
  • Discuss how individual actions and community efforts combine to make a difference

• Energy Loss Between Levels

  Explain how energy is transferred between trophic levels in a food chain, why energy is lost at each stage, and use pyramids of biomass/numbers to represent this

  • Explains that only about 10% of energy passes from one trophic level to the next
  • Constructs a pyramid of biomass from data and explains its shape
  • Identifies where energy is lost at each trophic level (heat, movement, waste)

• Human impact on environments

  Use vocabulary for human impact on the environment — pollution, habitat destruction, deforestation, biodiversity, conservation, renewable energy, non-renewable energy, fossil fuel, carbon footprint, sustainability, endangered, extinct — and apply these when discussing environmental issues and human choices

  • Distinguish between renewable and non-renewable energy sources using the correct terms and give examples of each
  • Use 'biodiversity' and 'conservation' correctly in discussing why protecting habitats matters
  • Apply 'carbon footprint' and 'sustainability' correctly in a discussion about everyday human choices

• The Water Cycle

  Describe the water cycle, tracing water through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, surface runoff, and transpiration in plants, explaining how the sun drives the cycle

  • Labels a water cycle diagram correctly
  • Explains what drives each stage of the water cycle (e.g. solar energy drives evaporation)
  • Explains the role of transpiration (plants releasing water vapour) in the water cycle

Science · Forces & Motion

Your child is learning about gravity and forces that resist motion like friction and air resistance, while discovering how simple machines like levers and pulleys can make tasks easier.

• Reading Distance-Time Graphs

  Read and plot distance-time graphs for moving objects; interpret the gradient (steepness) of a line as speed; identify stationary periods (horizontal sections), constant speed (straight diagonal lines), and relative speeds by comparing gradients; calculate average speed from the gradient of a straight-line segment using speed = distance ÷ time

  • Read a distance-time graph and describe what is happening at each stage — moving, stopped, returning
  • Calculate speed from the gradient of a straight section of a distance-time graph
  • Sketch a distance-time graph from a written description of a journey with stops and speed changes

• Relative Motion

  Explain relative motion — how the apparent speed and direction of an object depends on the observer's own motion — using everyday examples such as trains and cars passing

  • Explains why a train moving at the same speed in the same direction as another appears stationary to passengers on that train
  • Calculates relative speed when two objects move towards or away from each other
  • Explains why the frame of reference matters when describing motion

• Speed & Distance-Time Graphs

  Calculate average speed using the equation speed = distance ÷ time, represent journeys on distance-time graphs, and interpret gradient as speed and flat sections as stationary periods

  • Uses speed = distance ÷ time to calculate average speed with correct units (m/s, km/h)
  • Draws a distance-time graph for a given journey with correct axes and labels
  • Reads a distance-time graph to determine speed, stopping points, and direction of travel

• Drawing Force Diagrams

  Draw and interpret force diagrams showing forces as labelled arrows — where the arrow's length represents the force's magnitude and its direction shows which way the force acts; show multiple forces on one object; identify from the diagram whether forces are balanced (equal arrows in opposite directions, no resultant) or unbalanced (arrows of different sizes, producing a resultant); represent the resultant with a single arrow

  • Draw a force diagram with labelled arrows showing direction and relative size for at least two forces acting on an object
  • Use their diagram to explain whether forces are balanced or unbalanced and what will happen to the object
  • Add a resultant force arrow to a diagram and explain how they calculated it

• Gravity & Falling Objects

  Explain that unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because of the force of gravity acting between the Earth and the falling object

  • Define gravity as a force of attraction between the Earth and objects
  • Explain that unsupported objects fall because gravity pulls them towards the Earth
  • Give examples showing gravity in action (dropping objects, jumping, water flowing downhill)

• Mass vs Weight

  Distinguish between mass (amount of matter, measured in kg) and weight (gravitational force, measured in N), use the equation weight = mass × gravitational field strength, and explain why g differs on other planets and stars

  • Explains the difference between mass and weight with correct units for each
  • Calculates weight using W = mg with g = 10 N/kg on Earth
  • Predicts what would happen to an object's weight on the Moon or Jupiter

• Resultant Forces

  Describe forces as vector quantities with both magnitude and direction, distinguish between balanced forces (zero resultant, no change in motion) and unbalanced forces (non-zero resultant, causes acceleration or deceleration)

  • Explains what a vector quantity is and why force is a vector
  • Calculates the resultant force when two forces act in the same or opposite directions on an object
  • Explains what happens to an object's motion when forces are balanced vs unbalanced

• Force & Motion Vocabulary

  Use technical vocabulary for force and motion — balanced forces, unbalanced forces, resultant force, acceleration, deceleration, speed, moment, lever, fulcrum, mechanical advantage — and apply these when explaining and predicting how forces affect the motion and position of objects

  • Distinguish between balanced and unbalanced forces and describe the effect of each on an object's motion
  • Use 'resultant force' correctly when describing the net effect of two or more forces acting on an object
  • Apply 'moment', 'lever', and 'fulcrum' correctly when describing how simple machines work

• Magnetic Fields

  Describe magnetic poles (north and south), explain attraction and repulsion between poles, describe magnetic field lines plotted using a compass, and explain the Earth's magnetic field and its practical uses

  • States the rule for attraction and repulsion of magnetic poles
  • Draws the magnetic field pattern around a bar magnet from memory or compass readings
  • Explains why a compass needle points north

Science · Ocean Life

Your child is diving into ocean science — learning about marine ecosystems, animal migrations, how human activities affect the ocean, and the vital role oceans play in Earth's climate.

• Oceans & Climate

  Understand the connection between the ocean and climate: the ocean absorbs heat and carbon dioxide, drives weather patterns through evaporation, and ocean currents distribute warmth around the planet — making the ocean Earth's climate engine

  • Explain that the ocean absorbs a large amount of the Sun's heat and atmospheric carbon dioxide
  • Describe the ocean's role in the water cycle through evaporation
  • Explain how ocean currents distribute warmth and affect weather patterns in distant places

• Ocean Ecosystems

  Understand ocean ecosystems as interconnected systems where living things (producers, consumers, decomposers) and non-living factors (temperature, salinity, light, currents) all interact, and that changes to one part affect the whole system

  • Describe an ocean ecosystem as a system of living and non-living parts that interact
  • Name key non-living factors that affect ocean life: temperature, salinity, light, currents
  • Explain how a change in one factor (like temperature) cascades through the whole ecosystem

• Protecting the Ocean

  Understand how people protect the ocean: marine protected areas limit fishing and pollution, sustainable fishing prevents overharvesting, beach clean-ups reduce plastic, and international agreements aim to reduce carbon emissions that cause ocean acidification

  • Explain what a marine protected area is and why it helps
  • Describe sustainable fishing as taking only what the ocean can replace
  • Name at least two actions people can take to protect oceans: reducing plastic, marine reserves, cutting emissions

• Ocean Currents and Global Heat

  Explain thermohaline circulation (the global conveyor belt) as driven by temperature and salinity differences that cause dense water to sink; describe how the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) transfers heat from the tropics toward Europe; explain that oceans absorb more than 90% of excess heat and ~25% of CO2 from human emissions; explore what would happen to Northern European climates if circulation weakened

• Ocean Pollution & Harm

  Identify ways humans harm the ocean — plastic pollution, overfishing, oil spills, and ocean acidification from carbon dioxide — and understand that most ocean pollution comes from land-based activities, not just ships

  • Name at least three ways humans harm the ocean
  • Explain that most ocean pollution originates on land, not from ships
  • Describe how plastic pollution or overfishing specifically harms marine animals

• Ocean Animal Migrations

  Know that many ocean animals undertake remarkable migrations — humpback whales travel thousands of miles between feeding and breeding grounds, sea turtles return to the same beach where they hatched to lay eggs — and understand these journeys are linked to seasonal food supplies and reproduction

  • Describe at least one example of marine animal migration in detail
  • Explain that migrations are driven by seasonal food availability and breeding needs
  • Estimate the scale of these journeys (thousands of miles)

• Deep-Sea Creatures

  Explore life in the deep sea: animals that make their own light (bioluminescence), creatures adapted to crushing pressure and total darkness, and hydrothermal vents where life thrives without sunlight

  • Define bioluminescence as the ability of some deep-sea creatures to produce their own light
  • Describe at least two adaptations deep-sea animals have for life in darkness and pressure
  • Explain that hydrothermal vents support life without sunlight through chemical energy

• Deep-Sea Life Without Sunlight

  Contrast photosynthesis (energy from sunlight) with chemosynthesis (energy from oxidising chemicals like hydrogen sulphide); describe hydrothermal vent communities: chemoautotrophic bacteria form the base of a food web supporting tube worms, giant clams, and vent crabs with no sunlight; explore what deep-sea life tells us about the origin of life on Earth; explain why NASA studies ocean vents as analogues for potential life around hydrothermal activity on Europa and Enceladus

• Exploring the Ocean

  Know that oceanographers and marine biologists study the ocean using submarines, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), satellites, and diving, and that much of the ocean remains unexplored — we know more about the Moon's surface than the deep ocean floor

  • Name at least two tools scientists use to explore the ocean: submarines, ROVs, satellites
  • State that most of the deep ocean remains unexplored
  • Explain why ocean exploration is difficult: darkness, pressure, vastness

Science · Polar Regions

• Polar Conservation & Future

  Understand the conservation challenges facing polar regions — marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean aim to preserve Antarctic ecosystems, Arctic nations dispute sovereignty over northern sea routes and resources as ice retreats, indigenous peoples fight for land rights and voice in environmental decisions, and international cooperation (Paris Agreement, Antarctic Treaty) is essential but difficult to maintain as economic pressures grow

  • Describe at least two conservation measures: marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic Treaty
  • Explain why Arctic sovereignty is contested as ice retreats and shipping routes open
  • Describe the role of indigenous peoples in Arctic environmental decisions and why their knowledge matters

• Climate Change at the Poles

  Understand how climate change is affecting polar regions — Arctic sea ice is shrinking dramatically (losing about 13% per decade since 1979), the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are losing mass and contributing to sea level rise, permafrost is thawing and releasing methane (a powerful greenhouse gas), and these changes create positive feedback loops where melting leads to more warming which leads to more melting

  • State that Arctic sea ice has been declining at roughly 13% per decade since 1979
  • Explain the positive feedback loop: warming → ice melts → dark ocean absorbs more heat → more warming → more melting
  • Describe at least two consequences of polar ice loss: sea level rise and permafrost thawing releasing methane

• Earth's Frozen Water

  Understand the cryosphere and its role in Earth's water system — the cryosphere is all frozen water on Earth (ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice, permafrost, snow cover); polar ice sheets hold about 69% of Earth's fresh water; if all polar ice melted, sea levels would rise over 65 metres; and the water cycle connects polar ice to the global system through evaporation, precipitation, and meltwater flowing into oceans

  • Define the cryosphere as all frozen water on Earth and name its components: ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice, permafrost, snow
  • State that polar ice sheets hold approximately 69% of Earth's fresh water
  • Explain how polar ice connects to the global water cycle and what would happen if it all melted (65m+ sea level rise)

• Polar Oceans and World Climate

  Understand how polar oceans connect to the global climate system — cold, dense polar water sinks and drives thermohaline circulation (a global conveyor belt of ocean currents), sea ice reflects sunlight back to space (the albedo effect) helping regulate Earth's temperature, and the Southern Ocean around Antarctica is one of the most productive marine ecosystems on Earth due to upwelling nutrients

  • Explain that cold, dense polar water sinks and drives global ocean circulation (thermohaline circulation)
  • Describe the albedo effect: white ice reflects sunlight back to space, while dark ocean absorbs heat
  • State that the Southern Ocean is extremely productive because upwelling brings nutrients to the surface

• Polar Climate Zone

  Understand that polar regions belong to the polar climate zone — one of Earth's five main climate zones (tropical, arid, temperate, continental, polar) — characterised by temperatures rarely above 10°C even in summer, low precipitation (polar deserts receive less rain than the Sahara), and strong winds; know that latitude is the key factor determining climate zones, with polar regions above 60°N/S

  • Name the five main climate zones and place polar regions correctly within them
  • State that polar regions are above approximately 60° latitude and explain that distance from the Equator is the main reason they are cold
  • Describe polar climate characteristics: rarely above 10°C in summer, very low precipitation, strong winds

• Antarctic Treaty & Research

  Know that Antarctica is governed by the Antarctic Treaty (signed 1959, in force since 1961) — which sets Antarctica aside for peaceful purposes and scientific research, bans military activity and mining, and is signed by over 50 countries; understand that international research stations study climate, astronomy, biology, and geology, and that Antarctica is the closest thing on Earth to a continent for science rather than politics

  • State that the Antarctic Treaty (1959) sets Antarctica aside for peace and science, banning military activity and mining
  • Know that over 50 countries have signed the treaty and that many operate research stations
  • Name at least two areas of scientific research conducted in Antarctica: climate, astronomy, biology, or geology

• Polar Ecosystems Compared

  Compare Arctic and Antarctic ecosystems — the Arctic has both terrestrial (tundra) and marine ecosystems supporting large land mammals and indigenous human communities, while the Antarctic is almost entirely marine-based with virtually no land plants or mammals; both regions have short, intense food chains anchored by phytoplankton and krill, and both are disproportionately affected by climate change and human activity

  • Compare Arctic (terrestrial + marine, land mammals, human communities) with Antarctic (almost entirely marine, no land mammals)
  • Explain that both polar food chains depend on phytoplankton and krill at the base
  • Describe why polar ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to climate change (short food chains, specialised organisms)

• Polar Exploration Then & Now

  Compare historical polar exploration with modern polar science — the Heroic Age (1897–1922) relied on ships, dogs, and human endurance with many fatalities, while today's polar scientists use GPS, satellites, icebreaker ships, heated research stations, and aircraft; understand that modern challenges include studying climate change data, and that polar science now includes diverse international teams including women scientists like glaciologist Liz Thomas and marine biologist Sylvia Earle

  • Compare Heroic Age exploration (dog sleds, man-hauling, many deaths) with modern science (GPS, satellites, icebreakers, heated stations)
  • Name at least two technologies that make modern polar science possible
  • Name a modern polar scientist and explain that today's polar teams are diverse and international

• Glaciers & Ice Sheets

  Understand how glaciers and ice sheets form and behave — snow accumulates over centuries and compresses into dense ice, glaciers flow slowly downhill under their own weight carving U-shaped valleys and depositing moraines; the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets together hold enough ice to raise sea levels by over 65 metres; and ice cores drilled from these sheets contain trapped air bubbles that reveal Earth's climate history going back 800,000 years

  • Describe how glaciers form: snow accumulates, compresses, and becomes dense ice that flows slowly under its own weight
  • Explain that the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets hold enough water to raise sea levels dramatically if melted
  • Describe how ice cores reveal climate history through trapped air bubbles from hundreds of thousands of years ago

Science · The Human Body

Your child is discovering how their body works — exploring the respiratory, circulatory, and nervous systems in detail, and understanding how lifestyle choices affect their health and development.

• Growing Up & Puberty

  Describe the stages of human development from birth to old age: baby, toddler, child, adolescent (puberty), young adult, middle-aged adult, elderly — understanding the physical changes that happen at each stage, especially during puberty

  • Name and order at least six life stages from birth to old age
  • Describe key physical changes during puberty (growth spurts, body shape changes, development of adult features)
  • Explain that puberty is triggered by hormones — chemical messengers released by glands

• Healthy Lifestyle Choices

  Understand how lifestyle choices affect the body’s health: a balanced diet, regular exercise, adequate sleep, and avoiding harmful substances (tobacco, alcohol, drugs) help body systems function well, while poor choices increase the risk of disease

  • Explain how regular exercise strengthens the heart, lungs, and muscles
  • Describe how a poor diet high in sugar and fat can lead to obesity, tooth decay, and heart problems
  • State at least two harmful effects of smoking (damages lungs, increases heart disease risk) or alcohol (damages liver, affects brain)

• Heart & Blood Circulation

  Describe the circulatory system in detail: the heart has four chambers (two atria, two ventricles) that pump blood in a double loop — one to the lungs for oxygen and one to the rest of the body to deliver it — through arteries, veins, and tiny capillaries

  • Name the four heart chambers and describe the double-loop pathway (heart → lungs → heart → body)
  • Distinguish arteries (carry blood away from heart), veins (carry blood back to heart), and capillaries (tiny vessels where exchange happens)
  • Name the components of blood: red blood cells (carry oxygen), white blood cells (fight infection), platelets (help clotting), plasma (liquid)

• Circulation & Breathing Together

  Understand how the circulatory and respiratory systems work together: the lungs oxygenate the blood, the heart pumps it around the body, cells use the oxygen and produce carbon dioxide waste, and the blood carries the waste back to the lungs to be breathed out

  • Describe the cycle: lungs add oxygen to blood → heart pumps oxygenated blood to body → cells use oxygen → blood returns CO₂ to lungs
  • Explain why heart rate and breathing rate increase during exercise (muscles need more oxygen)
  • Measure their own resting and post-exercise heart rate and explain the difference

• The Nervous System

  Understand that the nervous system has two parts — the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and nerves that branch throughout the body — and that nerve signals travel at high speed to coordinate senses, thought, and movement

  • Name the two parts of the nervous system: central (brain + spinal cord) and peripheral (nerves throughout the body)
  • Describe the reflex arc: stimulus → sensory nerve → spinal cord/brain → motor nerve → muscle response
  • State that nerve signals travel extremely fast, which is why reflexes happen almost instantly

• Neurons & Brain Structure

  Explain how neurons transmit signals as electrochemical impulses across synapses, describe how the brain is organised (lobes and functions, limbic system for emotion), and explain neuroplasticity — why learning and practice physically change brain structure — connecting to optical illusions as evidence that the brain constructs reality rather than passively recording it

  • Describes the neuron-to-neuron signal pathway: electrical impulse travels along axon, neurotransmitter crosses the synapse, new impulse begins in the next neuron
  • Names the four lobes of the cerebral cortex (frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital) and gives one function for each
  • Explains neuroplasticity: repeated neural pathways become stronger and faster — this is the biological mechanism of learning and skill development

• How the Lungs Work

  Explain how the respiratory system works in detail: air travels through the nose/mouth, down the trachea, into bronchi and bronchioles, reaching tiny air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs where oxygen passes into the blood and carbon dioxide passes out

  • Trace the air pathway: nose/mouth → trachea → bronchi → bronchioles → alveoli
  • Explain gas exchange in the alveoli: oxygen passes into blood capillaries, carbon dioxide passes out
  • Describe the mechanical process: the diaphragm contracts to pull air in and relaxes to push air out

• The Immune System

  Know that the body has an immune system that protects against illness: the skin acts as a barrier, white blood cells identify and destroy germs (bacteria and viruses), and vaccines train the immune system to recognise specific diseases before they cause illness

  • Describe the skin as the body's first line of defence against germs
  • Explain that white blood cells detect and fight bacteria and viruses inside the body
  • Describe how vaccines work: they contain weakened or inactive germs that train the immune system to recognise the real disease

• Immunity & Vaccines

  Distinguish innate (non-specific, immediate) from adaptive (specific, memory-forming) immunity; explain how B cells produce antibodies that recognise specific antigens, how T cells destroy infected cells, and why immunological memory makes vaccines work; and describe the gut microbiome as a community of trillions of microbes that significantly influences immune function

  • Distinguishes innate immunity (rapid, non-specific barriers and inflammation) from adaptive immunity (slow, specific, memory-forming)
  • Explains how B cells produce antibodies that bind to specific antigens on pathogens, targeting them for destruction
  • Explains immunological memory: after first exposure, memory B and T cells remain, making subsequent response faster and stronger — the basis of vaccine protection

Science · Weather & Climate

Your child is exploring how the Sun drives weather patterns and creates different climate zones around Earth, learning about extreme weather events, climate change, and how people design solutions to protect communities from weather hazards.

• Climate Change Basics

  Understand the basics of climate change: Earth’s atmosphere traps some of the Sun's heat (the greenhouse effect), burning fossil fuels adds extra greenhouse gases (especially CO₂), this is making Earth gradually warmer, and this warming changes weather patterns, melts ice, and raises sea levels

  • Describe the greenhouse effect: the atmosphere traps heat from the Sun
  • Explain that burning fossil fuels increases CO₂ in the atmosphere
  • Name at least two consequences of global warming: changing weather patterns, melting ice, rising seas

• Sun-Driven Weather Systems

  Understand how the Sun drives weather: the Sun heats Earth's surface unevenly (land heats faster than water, equator gets more heat than poles), creating differences in air pressure that cause wind patterns, ocean currents, and large-scale weather systems

  • Explain that the Sun heats land and water at different rates
  • Describe how temperature differences create air pressure differences that drive wind
  • Connect uneven heating to large-scale weather patterns

• Climate Zones

  Understand that Earth has distinct climate zones — tropical (hot and wet near the equator), temperate (moderate, with four seasons), polar (freezing cold), arid/desert (very dry), and mountain (cold at high altitude) — and that each zone supports different ecosystems and ways of life

  • Name and describe at least four climate zones
  • Explain what determines which zone a place belongs to (mainly latitude and geography)
  • Give an example of how a climate zone affects the plants, animals, or people living there

• Weather-Resistant Engineering

  Understand that engineers design buildings, flood defences, and warning systems to protect communities from extreme weather — hurricane-resistant roofs, flood barriers, tornado shelters, and early-warning alert systems — and evaluate the merits of these solutions

  • Describe at least two engineering solutions designed to protect against extreme weather
  • Explain how a specific design feature reduces damage from a weather hazard
  • Evaluate the advantages and limitations of a weather protection solution

• Global Wind Patterns

  Explain that unequal solar heating drives large-scale atmospheric circulation: Hadley cells (0-30°), Ferrel cells (30-60°), and polar cells (60-90°) produce the trade winds, westerlies, and polar easterlies; describe how the Coriolis effect from Earth's rotation deflects winds rightward in the Northern Hemisphere; explain the jet stream as a fast high-altitude wind that steers weather systems; connect jet stream waviness and Arctic amplification to prolonged extreme weather

• Greenhouse Gas Science

  Describe the electromagnetic spectrum and distinguish between short-wave solar radiation and long-wave infrared radiation emitted by Earth; explain how greenhouse gas molecules (CO2, CH4, N2O, H2O) absorb and re-emit infrared through molecular vibration while O2 and N2 do not; distinguish the natural greenhouse effect (which makes Earth habitable) from the enhanced greenhouse effect driven by human emissions; evaluate the relative potency of different greenhouse gases

• Reading Weather Maps

  Read and interpret weather maps, data tables, and graphs — identifying symbols for sun, rain, wind, and temperature; spotting trends and patterns in weather data over weeks, months, or seasons; and using data to make simple predictions

  • Interpret common weather map symbols for temperature, precipitation, and wind
  • Read a data table or graph of weather data and identify patterns
  • Use weather data to make a simple prediction about upcoming conditions

• The Atmosphere

  Know that Earth is surrounded by a layer of air called the atmosphere, that air has weight and exerts pressure, that the atmosphere protects us from harmful radiation and keeps the planet warm enough for life, and that weather happens in the lowest layer (troposphere)

  • Define the atmosphere as the layer of air surrounding Earth
  • State that air has weight and exerts pressure
  • Explain that weather occurs in the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere

• Extreme Weather Events

  Know about extreme weather events — hurricanes (spinning storms over warm ocean), tornadoes (violent rotating columns of air), floods, droughts, and blizzards — how they form, where they typically occur, and their effects on people and the environment

  • Describe how at least two types of extreme weather form
  • Explain where hurricanes and tornadoes typically occur and why
  • Describe the effects of extreme weather on communities and landscapes

Science · Animals of the World

Your child is discovering how animals have evolved amazing adaptations to survive in their environments, exploring complex animal behaviors and intelligence, and learning about conservation efforts to protect endangered species and biodiversity.

• Biodiversity

  Understand that biodiversity — the variety of different species in an ecosystem — is essential for healthy ecosystems, and that keystone species (like wolves in Yellowstone, sea otters in kelp forests, or bees as pollinators) have an outsized impact on their ecosystem, so that losing one key species can cause a cascade of changes affecting many others

  • Defines biodiversity as the variety of species in an ecosystem
  • Explains why biodiversity matters (stability, resilience, ecosystem services)
  • Defines keystone species and gives at least 2 examples

• Protecting Endangered Animals

  Know how people work to protect endangered animals — through national parks and marine reserves, captive breeding programmes (like those that saved the California condor and Arabian oryx), anti-poaching patrols, wildlife corridors connecting habitats, and laws banning trade in endangered species — and understand that children can contribute through habitat-friendly choices

  • Describes at least 3 conservation strategies with specific examples
  • Names an animal saved from near-extinction by conservation efforts
  • Suggests at least one action children or families can take to help wildlife

• Endangered & Extinct Species

  Understand why some animal species become endangered or go extinct — habitat destruction, hunting/poaching, pollution, climate change, and invasive species — and know examples like the giant panda, mountain gorilla, Amur leopard, and the now-extinct dodo and thylacine, using the IUCN Red List as the system scientists use to track threatened species

  • Defines endangered as a species at risk of extinction
  • Names at least 3 causes of species becoming endangered
  • Gives at least 3 examples of endangered or extinct animals

• Invasive Species

  Understand that invasive species are animals (or plants) that have been introduced to a place where they don't naturally belong — like grey squirrels outcompeting red squirrels in the UK, cane toads poisoning native predators in Australia, or rabbits devastating ecosystems in Australia — and that they can cause serious harm to native wildlife by competing for food, spreading disease, or having no natural predators

  • Defines invasive species as non-native animals introduced to a new environment
  • Names at least 2 examples of invasive species and their impacts
  • Explains at least 2 reasons invasive species are harmful (no predators, outcompete natives, spread disease)

• Structural Adaptations

  Understand that animals have structural adaptations (body features like the giraffe's long neck, eagle's talons, dolphin's streamlined shape), behavioural adaptations (migration, hibernation, tool use), and physiological adaptations (antifreeze in Arctic fish blood, echolocation in bats) — and that these developed over many generations through natural selection

  • Defines adaptation as a feature or behaviour that helps an animal survive in its environment
  • Gives examples of structural, behavioural, and physiological adaptations
  • Explains that adaptations develop over many generations, not during one animal's lifetime

• Symbiosis

  Understand symbiosis — close relationships between different species — including mutualism (both benefit, like clownfish and anemones), commensalism (one benefits without harming the other, like remora fish riding sharks), and parasitism (one benefits at the other's expense, like ticks on deer) — and recognise these relationships in nature

  • Defines symbiosis as a close relationship between different species
  • Distinguishes mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism with an example of each
  • Identifies symbiotic relationships when presented with new scenarios

• The Red Queen Hypothesis

  Introduce the Red Queen hypothesis — species must keep evolving just to maintain fitness relative to co-evolving partners; describe predator-prey arms races (cheetah speed vs gazelle speed, bat echolocation vs moth hearing jamming) and parasite-host co-evolution (myxomatosis in rabbits); explain Darwin's hawk moth and orchid as a classic example of mutualistic co-evolution predicting an unknown species; understand that co-evolution is a major driver of biological diversification

• Animal Intelligence

  Explore animal intelligence and complex behaviour — chimpanzees and crows use tools, dolphins recognise themselves in mirrors, octopuses solve puzzles and escape enclosures, elephants mourn their dead, meerkats teach their young to handle scorpions — understanding that many animals think, learn, and have social lives more complex than once believed

  • Gives at least 4 examples of animal intelligence or complex behaviour
  • Explains what 'tool use' means and names at least 2 tool-using animals
  • Discusses how scientists test animal intelligence (mirror test, puzzle boxes, observation)

Science · Energy

Your child is learning how electricity works in circuits — understanding how batteries power different components like bulbs and buzzers, and how to draw circuit diagrams using proper symbols.

• Energy stores and transfers

  Identify the main energy stores (kinetic, gravitational potential, elastic potential, thermal, chemical, nuclear, electromagnetic) and the pathways by which energy is transferred between stores (mechanically, electrically, by heating, by radiation)

  • Names and describes at least five energy stores with a real-world example of each
  • Identifies the energy stores at the start and end of a given process (e.g. a falling ball, a burning match)
  • Describes the transfer pathway connecting two energy stores in a given scenario

• Energy can't be created or destroyed

  Explain the principle of conservation of energy (energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred between stores), and describe how energy is dissipated as thermal energy to the surroundings in all real processes

  • States the law of conservation of energy
  • Explains why the total energy in a closed system is always the same even though it changes form
  • Explains what dissipation means and why it happens in real machines (friction, air resistance)

• Drawing circuits with proper symbols

  Use recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram, including cell, wire, bulb, switch, buzzer, and motor

  • Draw a circuit diagram using standard symbols for at least five components
  • Interpret a circuit diagram drawn by someone else and describe what the circuit does
  • Convert between a physical circuit and its diagram representation

• More batteries, brighter bulb

  Associate the brightness of a lamp or volume of a buzzer with the number and voltage of cells used in a series circuit

  • Describe the pattern: more cells (or higher voltage) = brighter bulb / louder buzzer
  • Explain that more cells provide more energy to the circuit
  • Predict the effect of changing the number of cells on a component's behaviour

• Why circuit components behave differently

  Compare and give reasons for variations in how circuit components function, including brightness of bulbs, loudness of buzzers, and switch positions

  • Explain why adding more components in series reduces brightness/loudness (energy shared)
  • Compare circuits with different configurations and predict component behaviour
  • Give reasoned explanations for observed variations in component function

• Current, voltage, and what they measure

  Understand that electric current is the rate of flow of charge (measured in amperes using an ammeter), and that potential difference (voltage) is the energy transferred per unit charge (measured in volts using a voltmeter)

  • States that current is measured in amperes (A) and is the rate at which charge flows around a circuit
  • States that potential difference (voltage) is measured in volts (V) and represents energy transferred per unit charge
  • Correctly connects an ammeter in series and a voltmeter in parallel when building or interpreting a circuit

• Static electricity and sparks

  Explain static electricity as the build-up of electric charge through friction, describe how charged objects attract or repel each other, and relate static discharge to everyday phenomena such as lightning

  • Explains that rubbing transfers electrons from one material to another, creating opposite charges
  • States that like charges repel and unlike charges attract
  • Links the concept of static discharge to the formation of lightning as a large-scale electric spark

• Circuit vocabulary

  Use technical vocabulary for electrical circuits — circuit, component, cell, battery, current, voltage, resistance, conductor, insulator, switch, series circuit, parallel circuit — and apply these when describing, drawing, and designing working circuits

  • Use 'series' and 'parallel' correctly to describe two different circuit configurations and explain the key difference
  • Apply 'current', 'voltage', and 'resistance' correctly in a written description of how a circuit works
  • Name at least six standard circuit components and describe what each one does

Science · Rainforests

• Rainforest Futures & Trade-Offs

  Understand that the future of rainforests depends on balancing competing needs — economic development for local communities, indigenous peoples' rights to their ancestral lands, global biodiversity conservation, and climate stability — and that there are no simple answers, requiring cooperation between governments, businesses, scientists, indigenous leaders, and consumers worldwide

  • Name at least three competing interests: economic development, indigenous rights, biodiversity, and climate stability
  • Explain why there is no single simple solution to rainforest protection
  • Suggest how different groups (governments, businesses, consumers, scientists) can each contribute to a better outcome

• Rainforests & Global Climate

  Understand the connection between rainforests and global climate — rainforests absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen through photosynthesis, store enormous amounts of carbon in their biomass, and generate rainfall through transpiration; when forests are burned or cleared, stored carbon is released as CO₂, accelerating climate change and disrupting regional rainfall patterns

  • Explain that rainforests absorb CO₂ and store carbon in their trees, acting as a carbon sink
  • Describe how deforestation releases stored carbon back into the atmosphere, accelerating climate change
  • Explain that transpiration from rainforest trees generates rainfall, and losing trees disrupts rain patterns

• Deforestation Causes & Scale

  Understand the causes and scale of rainforest deforestation — cattle ranching (largest driver in the Amazon), soy and palm oil plantations, logging for timber, and mining — and know that approximately 10 million hectares of forest are lost globally each year, with devastating consequences for biodiversity, climate, and indigenous communities

  • Name at least three major causes of deforestation: cattle ranching, palm oil, soy, logging, and mining
  • State that approximately 10 million hectares of forest are lost globally each year
  • Explain the impact of deforestation on at least two of: biodiversity, climate, and indigenous peoples

• Rainforest Conservation

  Know the main approaches to rainforest conservation — protected areas and national parks, reforestation and rewilding programmes, sustainable certification schemes (Rainforest Alliance, FSC), recognition of indigenous land rights as the most effective form of forest protection, and international agreements like REDD+ that pay countries to keep forests standing

  • Name at least three conservation approaches: protected areas, reforestation, sustainable certification, and indigenous land rights
  • Explain why protecting indigenous territories is one of the most effective ways to prevent deforestation
  • Describe what certification labels like Rainforest Alliance or FSC mean and how they help

• Rainforest Products in Daily Life

  Understand how rainforest products connect to everyday life through global supply chains — palm oil is in snacks, soap, and cosmetics; soy feeds livestock worldwide; cocoa becomes chocolate; rubber is in tyres and gloves; timber becomes furniture; and many medicines originate from rainforest plants — and that consumer choices can drive either destruction or sustainable practices

  • Name at least four products linked to rainforests: palm oil, soy, cocoa, rubber, timber, and medicines
  • Explain how a product like palm oil travels from a rainforest region to a supermarket shelf
  • Describe how consumer choices (e.g. buying Rainforest Alliance certified products) can reduce deforestation pressure

• Temperate Rainforests

  Know that not all rainforests are tropical — temperate rainforests exist in cooler, wet regions like the Pacific Northwest of North America, western Scotland and Wales, southern Chile, and New Zealand — with similar features (high rainfall, moss-draped trees, dense canopy) but different species, including ancient oaks, giant redwoods, and tree ferns

  • Name at least two locations of temperate rainforests, such as the Pacific Northwest, western Scotland, or southern Chile
  • Compare temperate and tropical rainforests: both have high rainfall and dense canopy, but differ in temperature and species
  • Name species found in temperate rainforests, such as ancient oaks, giant redwoods, or tree ferns

• Rainforest Biodiversity

  Understand that rainforests are biodiversity hotspots — covering just 6% of Earth's land surface but containing over 50% of all known plant and animal species — and that this extraordinary richness makes them irreplaceable for global biodiversity and a priority for conservation

  • State that rainforests cover about 6% of Earth's land but hold over 50% of all species
  • Explain why this concentration of species makes rainforests a conservation priority
  • Give specific examples of rainforest biodiversity, such as one hectare containing more tree species than all of northern Europe

• Nutrient Cycling in Thin Soil

  Understand the paradox of nutrient cycling in rainforests — despite lush growth, rainforest soil is typically thin and nutrient-poor because most nutrients are locked in living organisms, not the soil; decomposition is rapid in the warm, wet conditions, and nutrients released from dead material are immediately absorbed by plant roots and fungi, creating a fast, closed-loop recycling system

  • Explain that rainforest soil is thin and nutrient-poor despite the lush growth above
  • Describe the rapid decomposition cycle: dead material → decomposers → nutrients released → immediately absorbed by roots
  • Explain why clearing rainforest for farming fails after a few years — once the trees are gone, the nutrients are lost

Science · Insects & Minibeasts

• Insects in ecosystems

  Insects in ecosystems: the many roles insects play. Pollinators (bees, butterflies, hoverflies), decomposers (dung beetles, fly larvae), food source for birds, bats, fish, and frogs, and pest controllers (ladybirds eating aphids). The thought experiment: what would happen if all insects disappeared?

  • Name at least three different ecological roles that insects play such as pollinator, decomposer, and food source
  • Explain how the removal of one insect group like bees would affect plants, other animals, and humans
  • Describe a specific example of insects as pest controllers such as ladybirds controlling aphid populations

• The most successful animals on Earth

  The most successful animals on Earth: there are roughly one million described insect species, and scientists estimate 5–10 million may exist. More insect species than all other animal groups combined. Why so many? Small body size means less food needed, fast reproduction with many offspring, flight allows reaching new habitats, and the exoskeleton is incredibly versatile.

  • State that insects are the most species-rich group of animals with about one million known species
  • Give at least two reasons why insects are so successful such as small size, fast reproduction, or flight
  • Compare insect diversity to another animal group, explaining that there are far more insect species than mammals or birds

• Threats to insects and conservation

  Threats to insects and conservation: insect populations are declining worldwide. Causes include habitat loss, pesticide use, light pollution disrupting nocturnal insects, and climate change. Pollinator decline threatens food production. What children can do: plant pollinator-friendly gardens, reduce pesticide use, participate in citizen science like the Big Butterfly Count.

  • Name at least three threats to insect populations such as habitat loss, pesticides, and light pollution
  • Explain why declining bee populations are a problem for humans and the food we eat
  • Suggest at least two actions that children or families can take to help insects such as planting wildflowers or joining a butterfly count

• Insect Adaptations

  Adaptation and evolution in insects: peppered moths as a famous example of natural selection (dark moths survived better on soot-covered trees during the Industrial Revolution). Stick insects evolved to look like twigs. Ant-mimicking spiders evolved to fool predators. How small changes over many generations lead to remarkable disguises.

  • Retell the peppered moth story and explain how the environment changed which colour moth survived best
  • Describe how a stick insect's body shape is an adaptation that helps it avoid being eaten
  • Explain that adaptations develop over many generations through natural selection, not during one insect's lifetime

• Insect communication and behaviour

  Insect communication and behaviour: bees perform a waggle dance to tell hive-mates where flowers are. Ants lay pheromone trails for others to follow. Fireflies flash light patterns to find mates. Crickets chirp by rubbing their wings. Monarch butterflies migrate thousands of miles across continents. How insects 'talk' without words.

  • Describe at least three ways insects communicate such as the bee waggle dance, ant pheromone trails, and firefly light signals
  • Explain what information a bee conveys through its waggle dance, including direction and distance to flowers
  • Describe the monarch butterfly migration and explain why it is remarkable in terms of distance and navigation

• Types of Metamorphosis

  Complete vs incomplete metamorphosis. Complete: egg → larva → pupa → adult (butterflies, beetles, flies). Incomplete: egg → nymph → adult — the nymph looks like a small version of the adult and moults as it grows (grasshoppers, dragonflies, crickets). Why do some insects transform completely while others grow gradually?

  • Compare complete and incomplete metamorphosis by describing the stages of each on a diagram
  • Classify at least three insects into the correct metamorphosis type such as butterfly (complete) and grasshopper (incomplete)
  • Explain that nymphs resemble adults while larvae look completely different from their adult form

• Insect anatomy in depth

  Insect anatomy in depth: compound eyes made of thousands of tiny lenses, spiracles (breathing holes along the body), diverse mouthparts (chewing mandibles in beetles, sucking proboscis in butterflies, sponging pad in flies), and moulting the exoskeleton to grow. Biomimicry — how engineers copy insect designs.

  • Describe at least two specialised insect structures such as compound eyes or spiracles and explain their function
  • Compare the mouthparts of a beetle (chewing) and a butterfly (sucking) and explain how each is suited to its food
  • Give one example of biomimicry where human technology is inspired by an insect structure or ability

Science · Space Systems & Earth's History

Your child is exploring how Earth fits into the solar system — understanding why the sun appears brighter than distant stars and observing patterns in shadows, day and night cycles, and seasonal changes in the sky.

• Shadows

  Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in shadow length and direction, day and night cycles, and seasonal star patterns

  • Measure and record shadow length and direction at different times of day
  • Create a graph showing how shadow length changes throughout the day
  • Connect shadow patterns to the sun's apparent position and Earth's rotation

• Earth's rotation and day/night

  Use the idea of the Earth's rotation to explain day and night and the apparent movement of the sun across the sky

  • Explain that the Earth rotates (spins) on its axis once every 24 hours
  • Describe how this rotation causes day (facing the sun) and night (facing away)
  • Explain that the sun appears to move across the sky because we are rotating, not the sun

• Why We Have Seasons

  Explain that the seasons are caused by the tilt of Earth's axis during its orbit around the Sun, distinguishing this from the common misconception that seasons are caused by changing distance from the Sun

  • Explains that Earth's axis is tilted at about 23.5° relative to its orbit
  • Describes how the tilted axis causes one hemisphere to receive more direct sunlight in summer and less in winter
  • Refutes the misconception that distance from the Sun causes seasons by noting Earth is actually slightly closer to the Sun in January

• Phases of the Moon

  Explain the phases of the Moon as the changing angle of sunlight on the lunar surface as seen from Earth, and describe how solar and lunar eclipses occur

  • Explains that the phases of the Moon arise from the changing geometry of Sun, Earth, and Moon, not Earth's shadow
  • Describes the sequence of Moon phases over approximately 28 days
  • Distinguishes between a solar eclipse (Moon between Sun and Earth) and a lunar eclipse (Earth between Sun and Moon)

• Star Brightness & Distance

  Support an argument that the apparent brightness of the sun and stars is due to their relative distances from Earth, understanding the sun is a relatively close star

  • Explain that the sun is a star, and it appears much brighter because it is much closer to Earth
  • Describe how a torch looks brighter close up and dimmer far away as an analogy
  • Argue that differences in apparent brightness of stars are mainly due to their different distances from Earth

• The solar system (age 11+)

  Describe the detailed structure of the solar system, including moons, asteroids, and comets, compare orbital periods and distances of the planets, and distinguish between planets, dwarf planets, and other bodies

  • Names the eight planets in order and gives one distinguishing fact about each
  • Describes the difference between a planet, a dwarf planet, an asteroid, and a comet
  • Explains the relationship between distance from the Sun and orbital period (planets further out take longer)

• Earth & Space Vocabulary

  Use technical vocabulary for Earth's motion and the wider universe — rotation, revolution, axis, tilt, orbit, light year, gravitational force, atmosphere, lunar phases, waxing, waning, solstice, equinox, eclipse — and apply these when explaining day and night, the seasons, and the Moon's phases

  • Use 'rotation' and 'revolution' correctly to describe Earth's two distinct types of movement and explain what each causes
  • Use 'waxing' and 'waning' to describe the Moon's phases and explain what causes them
  • Apply 'solstice' and 'equinox' correctly when explaining why seasons exist and why day length varies

Science · Waves, Light & Sound

Your child is learning how light travels in straight lines and using this understanding to explain everyday phenomena like how we see things and why shadows match the shape of objects that cast them.

• Reflection & Refraction

  State the law of reflection (angle of incidence = angle of reflection) and explain refraction as the change in speed and direction when light crosses a boundary between two media; apply ray diagrams for plane mirrors and refracting surfaces

  • States the law of reflection and applies it to draw a reflected ray correctly
  • Draws a ray diagram for a plane mirror showing a virtual image
  • Explains why a pencil looks bent in a glass of water using refraction

• White Light & Colour

  Explain that white light is a mixture of all visible colours (ROYGBIV), describe dispersion through a prism, explain why objects appear coloured (selective reflection and absorption of wavelengths), and describe colour mixing with filters

  • Lists the colours of the visible spectrum in order of increasing frequency
  • Explains why a prism disperses white light into a spectrum
  • Explains why a red object looks red under white light but black under blue light

• How We See Objects

  Develop a model to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen

  • Draw a diagram showing light source → light hits object → reflects into eye
  • Explain that we see objects because reflected light enters our eyes, not because our eyes send out light
  • Use this model to explain why we can't see in total darkness (no light to reflect)

• Light Travels in Straight Lines

  Recognise that light appears to travel in straight lines and use this to explain how we see objects and why shadows have the same shape as the objects that cast them

  • State and demonstrate that light travels in straight lines (e.g. can't see around corners, laser pointer)
  • Use straight-line light to explain why shadows have the same outline shape as the object
  • Draw ray diagrams showing light travelling from source, being blocked by object, creating shadow on screen

• Wave Behaviour Vocabulary

  Use technical vocabulary for wave behaviour — refraction, absorption, reflection, scattering, amplitude, frequency, wavelength, echo, spectrum, angle of incidence, angle of reflection — and apply these when explaining how light and sound travel and interact with different materials

  • Use 'refraction' correctly to explain why a straw appears bent in a glass of water
  • Distinguish 'reflection' from 'refraction' using the correct definitions
  • Explain what an echo is using the vocabulary of sound reflection correctly

• Wave Properties & Types

  Describe waves in terms of amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and wave speed; distinguish transverse waves (oscillation perpendicular to direction of travel) from longitudinal waves (oscillation parallel); and use the wave equation v = fλ

  • Labels a wave diagram with amplitude, wavelength, crest, and trough
  • Distinguishes transverse and longitudinal waves and gives an example of each
  • Uses v = fλ to calculate wave speed, frequency, or wavelength given the other two

• How Sound Waves Travel

  Explain that sound is produced by vibrating objects and travels as a longitudinal pressure wave through solids, liquids, and gases; describe reflection of sound (echoes) and absorption; explain why sound cannot travel through a vacuum

  • Explains how a vibrating object creates regions of compression and rarefaction in air
  • Explains why sound travels fastest in solids and cannot travel in a vacuum
  • Describes how an echo is produced and gives a practical application (sonar, ultrasound)

Science · Earth's Systems

Your child is learning about Earth as a connected system, exploring how water is distributed across our planet and how the land, water, air, and living things all interact with each other.

• Earth's atmosphere

  Develop a model to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere interact as connected Earth systems

  • Name the four Earth systems: geosphere (rock/land), hydrosphere (water), atmosphere (air), biosphere (living things)
  • Describe at least two interactions between different Earth systems with examples
  • Create or interpret a model showing how a change in one system affects others

• Salt Water vs Fresh Water

  Describe and graph the amounts of salt water and fresh water in various reservoirs to provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth

  • State that about 97% of Earth's water is salt water in the oceans
  • Describe where fresh water is found: glaciers/ice caps, groundwater, rivers, lakes
  • Create or interpret a graph showing the relative amounts of salt water vs fresh water

• Rock layers and Earth's history

  Interpret cross-section diagrams of the Earth's interior, geological strata, and rock cycle; read and label layers (crust, mantle, outer core, inner core); understand that deeper layers in sedimentary sequences are older

  • Label the four layers of the Earth on a cross-section diagram using the correct terms
  • Interpret a diagram of sedimentary rock layers and identify which layer was deposited first
  • Read a rock cycle diagram and trace the pathway of a rock from igneous to sedimentary to metamorphic

• Types of rocks

  Use vocabulary for Earth's geological processes and rock types — igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic, erosion, weathering, deposition, fossil, sediment, strata, permeable, impermeable — and apply these when explaining how rocks form and how landscapes change over time

  • Correctly classify igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks and explain in one sentence how each type forms
  • Use 'erosion', 'weathering', and 'deposition' correctly as three distinct stages in a sequence
  • Explain how fossils form using 'sediment' and 'sedimentary rock' correctly

History · Ancient Greece & Rome

• Greek and Roman Legacy Today

  Evaluate the lasting contributions of Greek and Roman civilisations to modern life — democracy, law, language (Latin roots), architecture (columns, arches, domes), sport (Olympics), philosophy, literature, and theatre — and understand that Greek ideas reached us through Rome, and then through later European civilisations, in a chain of cultural transmission

  • List at least five ways ancient Greece and Rome still influence modern life
  • Explain how Greek culture spread to Rome and then from Rome across Europe
  • Give a specific modern example of a Greek or Roman legacy such as democratic voting or architectural columns

• Hidden Voices of Greece and Rome

  Examine the lives of people usually left out of the Greek and Roman story — enslaved people who made up roughly 30% of Athens and powered Rome's economy, women whose lives varied dramatically between Athens (largely confined to the home) and Sparta (physical training, property ownership), and conquered peoples across both empires — and evaluate whose voices are missing from the historical record and why

  • Describe the daily life of an enslaved person in Athens or Rome using available evidence
  • Compare the lives of women in Athens and Sparta, explaining key differences
  • Explain why the historical record favours elite men and what this means for our understanding

• Evidence for Greek and Roman Life

  Understand that historians and archaeologists piece together ancient Greek and Roman life from evidence — pottery paintings, coins, inscriptions, ruins like Pompeii, and written texts by authors such as Homer and Pliny — and that the same evidence can be interpreted in different ways by different historians

  • Name at least three types of evidence historians use to learn about ancient Greece and Rome
  • Explain why Pompeii is especially valuable as a source of evidence about Roman life
  • Give an example of how the same piece of evidence could be interpreted in more than one way

• Troy: Myth or History?

  Explore how Heinrich Schliemann's excavation at Hisarlik in modern Turkey raised questions about whether the Trojan War described in Homer's Iliad was historical, partly historical, or entirely mythical — understanding that archaeology and literary sources can support or contradict each other, and that the line between myth and history in the ancient world is often blurred

  • Describe Schliemann's excavation at Hisarlik and what he claimed to have found
  • Explain how archaeological evidence at Troy both supports and complicates Homer's story
  • Discuss why the boundary between myth and history is difficult to draw for the ancient world

• Roman Law, Latin, and Christianity

  Understand that Roman law became the basis for legal systems across Europe and beyond, that Latin is the root of French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian and gave English hundreds of words (e.g. exit, video, annual, education), and that Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, eventually becoming its official religion under Emperor Constantine

  • Give examples of English words that come from Latin
  • Explain that Roman law influenced modern legal systems in Europe and beyond
  • Describe how Christianity spread through the Roman Empire and became its official religion

• Roman Republic and Empire

  Explain how Rome was first governed as a republic — with elected consuls, a powerful Senate, and a distinction between patricians and plebeians — before becoming an empire ruled by emperors like Augustus (who brought peace, the Pax Romana) and Nero, and compare republican government with Athenian direct democracy

  • Describe the Roman Republic's structure: consuls, Senate, patricians, and plebeians
  • Explain how Rome changed from a republic to an empire under Augustus
  • Compare Athenian direct democracy (citizens vote on decisions) with Roman republican government (citizens elect representatives)

• Greek and Roman Architecture

  Identify Greek column styles — Doric (plain and sturdy), Ionic (scroll-shaped capitals), and Corinthian (ornate leafy capitals) — and Roman architectural innovations — the arch, the dome, and concrete — and spot their influence in modern public buildings such as courthouses, museums, government buildings, and monuments

  • Identify the three Greek column orders (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian) from pictures
  • Name Roman architectural innovations: the arch, the dome, and concrete
  • Point out Greek or Roman architectural features in a modern public building

• Alexander the Great's Empire

  Describe how Alexander the Great of Macedon conquered a vast empire stretching from Greece to Egypt to India, spreading Greek language, culture, and ideas across the ancient world — creating a period known as the Hellenistic Age where Greek and Eastern cultures blended

  • Describe the extent of Alexander's empire on a map (Greece to Egypt to India)
  • Explain that Alexander spread Greek culture and language across the lands he conquered
  • Say what the Hellenistic Age was — a blending of Greek and Eastern cultures

• Fall of the Western Roman Empire

  Describe how the Western Roman Empire gradually declined due to a combination of factors — military pressure from invading peoples, political instability, economic problems, and an overstretched empire — and finally fell in AD 476, while the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire continued for nearly a thousand more years

  • Name at least two reasons why the Western Roman Empire declined and fell
  • State the date AD 476 as when the last Western Roman emperor was removed
  • Explain that the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire survived for nearly 1,000 years after the West fell

• Inclusion and Exclusion in Athens

  Analyse who was included and excluded from Athenian democracy — only free adult male citizens (roughly 30% of adults) could participate, while women, enslaved people (who may have made up a third of the population), and foreign residents (metics) were excluded — and evaluate whether Athens truly deserves the title 'birthplace of democracy' by comparing it with modern representative democracies

  • Calculate approximately what fraction of the Athenian population could participate in democracy
  • List the groups excluded from Athenian democracy and explain why each was excluded
  • Construct an argument for or against calling Athens a true democracy, using evidence

• Greek Philosophers and Medicine

  Know that Greek thinkers called philosophers developed ways of understanding the world that still influence us today — Socrates asked challenging questions to test ideas (the Socratic method), Plato imagined the ideal society, Aristotle observed and classified the natural world — and that Hippocrates is called the father of medicine for insisting on natural causes of illness rather than blaming the gods

  • Describe what Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle each contributed to thinking and learning
  • Explain the Socratic method as learning by asking questions rather than just being told answers
  • Say why Hippocrates is called the father of medicine

History · Ancient Egypt

Your child is learning about ancient Egyptian civilization in depth — exploring how pharaohs ruled as god-kings, how the economy and society functioned, and examining Egypt's remarkable achievements in art, architecture, and science that influenced the world for thousands of years.

• Modern Archaeology and Egyptian Ethics

  Understand that modern Egyptologists use advanced technologies — CT scanning of mummies, satellite imagery to find buried structures, DNA analysis — alongside traditional excavation, and think critically about the ethics of archaeology: whether mummies should be displayed in museums, who owns ancient artefacts, and how colonial-era collecting affects how we study and present ancient Egypt today

  • Name at least two modern technologies used in Egyptology and explain what they reveal
  • Discuss at least one ethical question about how ancient Egyptian artefacts are treated today
  • Understand that how we study ancient Egypt reflects our own values and biases, not just facts about the past

• Ancient Egypt's Lasting Legacy

  Evaluate ancient Egypt's lasting legacy: the Egyptians developed early forms of medicine, mathematics (used to build pyramids and survey land after floods), astronomy (calendar based on star observations), and engineering that influenced later civilisations including Greece and Rome — and compare ancient Egypt with other early civilisations (Mesopotamia, Indus Valley, Shang Dynasty) to identify shared features like writing, agriculture, cities, and organised religion

  • Name at least two Egyptian achievements that influenced later civilisations
  • Identify at least two features that ancient Egypt shared with other early civilisations
  • Explain why studying ancient Egypt helps us understand how human civilisation developed

• Cleopatra and the End of Egypt

  Know that ancient Egypt eventually came to an end: the last pharaoh was Cleopatra VII, who allied with Rome but was defeated by Octavian (later Augustus) in 31 BCE, after which Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire — ending over 3,000 years of pharaonic rule and beginning a new chapter in Egypt's history

  • Name Cleopatra VII as the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt
  • Explain that Egypt was conquered by Rome and became part of the Roman Empire
  • Understand that the end of pharaonic rule did not mean the end of Egyptian culture

• Historical Sources on Ancient Egypt

  Explain how knowledge of ancient Egypt is built from multiple source types — inscriptions, papyri, artefacts, and physical remains — and critically evaluate each: what biases, gaps, and distortions exist? Explore how Champollion’s decipherment of hieroglyphs transformed the field, and why the same artefact can be interpreted differently by different scholars

  • Identifies at least four types of historical source (inscriptions, papyri, tomb art, physical artefacts) and explains what each type can and cannot tell us
  • Explains that hieroglyphic sources were created by the literate elite and therefore tend to record official versions of events, not ordinary people's experiences
  • Describes at least one example where the same artefact or text has been interpreted in significantly different ways by scholars, and explains why this happens

• Egyptian Art and Architecture

  Analyse Egyptian art and architecture: understand that Egyptian paintings followed strict conventions (people shown from the side with eyes from the front, size indicating importance), that tomb and temple design evolved from mastabas to step pyramids to smooth pyramids to rock-cut temples like Abu Simbel, and that obelisks, colossal statues, and temples like Karnak demonstrated the pharaoh's power and devotion to the gods

  • Identify at least two conventions used in Egyptian painting and explain their purpose
  • Describe how monument design changed over the course of Egyptian history
  • Explain why pharaohs built such enormous structures (power, religion, afterlife)

• Egyptian Maths and Engineering

  Describe the Egyptian achievement in mathematics and engineering: the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus shows calculations of area, volume, and fractions; the precision of pyramid alignment (within 0.05° of true north) required sophisticated surveying; and Egyptian medical papyri describe detailed anatomical knowledge and pharmacological remedies — placing Egypt as a major contributor to the early history of science and technology

  • Describes the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus as containing worked examples of arithmetic, geometry, and unit fractions
  • Explains one specific engineering achievement: pyramid alignment, ramp logistics, or the accuracy of the Great Pyramid's dimensions
  • Names at least one medical papyrus (e.g. Ebers Papyrus) and describes the type of medical knowledge it contains

• Egyptian Trade and Economy

  Understand that ancient Egypt had a thriving economy based on farming surplus, trade, and specialised labour: the Nile's fertile soil produced enough food to support craftworkers, priests, and officials, and Egypt traded along the Nile and across the Mediterranean — exchanging gold, papyrus, and grain for cedarwood from Lebanon, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, and incense from Punt

  • Explain how agricultural surplus along the Nile allowed people to specialise in non-farming jobs
  • Name at least two goods Egypt exported and two it imported, and where they came from
  • Describe how the barter system worked and why trade routes were important to Egypt's wealth

• Judgement of the Dead

  Describe the Egyptian belief in the judgement of the dead: after death, the heart was weighed against the feather of Ma'at in the Hall of Judgement, with Anubis overseeing the scales and Thoth recording the result — a pure heart meant entry to the Field of Reeds (paradise), while a heavy heart was devoured by the monster Ammit, and know that the Book of the Dead contained spells to help the deceased pass this test

  • Describe the weighing of the heart ceremony and name the gods involved
  • Explain the role of the Book of the Dead as a guide through the underworld
  • Connect the concept of the ka (life force) and ba (personality) to why Egyptians preserved the body

• The Pharaoh as Living God

  Understand that the pharaoh was not just a ruler but was believed to be a living god — the intermediary between the gods and the people — and that the concept of Ma'at (truth, justice, and cosmic order) guided Egyptian law and government, with viziers and officials administering the kingdom on the pharaoh's behalf

  • Explain the pharaoh's dual role as both political ruler and divine figure
  • Describe Ma'at as the principle of truth, justice, and order that governed Egyptian society
  • Identify the role of viziers and officials in running the government day to day

History · Medieval Times

• Medieval Legacy in Modern Life

  What the Middle Ages gave us: Parliament, universities, common law, Gothic architecture, the English language (Anglo-Saxon + Norman French), place names, surnames; why we are still fascinated by the medieval world

  • Name at least three things from the Middle Ages that still affect our lives today
  • Explain how the English language was shaped by Anglo-Saxon and Norman French
  • Give a reason why people today are still fascinated by the medieval period (castles, knights, fantasy literature, games)

• Medieval Worlds Beyond Europe

  The medieval world beyond Europe: the Islamic Golden Age (maths, medicine, architecture), the Mali Empire and Mansa Musa, Song Dynasty China; how the medieval world was connected through trade routes like the Silk Road

  • Name at least two achievements of the Islamic Golden Age (algebra, hospitals, architecture)
  • Describe who Mansa Musa was and why he is remembered
  • Explain how the Silk Road connected distant parts of the medieval world through trade

• Printing Press & Renaissance

  The invention of the printing press by Gutenberg and its arrival in England with William Caxton; how printed books changed everything; the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance

  • Explain what the printing press was and why it was revolutionary
  • Describe William Caxton's role in bringing printing to England
  • Give at least one way printed books changed society (more people could read, ideas spread faster)

• Art & Architecture

  Medieval cultural achievements: illuminated manuscripts, Gothic cathedrals (flying buttresses, stained glass), Gregorian chant, the Bayeux Tapestry; art and architecture as expressions of faith and power

  • Describe what an illuminated manuscript is and who made them
  • Name at least two features of Gothic cathedral architecture (pointed arches, flying buttresses, stained glass)
  • Explain how medieval art and buildings were connected to the Church and religious belief

• Magna Carta and Limiting Royal Power

  King John, the barons' revolt, and the sealing of the Magna Carta in 1215; what the Magna Carta said about limiting the king's power; its lasting importance for democracy and rights

  • Explain why the barons rebelled against King John
  • Describe what the Magna Carta said (the king must follow the law too, fair trial rights)
  • Explain why the Magna Carta still matters today (foundation of democracy and human rights)

• Towns & Trade

  The growth of medieval towns: markets, guilds, the merchant class; how towns won charters of self-governance; the shift from purely rural to partly urban life

  • Describe how medieval towns were different from villages (markets, walls, guilds, more people)
  • Explain what a guild was and why it mattered for tradespeople
  • Describe one way towns changed medieval society (new merchant class, more freedom for townspeople)

• Crime & Punishment

  How justice worked in medieval times: trial by ordeal, trial by combat, the role of the sheriff; punishments including stocks, pillory, and dungeons; how different it was from modern justice

  • Describe at least two medieval methods of deciding guilt (trial by ordeal, trial by combat)
  • Name at least two medieval punishments and explain what they involved
  • Compare one aspect of medieval justice to how justice works today

• Women in the Middle Ages

  The lives of medieval women: noblewomen managing estates, peasant women's hard daily work, nuns and abbesses, notable figures like Eleanor of Aquitaine and Joan of Arc

  • Describe the different lives of noblewomen, peasant women, and nuns
  • Name at least one notable medieval woman and explain what she did
  • Explain one way women's lives in medieval times were more restricted than today

History · Historical Thinking

• Evidence Versus Interpretation

  Distinguish between historical evidence and historical interpretation — evidence is what survived, interpretation is the argument a historian builds from it, and the same evidence can support different arguments

  • Development of historical understanding among 9-14 year olds
  • Ways of Seeing: Evidence and Learning in the History Classroom (RRCHNM)

Personal & Social Development · Empathy & Social Awareness

Your child is developing deeper understanding of fairness and diversity — learning to recognise stereotypes and bias, understanding how prejudice affects people, and appreciating the value of different cultures and perspectives.

• Questioning Your Own Biases

  Reflect on their own assumptions and biases — recognising that everyone carries unconscious assumptions about others, and that actively questioning these assumptions is an ongoing practice that leads to greater fairness and empathy

  • Describe a time they made an assumption about someone that turned out to be wrong
  • Explain what unconscious bias means in simple terms
  • Describe a strategy for checking their own assumptions, such as asking questions before judging

• Vocabulary: social awareness

  Know and use the vocabulary of social awareness — including stereotype, prejudice, discrimination, equality, equity, bias, compassion, and fairness — and understand what distinguishes these closely related concepts

  • Explain what 'stereotype' and 'prejudice' mean and give an example of each from everyday life
  • Use words like 'equality', 'equity', and 'bias' correctly when discussing a scenario — e.g. 'That's not equity because not everyone got what they needed'
  • Identify an example of discrimination in a story or news article and explain why it is unfair using the correct vocabulary

• Prejudice and Discrimination

  Understand the impact of prejudice and discrimination on individuals and communities — that treating people unfairly because of their identity causes real harm — and recognise their own responsibility to stand against it

  • Define prejudice and discrimination in their own words with examples
  • Describe the emotional and social impact of discrimination on the person experiencing it
  • Identify at least one action they can personally take to challenge unfair treatment

• Systemic Inequality and Allyship

  Move beyond 'treating everyone the same' to understand that structural advantages and disadvantages exist regardless of individual effort or intention; explore concrete examples of systemic inequality (educational attainment gaps, gender pay gap, representation in leadership); distinguish between individual prejudice and structural discrimination; understand intersectionality — how multiple aspects of identity interact; develop informed compassion rooted in evidence rather than pity; explore what being a genuine ally means in practice

• Stereotypes and Individual Differences

  Recognise stereotypes — oversimplified beliefs about groups of people based on gender, race, age, or other characteristics — and understand that stereotypes are unfair because they ignore individual differences

  • Define what a stereotype is in their own words
  • Identify a common stereotype and explain why it is inaccurate
  • Challenge a stereotype they encounter by giving a counter-example

• The world contains many cultures, traditions

  Understand that the world contains many cultures, traditions, and belief systems, and that learning about others' perspectives enriches our own understanding — developing genuine curiosity about and respect for cultural diversity

  • Describe a cultural practice different from their own and explain what they find interesting about it
  • Ask respectful questions to learn about someone else's traditions or beliefs
  • Explain why understanding different cultures makes communities stronger

Personal & Social Development · Friendship & Cooperation

Your child is developing advanced social skills — learning to communicate assertively, help resolve conflicts between friends, reflect on their own behaviour in relationships, and give and receive helpful feedback.

• Self-Reflection in Relationships

  Reflect on their own role and behaviour in relationships — recognising patterns in how they interact with others, understanding what they contribute to friendships, and identifying areas where they could improve as a friend or team member

  • Identify a pattern in their own social behaviour, such as always wanting to lead or avoiding confrontation
  • Describe what they do well in relationships and one area they'd like to improve
  • Set a specific social goal, such as 'I will ask others for their ideas before sharing mine'

• Social Cues and Group Dynamics

  Understand subtext, indirect communication, and social cues in adolescent peer groups; analyse the psychology of in-group and out-group dynamics and why belonging can come at the cost of exclusion; understand gossip as a social bonding and status mechanism, and its costs; develop strategies for navigating social hierarchies without compromising values; distinguish between assertiveness and aggression in peer settings; understand how to respond to exclusion — whether experiencing it or witnessing it

• Giving and Receiving Feedback

  Give and receive constructive feedback — telling someone what they did well and what could be improved in a way that is helpful rather than hurtful, and receiving feedback about their own work without becoming defensive

  • Give feedback that includes both a specific positive point and a constructive suggestion
  • Receive feedback about their own work without getting upset or dismissive
  • Explain why constructive feedback helps people improve

• Assertive Communication

  Use assertive communication — expressing needs, opinions, and boundaries clearly and respectfully without being aggressive (pushy/demanding) or passive (giving in/staying silent) — including saying no when something doesn't feel right

  • Explain the difference between assertive, aggressive, and passive responses
  • Role-play saying no in a peer pressure scenario
  • Express a personal boundary clearly and respectfully in a real situation

• Helping Others Resolve Conflicts

  Mediate conflicts between others — helping two friends who are arguing by listening to both sides, helping them see each other's perspective, and guiding them toward a fair resolution

  • Listen to both sides of a conflict without taking sides initially
  • Help each person articulate their perspective to the other
  • Suggest a fair resolution or compromise that both parties can accept

• Communication Vocabulary

  Know and use the vocabulary of healthy communication and conflict — assertive, passive, aggressive, compromise, conflict, resolution, mediate, bystander, upstander, and peer pressure — and understand the difference between these contrasting approaches

  • Use 'assertive' correctly and distinguish it from 'aggressive' — e.g. 'Being assertive means saying what I need calmly'
  • Explain what 'conflict resolution' means and describe one strategy such as using 'I feel...' statements
  • Use words like 'negotiate', 'boundary', and 'respect' accurately in a discussion about friendships

Personal & Social Development · Responsible Decision-Making

Your child is learning to navigate peer pressure and understand their rights and responsibilities in communities, while developing skills to think through ethical dilemmas from multiple perspectives.

• Ethics in Real-World Issues

  Evaluate the ethical dimensions of real-world issues they encounter — such as environmental responsibility, fairness in sport, digital ethics, or social justice — considering multiple perspectives and forming a reasoned personal position

  • Identify an ethical issue and describe at least two different perspectives on it
  • Explain which perspective they agree with most and give reasons for their position
  • Acknowledge that the other perspective has some validity even if they disagree

• Risk, Uncertainty, and Cognitive Bias

  Distinguish between risk (decisions with known probabilities) and uncertainty (decisions with unknown outcomes); identify cognitive biases that distort risk assessment: availability heuristic (judging likelihood by how easily examples come to mind), present bias (overvaluing the immediate over the future), optimism bias (underestimating personal risk), and groupthink; understand why adolescent brains are biologically calibrated toward higher risk tolerance; apply a structured decision-making framework to real choices; understand the role of personal values in decisions where facts alone cannot determine the answer

• Difficult Ethical Choices

  Understand that ethical decisions are not always black and white — that sometimes there is no perfect answer and reasonable people can disagree — and practise weighing up competing values when making difficult choices

  • Describe a moral dilemma where both sides have valid points
  • Explain the values in tension (e.g., loyalty vs safety, honesty vs kindness)
  • Describe how they would make a decision in such a situation and justify their reasoning

• Peer Pressure and Resisting It

  Understand peer pressure — the influence friends and peers can have on your choices and behaviour — and develop strategies for resisting pressure to do something they know is wrong or that makes them uncomfortable

  • Define peer pressure in their own words and give a real-world example
  • Describe at least two strategies for resisting peer pressure, such as walking away or using humour
  • Explain why going along with something wrong to fit in usually makes things worse

• Vocabulary: ethics and citizenship

  Know and use the vocabulary of ethics and citizenship — bullying, cyberbullying, bystander, upstander, peer pressure, digital citizenship, rights, responsibility, and ethical — and understand the distinctions between these closely related terms

  • Explain what 'ethics' means in their own words and give an example of an ethical dilemma
  • Use 'citizen', 'rights', and 'responsibilities' correctly — e.g. 'A citizen has the right to vote and the responsibility to follow laws'
  • Define 'consent' and 'integrity' and explain why they matter in relationships and online behaviour

• Community Rights and Responsibilities

  Understand their rights and responsibilities as a member of a community — that everyone has a right to be treated with respect and to feel safe, and that with rights come responsibilities to treat others the same way

  • Name at least three rights that every child has (e.g., safety, education, respect)
  • Describe the responsibilities that go along with those rights
  • Give an example of how exercising their own rights responsibly supports the community

Personal & Social Development · Emotional Literacy

Your child is developing deeper emotional understanding — recognising complex and mixed feelings, understanding how emotions influence decisions, and reflecting on their own emotional patterns and growth over time.

• Emotional Patterns Over Time

  Reflect on their own emotional patterns over time — noticing recurring triggers, understanding their typical responses, and recognising how their emotional awareness has grown

  • Identify a recurring emotional trigger and their typical response to it
  • Describe how their emotional understanding has changed compared to when they were younger
  • Set a personal goal related to emotional awareness, such as noticing when stress is building

• Brain Science of Emotions

  Understand how the amygdala triggers emotional responses and how the prefrontal cortex (still developing in adolescence) regulates them; explain why stress hormones (cortisol, adrenaline) affect thinking and memory; understand that the adolescent brain's dopamine system makes feelings more intense; distinguish between emotion regulation (managing feelings effectively) and emotion suppression (pushing feelings down, which is counterproductive); introduce cognitive reappraisal as a research-backed technique for changing how we interpret a situation

• Emotions and Decision-Making

  Understand how emotions influence thinking and decision-making — that strong feelings can cloud judgement, that we often make different choices when calm versus when upset, and that recognising this gives us more control

  • Give an example of a time a strong emotion led them or someone else to a poor decision
  • Explain the idea of 'cooling off' before making an important choice
  • Describe how the same situation looks different when you're calm versus upset

• Culture and Experience Shape Emotions

  Understand that emotional responses are shaped by personal experiences, culture, and context — the same situation triggers different emotions in different people because of their backgrounds and past experiences

  • Explain why two people might have very different emotional reactions to the same event
  • Give an example of how a past experience shaped someone's emotional response
  • Describe how cultural background might influence what makes someone feel proud or embarrassed

• Mixed and Conflicting Emotions

  Understand that people can experience mixed or conflicting emotions at the same time — feeling excited and nervous about starting a new school, or happy for a friend who won but disappointed for yourself

  • Describe a personal situation where they felt two emotions simultaneously
  • Explain why mixed feelings are normal and not something to worry about
  • Identify mixed emotions in a character from a book or film

Personal & Social Development · Self-Regulation & Resilience

Your child is developing important life skills — learning to manage their emotions and behavior, set and work toward goals, and build resilience to bounce back from challenges and setbacks.

• Personal Coping Toolkit

  Reflect on which self-regulation and coping strategies work best for them personally, building a 'toolkit' of approaches they can draw on in different situations and sharing what works with others

  • Describe at least three personal coping strategies and when each is most effective
  • Recommend a strategy to a friend based on the friend's specific situation
  • Evaluate whether a strategy they tried worked well and explain their reasoning

• Resilience and Bouncing Back

  Understand resilience as the ability to recover from setbacks, adapt to difficult circumstances, and keep going — recognising that resilience is a skill that develops through experience, not a trait you either have or don't

  • Define resilience in their own words and explain why it matters
  • Describe a time they bounced back from a setback and what helped them recover
  • Explain that resilience grows through experience and that struggling doesn't mean you're weak

• Personal Goal-Setting

  Set realistic personal goals, create a simple plan to achieve them, monitor their own progress, and adjust their approach when things aren't working

  • Write or state a specific, achievable personal goal with a timeframe
  • Describe the steps they will take to reach the goal
  • Review their progress and adjust their plan when something isn't working

• Good Stress and Bad Stress

  Distinguish between eustress (the productive, motivating kind of stress) and distress (harmful, overwhelming stress); explain the physiological stress response (fight-flight-freeze, HPA axis) and how chronic stress affects the body and mind; identify common adolescent stressors (academic pressure, social comparison, physical change, uncertainty about the future); evaluate evidence-based coping strategies (exercise, sleep, mindfulness, social support, expressive writing); recognise warning signs that stress has crossed into anxiety or depression and know where to get help

• Time and Attention Management

  Manage their own time and attention effectively — prioritising tasks, minimising distractions, and maintaining focus on important work even when it's not the most exciting option

  • Create a simple plan for completing multiple tasks in a sensible order
  • Identify their own common distractions and describe strategies to manage them
  • Complete a less enjoyable task before a more enjoyable one without constant reminders

Personal & Social Development · Self-Awareness

• Personal Growth Over Time

  Reflect on your own growth over time — the things that challenge you now are not fixed, and noticing how you have already changed builds genuine self-knowledge

  • emotion vocabulary development continues to age 11 (PMC)
  • self-reflection importance in children research

Life Skills · Entrepreneurship

• Ethics in Business

  Being honest, being fair, treating workers well, not harming the environment; what makes a 'good' business; whether businesses should care about more than profit

  • Name at least two things that make a business ethical (fair wages, honest advertising, environmentally responsible)
  • Explain why a business that only cares about profit might cause problems
  • Describe a situation where a business owner faces an ethical choice and suggest what they should do

• Supply Chains

  Where products come from before they reach the customer; raw materials, making, transporting, and selling; the journey of a product from start to finish

  • Trace the journey of a familiar product (e.g. chocolate bar) from raw material to shop shelf
  • Identify at least three stages in a supply chain
  • Explain why a long supply chain can make a product more expensive

• Scaling Up

  What happens when a small business grows; making more products, hiring people, reaching more customers; the challenges and opportunities of scaling

  • Describe what 'scaling up' means for a business
  • Identify at least two challenges of growing a business (need more money, more people, more materials)
  • Explain how a lemonade stand could grow into a bigger business step by step

• Pitching an Idea

  Presenting a business idea to others convincingly; explaining what makes it good and why people should support it; building confidence in public speaking about ideas

  • Deliver a 1-2 minute pitch for a business idea covering: what it is, who it helps, and why it's good
  • Answer at least two questions about their idea from an audience
  • Explain why being able to explain your idea clearly matters for getting support

• Real Entrepreneurs

  Stories of real entrepreneurs who started young: Mikaila Ulmer (Me & the Bees), Moziah Bridges (Mo's Bows), Cory Nieves (Mr. Cory's Cookies); what makes someone an entrepreneur

  • Retell the story of at least one real entrepreneur who started as a child
  • Identify three qualities that helped that entrepreneur succeed (creativity, persistence, passion)
  • Explain what the word 'entrepreneur' means in their own words

• Social Enterprise

  Using business skills to help others or solve social and environmental problems; making money AND making a difference; examples of social enterprises

  • Explain what a social enterprise is in their own words (a business that helps people or the planet)
  • Give an example of a real social enterprise or charity shop
  • Suggest a social enterprise idea that could help their school or community

Life Skills · Money & Finance

• Scams & Online Safety

  Recognising financial scams and tricks; phishing emails and fake websites; protecting personal and financial information online; 'if it seems too good to be true, it probably is'

  • Identify at least two warning signs of a scam (asking for personal details, too-good-to-be-true offers, urgency)
  • Explain why you should never share passwords or bank details online
  • Describe what to do if they receive a suspicious message or email (don't click, tell an adult)

• Global Trade

  Why countries trade with each other; imports and exports; how goods travel around the world; that different countries use different currencies

  • Explain why countries buy goods from other countries (they can't make everything themselves)
  • Give examples of imported and exported products from their own country
  • Explain that different countries use different currencies and you need to exchange money when travelling

• How the Economy Works

  What an economy is; producers and consumers; supply and demand; why prices change; the basics of how markets work

  • Explain what 'supply and demand' means using a simple example (ice cream on a hot day)
  • Describe the difference between a producer and a consumer
  • Give a reason why the price of something might go up or down

• Financial Planning

  Setting longer-term financial goals; planning and prioritising spending; how saving regularly adds up over time; the value of thinking ahead with money

  • Set a realistic savings goal and calculate how long it would take saving a fixed amount each week
  • Create a simple financial plan for a specific purpose (birthday party, school trip, gift)
  • Explain why planning ahead with money is better than spending everything as it comes in

• Borrowing & Debt

  What borrowing money means; that loans must be repaid with interest; what credit is; why too much debt can be risky; responsible borrowing

  • Explain what a loan is and that borrowed money must be paid back with extra (interest)
  • Give an example of when borrowing might be sensible (buying a house) versus risky (buying luxuries you can't afford)
  • Describe what happens if someone borrows too much money and can't repay it

• Taxes & Public Services

  What taxes are and why people pay them; how taxes fund schools, hospitals, roads, and emergency services; that governments decide how to spend tax money

  • Explain what tax is and that most working adults pay it
  • Name at least three things that taxes pay for (schools, hospitals, roads, police, fire service)
  • Describe why taxes are needed (everyone chips in so everyone benefits)

Computing · Artificial Intelligence

• The Future of AI

  What AI might do in 10 years; what we want it to do and what we're worried about; children as future designers and decision-makers about AI; hopeful, empowered framing

  • Describe at least two ways AI might be used in the future that don't exist yet
  • Explain one thing they would want AI to do and one thing they would want it not to do
  • Describe why it matters that young people understand AI — because they will shape how it is used

• AI and the Environment

  AI needs huge amounts of energy and water to train; data centres and their environmental cost; but AI can also help — predicting weather, monitoring deforestation, optimising energy; trade-offs

  • Explain that training AI models uses a lot of electricity and water
  • Give at least two examples of AI being used to help the environment
  • Describe the trade-off between AI's environmental cost and its environmental benefits

• AI Data Collection and Privacy

  What data AI systems collect about you; who has it and why it matters; cookies, tracking, smart speakers always listening; your data is valuable

  • Name at least three types of personal data that AI systems collect
  • Explain why personal data is valuable to companies
  • Describe one step they can take to protect their privacy online

• AI and Fairness in Decisions

  Whether AI should make important decisions about people: jobs, loans, justice; who is responsible when AI makes unfair decisions; introduction to algorithmic fairness

  • Give an example of an important decision that AI might help make (hiring, medical diagnosis, loan approval)
  • Explain why letting AI make decisions about people can be risky if the system is biased
  • Suggest who should be responsible if an AI system makes an unfair decision

• AI and the Future of Work

  How AI is changing the world of work: some jobs disappear, new ones are created, many change; jobs AI can't do (yet); what skills matter in an AI world

  • Name at least two jobs that AI is changing or replacing and two new jobs AI has created
  • Explain why creativity, empathy, and problem-solving are skills that matter more in an AI world
  • Describe how AI might change a specific job they know about (teacher, doctor, farmer) without replacing it

• Designing Fair AI Rules

  Design thinking applied to AI ethics: if you were designing an AI system, what rules would you give it? Who should it help? What should it not be allowed to do?

  • Propose at least three rules for a hypothetical AI system they are designing
  • Explain why AI designers need to think about who might be harmed, not just who benefits
  • Describe one real example of AI being used responsibly and one where it was not

• Bias in AI Systems

  If training data is biased, AI will be biased; examples: facial recognition working better for some skin tones, translation assuming gender; where bias comes from and whether we can fix it

  • Explain what bias in AI means using a real-world example
  • Describe how biased training data leads to biased AI results
  • Suggest one way to reduce bias in an AI system (use more diverse data, test with different groups)

• Deepfakes and AI-Generated Content

  Deepfakes, AI-generated images and text; how to spot them and why they matter; the importance of checking sources; not everything online is real

  • Explain what a deepfake is and give an example of AI-generated content
  • Describe at least two clues that might reveal an image or text was AI-generated
  • Explain why it matters that AI can create realistic fake content

Learning to Learn · Learning to Learn

• Finding Knowledge Gaps

  Survey your own understanding of a whole topic — identify where your knowledge is solid, where it is shaky, and what still needs work

  • metacognitive monitoring research
  • Flavell metacognition framework

• Setting Learning Goals

  Set a specific learning goal, work towards it with a deliberate plan, then honestly assess whether you achieved it and what you would change

  • Set a specific, achievable learning goal for themselves — e.g. 'By Friday I want to know all my 7-times tables' rather than just 'get better at maths'
  • Make a simple plan for how to reach their goal and follow through on it over several days
  • After the deadline, honestly assess whether they achieved the goal and describe what they would do differently next time