UK / PP / 01
Early maths foundations
Concrete, playful maths for the very youngest.
Open the syllabusThe maths
What maths does a child need for the 7 plus?
The key stage 1 national curriculum: Year 1 in full and as much of Year 2 as the child's school has reached. The table pairs the statutory statements with what that looks like in a six-year-old.
| Strand | Year 1, in brief | Year 2, in brief | What we listen for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Counting and place value | Counting past 100 and back again, from any starting number | Steps of 2, 3 and 5 from zero; tens from anywhere | Counts back from 63 without losing the thread; knows 47 is 4 tens and 7 ones |
| Addition and subtraction | Bonds within 20 and the subtraction facts that go with them | Those facts recalled quickly, and used to reach facts to 100 | Knows 8 and 7 make 15 without counting on fingers |
| Missing numbers | Year 1 examples include a gap on the left of the equals sign | Addition and subtraction used as inverses to check and to fill gaps | Explains why the gap in 7 = ? take away 9 is 16, not only finds it |
| Multiplication | One-step sharing and grouping with objects, pictures and arrays | Facts for the twos, fives and tens, plus odd and even | Sees 3 rows of 5 as 15, and as 5 rows of 3 |
| Fractions | Halves and quarters of shapes, objects and amounts | Thirds, quarters, two quarters and three quarters | Knows two quarters is the same as a half |
| Time | O'clock and half past | Reading and writing the time to the nearest five minutes | Reads ten past four on an analogue clock |
| Shape | Naming everyday flat and solid shapes | Counting edges, corners (vertices) and faces of solids | Counts the faces of a cube by turning it, not guessing |
The DfE sums up the end point in one sentence: "By the end of year 2, pupils should know the number bonds to 20 and be precise in using and understanding place value." Those two things, number bonds and place value, are where we start with every 7 plus child, because almost everything else on the list rests on them. The curriculum also sets a line on calculators: they "should not be used as a substitute for good written and mental arithmetic" and should "only be introduced near the end of key stage 2". Nothing at 7 plus should need one.
Source: Department for Education, National curriculum in England: mathematics programmes of study, key stages 1 and 2, read 31 October 2026. Fractions are written in words on this page; the curriculum prints them as numerals.
