England · Year 1 maths · Ages 5 to 6

Year 1 maths tutor online: the year numbers grow to 100

Year 1 is the first year of the national curriculum, and in maths it is a bridge. A child who left Reception with a deep feel for numbers to 10 is expected, by the following summer, to count to and across 100, read and write numbers to 20 in words, and know number bonds within 20 both ways round. Year 1 is also where missing number problems such as 7 = ? − 9 first appear, and that small puzzle changes what a child thinks the equals sign means. This page shows the step up from Reception, sets out the whole Year 1 programme in plain terms, explains why the equals sign matters so much this year, works through five examples of our own, and describes how our live classes teach five and six year olds.

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In short

Year 1 maths in England follows the Department for Education's Year 1 programme of study, for children aged 5 to 6. Over the year children count past 100, find one more and one less than any number, learn addition facts to 20 with their matching subtractions, solve missing number puzzles, group and share real objects, find halves and quarters, name coins and notes, and read o'clock and half past. Modern Age Coders teaches Year 1 maths live online, in a group of 15 to 20 or 1-on-1, through Elementary Maths, with objects before symbols. The first class is free.

Courses for Year 1

Three courses for a Year 1 child

Elementary Maths is the main Year 1 course. Early Maths Foundations suits a child still settling numbers to 10, and Reasoning and Readiness a child who loves puzzles.

Elementary Maths for Grades 1-5 course thumbnail

Y1 / 01

Elementary Maths

Its first level is built for Grades 1 and 2: counting, tens and ones, adding and taking away, early grouping, shapes, clocks and coins.

Open the syllabus →
Early Math Foundations course thumbnail

Y1 / 02

Early Maths Foundations

Listed for ages 4 to 7: ten-frames and parts of numbers, for a child who needs Reception ideas made secure.

Open the syllabus →
Reasoning and Readiness for Young Thinkers (Ages 6 to 9) course thumbnail

Y1 / 03

Reasoning and Readiness

Patterns, shapes and number puzzles for ages 6 to 9, for a curious child late in Year 1.

Open the syllabus →

From Reception

How is Year 1 maths different from Reception?

Reception ends with numbers to 10 known deeply. Year 1 stretches the same ideas to 20 for facts and to 100 for counting, and starts writing them down as number sentences.

At the end of Reception the EYFS framework describes a child at the expected level as having "a deep understanding of numbers to 10" and able to count aloud beyond 20. That judgement is passed on: the framework states that "Year 1 teachers must be given a copy of the Profile report", so a Year 1 teacher knows from September who is secure and who is still emerging. The Year 1 programme then picks up each idea and takes it further.

From the end of Reception to the end of Year 1 (EYFS framework 2026 and the Year 1 programme of study; our pairing)
IdeaEnd of Reception (early learning goal)End of Year 1 (statutory)
CountingCount aloud beyond 20Count to and across 100, forwards and backwards, from any number
Number factsBonds to 5 recalled, some bonds to 10Number bonds and related subtraction facts within 20
Writing numbersNot requiredRead and write numbers 1 to 20 in numerals and words, and numbers to 100 in numerals
PatternsOdds, evens, doubles and fair sharing within 10Count in twos, fives and tens; group and share using objects and arrays
ComparingMore, fewer or the same, up to 10Equal to, more than, less than, most and least, with a number line
SymbolsTalk, not symbolsRead, write and interpret statements with +, − and =

The bottom row is the real jump. A Reception child talks about "three and two more makes five". A Year 1 child writes 3 + 2 = 5, then 5 − 2 = 3, then meets 5 = 3 + 2 with the answer on the left. The curriculum is explicit that they should "memorise and reason with number bonds to 10 and 20 in several forms", and gives 9 + 7 = 16, 16 minus 7 = 9 and 7 = 16 minus 9 as one family of facts.

A slow start is common

Some children arrive in Year 1 with some Reception goals still emerging. That is information for the teacher, not a verdict.

In our experience a few weeks of hands-on work on numbers to 10 usually lets a child join the Year 1 work comfortably.

Summer-born children

A child born in August may be almost a year younger than a classmate born in September. At five, that gap is large.

Judge progress by what your child can do now compared with a term ago, not by the fastest child in the class.

Sources: DfE, Mathematics programmes of study: key stages 1 and 2, Year 1; DfE, EYFS statutory framework for group and school-based providers, September 2026. Read on 31 October 2026. The pairing of rows is ours.

The Year 1 content

What do children learn in Year 1 maths?

Seven areas, set out in the Year 1 programme of study. Number takes up most of the year, and the other areas lean on it.

The Year 1 mathematics programme of study, summarised (DfE, statutory requirements)
AreaPupils should be taught toWorth knowing (from the non-statutory notes)
Number and place valueCounting forwards and back beyond 100 from any start; counting in twos, fives and tens; one more and one less; numbers to 20 written as words as well as digitsChildren "begin to recognise place value in numbers beyond 20", supported by objects and pictures
Addition and subtractionReading and writing +, − and =; facts for adding and taking away within 20; sums and differences up to 20, zero included; one-step and missing number problems"They should realise the effect of adding or subtracting zero."
Multiplication and divisionOne-step problems using objects, pictures and arrays "with the support of the teacher"Grouping and sharing lead into doubling and simple fractions
FractionsA half as one of two equal parts, and a quarter as one of four equal parts, of an object, shape or quantityHalves and quarters of lengths and sets, not only of shapes
MeasurementComparing, then starting to measure, length, mass, capacity and time; the value of coins and notes; days, weeks and months; o'clock and half past"The pairs of terms: mass and weight, volume and capacity, are used interchangeably at this stage."
Properties of shapesNaming everyday flat and solid shapes, such as squares, circles, cubes and spheresShapes in different orientations; a triangle need not look like the usual one
Position and directionDescribe position, direction and movement, including whole, half, quarter and three-quarter turnsTurning clockwise links to the clock face

Two notes in the curriculum deserve more attention than they get. The first is about patterns: children "recognise and create repeating patterns with objects and with shapes", which is early algebra in disguise. The second is about shape: children should know that "rectangles, triangles, cuboids and pyramids are not always similar to each other". A Year 1 child who says a long thin triangle "is not a real triangle" has found exactly the idea the curriculum wants to fix.

Autumn feel

Counting, numbers to 20, and adding and subtracting with objects. Most schools spend a long time here, rightly.

Spring feel

Numbers beyond 20, place value to 50, and measuring length, height, mass and capacity.

Summer feel

Grouping and sharing, halves and quarters, turns, numbers to 100, coins and the clock.

Source: DfE Year 1 programme of study, statutory requirements and notes, read on 31 October 2026. The termly feel is our summary of a common order; your school's order may differ.

The equals sign

Why are missing number problems hard in Year 1?

Because many children think the equals sign means "now write the answer". Year 1 asks them to see it as "is the same as", and the missing number problem is how that shift happens.

The Year 1 programme asks pupils to "read, write and interpret mathematical statements involving addition (+), subtraction (−) and equals (=) signs", and to solve "missing number problems such as 7 = □ − 9". Look at where the box is. There is no answer after the equals sign; the 7 comes first. A child who reads = as "the answer comes next" is stuck. A child who reads it as "is the same as" asks a different question: what number, take away 9, is the same as 7?

Three kinds of Year 1 number sentence (our examples)
SentenceHow a child might read itWhat they need to see
6 + 4 = □Add, then write the answerThe familiar kind; the box is where the answer goes
6 + □ = 10What goes with 6 to make 10?A bond to 10, read as a missing part
10 = 6 + □Ten is the same as six and what?The equals sign as a balance; the whole can be on the left
5 = □ − 3Something take away 3 leaves 5Subtraction undone by addition: 5 + 3 = 8

A balance at home

Use a coat hanger with two cups, or simply two plates. Put 10 buttons on one plate and 6 on the other. How many more to make the plates "the same"?

Say "is the same as" instead of "equals" for a while. The words carry the idea.

Why it matters later

Reading = as a balance is the root of later algebra, where 3x + 2 = 11 makes no sense if = means "the answer comes next".

It also makes subtraction easier, because every subtraction becomes a missing addition.

Worked examples

Five Year 1 examples, step by step

Our own examples, each matched to a Year 1 statement. The steps go objects, then picture, then number sentence.

1. One more and one less across a ten

Question (ours). What is one more than 39? What is one less than 60?

Objects. Show 39 as three ten-sticks and nine single cubes. Add one cube: ten singles, which snap into a fourth stick.

Answer. 40. For 60, break one ten-stick into ten singles and take one away: 59.

Why it matters. "Given a number, identify one more and one less" is easy within a ten and tricky across one, which is where to practise.

2. A missing number, read as a balance

Question (ours). 6 = □ − 8.

Read it. Six is the same as something take away eight.

Undo it. If taking 8 away leaves 6, put the 8 back: 6 + 8 = 14.

Check. 14 − 8 = 6. The answer is 14, the curriculum's missing number problem with new numbers.

3. One fact, three ways

Fact (ours). 8 + 5 = 13.

Picture. Thirteen dots: a full ten-frame of 8 and 2, and 3 more. Ring the 5 that were added.

Write the family. 8 + 5 = 13, 5 + 8 = 13, 13 − 5 = 8, 13 − 8 = 5, and 5 = 13 − 8.

Why it matters. Learning facts in families is what the notes mean by bonds "in several forms". One picture gives five facts.

4. Half and a quarter of eight

Question (ours). Share 8 grapes into 2 equal plates, then into 4.

Half. One for this plate, one for that, until all are shared: 4 each. Half of 8 is 4.

Quarter. Now four plates: 2 each. A quarter of 8 is 2.

Talk. "Why is a quarter smaller than a half?" Because the same 8 is shared between more plates.

5. Drawing half past

Task (ours). Draw the hands for half past 3.

Minute hand. Half past means half way round from the 12, so the long hand points straight down to the 6.

Hour hand. The short hand has moved half way from 3 to 4, so it sits between them, not on the 3.

Why it matters. The curriculum asks children to "draw the hands on a clock face"; the hour hand between numbers is the usual mistake.

Practice set (ours, with answers)

(1) Count back from 103 to 97. (2) One more than 69? (3) 9 = □ − 4. (4) 7 + □ = 15. (5) Half of 12. (6) A quarter of 12. (7) Write seventeen in numerals. (8) What is 11 + 0?

Answers: (1) 103, 102, 101, 100, 99, 98, 97; (2) 70; (3) 13; (4) 8; (5) 6; (6) 3; (7) 17; (8) 11, since adding zero changes nothing.

Our Year 1 classes

Does a Year 1 child need a maths tutor?

Most do not. A tutor helps when a child has not yet settled numbers to 10, is losing confidence, or is racing ahead and bored. Here is how our lessons work for five and six year olds.

  1. A free first class. A few counting and sharing games show where your child is: numbers to 10, to 20, and the start of numbers to 100.
  2. Things to hand. We ask for a small pot of buttons or pasta, a few coins and a clock with hands. The child moves them while the teacher shows the same on screen.
  3. Talk, then write. Children say each fact aloud before writing it as a number sentence, so the symbols always mean something.
  4. Little and often. A short game for the days between lessons, never a long worksheet.
  5. A word for parents. A short message after each block: what your child can now do, and the next step.

Group or 1-on-1 in Year 1?

A group of 15 to 20 children at the same stage gives a lively, game-like class when a child is keeping pace with the class.

Choose 1-on-1 for a child who has only just turned five, who is quiet in groups, or who still needs Reception ideas made firm.

What we will not do

Push a five year old through worksheets, or teach a written method that clashes with the school's. We ask what the class uses.

Claim any link with your child's school or the Department for Education. We are an independent online school.

Through Year 1

Four milestones in Year 1 maths

Each one is something you can see at the table. Children reach them at different times.

Year 1 maths milestones (our sequence, from the programme of study)
MilestoneOften byYou will see
1. Numbers to 20, in words tooLate autumnReads and writes numbers to 20, and knows twelve is 1 ten and 2 ones
2. Facts in familiesSpringTurns 8 + 5 = 13 into its subtraction facts without counting
3. The balance ideaLate springSolves 10 = 6 + □ and explains what = means
4. Counting to 100 and beyondSummerCounts on and back across 100 from any number, and in 2s, 5s and 10s

Milestone three surprises parents

It looks small, yet it is the first time a child reasons about a whole number sentence.

For the US equivalent age group, see our first grade maths page.

Milestone four leads to Year 2

Year 2 adds tens and ones in two-digit numbers and the 2, 5 and 10 times tables.

Classes can pause for school holidays.

Catalogue

Nine courses for five and six year olds

Number first, then thinking and making courses that suit young children.

I

Number

Ages 5 to 7

UK / Y11 / 02

Early Maths Foundations

Numbers to 10 made secure, through play.

Open the syllabus
II

Thinking

Puzzles and patterns

UK / Y12 / 01

Reasoning and Readiness

Pattern and shape puzzles, ages 6 to 9.

Open the syllabus

UK / Y12 / 02

Abacus maths

Bead frames that show grouping in tens.

Open the syllabus

UK / Y12 / 03

Puzzles and problem solving

For a little later, from age 7.

Open the syllabus
III

Making

From age 6

UK / Y13 / 01

Block coding for kids

Programs that move characters with turns.

Open the syllabus

Lessons

How Year 1 classes run

Weekdays or weekends, flexible: choose your batch, or for a very personalised plan choose 1-on-1 at your convenience, weekend mornings or weekdays. Teachers are in India; we list every class in UK time and keep sessions short for five and six year olds.

After school

Once there has been a snack.

Early evening

Before the bedtime routine.

Weekend morning

The calmest slot for many Year 1 children.

Objects by the screen

Buttons, coins and a clock with hands on the table.

Say it first

Facts are spoken before they are written.

Balance language

"Is the same as" alongside "equals", from the first week.

Short sessions

Sized for a five year old's attention, with games inside.

Free first class

A trial lesson with games, and nothing to pay.

Group or 1-on-1

A group of 15 to 20, or a teacher for one child.

Student work

Little projects from our classes

A few things students made in ordinary lessons, none of them assessed. See more in student labs.

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Fees

Fees for Year 1 maths classes

Your first class is free. Afterwards there is one monthly fee, lower for a group seat than for 1-on-1, and we only bill once the course and weekly time suit you. No contract.

Free first class

USD 0

no card required

  • A playful first class
  • A view of numbers to 10, 20 and 100
  • A phone number is all we need
Book it

Group batch

USD 100

a month, billed in US dollars

  • 15 to 20 Year 1 children
  • A familiar teacher every week
  • A short game between classes
  • A message after each block
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One to one

USD 150

a month, billed in US dollars

  • A teacher for one child
  • Paced for a young Year 1 child
  • Good for shy children
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Year 1 questions

What parents of Year 1 children ask

What maths should a Year 1 child know by the summer?

They should count past 100 from any number, say one more and one less, know adding and subtracting facts within 20, solve simple missing number puzzles, find halves and quarters, know coins and notes, and read o'clock and half past.

How is Year 1 maths different from Reception?

Reception builds a deep feel for numbers to 10, judged by the teacher against the early learning goals. Year 1 stretches facts to 20 and counting to 100, and children start reading and writing number sentences with +, minus and =.

What is a missing number problem?

A number sentence with a box instead of a number, sometimes on the left of the equals sign, such as 10 = 6 + a box. It teaches that equals means "is the same as".

Do Year 1 children learn times tables?

Not as tables. They count in twos, fives and tens and solve simple grouping and sharing problems with objects and arrays. The 2, 5 and 10 times tables are a Year 2 requirement.

Are Year 1 maths worksheets useful?

Some are, in small doses, once a child has done the same idea with real objects. A worksheet cannot show whether a child can count objects, share fairly or read a real clock, so games with things you have at home matter more.

My child is summer-born and finding Year 1 maths hard. Should I worry?

Not usually. Many summer-born children are almost a year younger than classmates. Look for steady progress over a term, and talk to the teacher if numbers to 10 still feel uncertain by spring.

Is online maths tutoring suitable for a five year old?

Yes for many children, provided lessons are short, spoken and hands-on with objects by the screen. We often suggest 1-on-1 at this age, and we tell you honestly in the free class if your child would do better without extra lessons.

When are classes?

Weekdays or weekends, flexible: choose your batch, or for a very personalised plan choose 1-on-1 at your convenience, weekend mornings or weekdays. All times are given in UK time.

Which of your courses suits Year 1?

Most Year 1 children join Elementary Maths, which covers Years 1 and 2 in its first level. A child still settling numbers to 10 may start with Early Maths Foundations; the free class helps decide.

Are you linked to my child's school?

No. Modern Age Coders is an independent online school, with no link to any school or to the Department for Education.

Primary maths

Other pages for young children

Comparable ages abroad, and the years that come next.

First grade maths (US)

Children of a similar age in the US system.

Kindergarten maths (US)

The year before, in US terms.

KS2 maths tuition

Years 3 to 6, two years on.

First competitions for primary children

Gentle contests for later primary.

How we teach

A look inside our live classes.

Coding classes in the UK

The full list of our UK pages.

Related pages in this guide

Part of the guide: UK maths year by year, Reception to Year 11

Primary, Reception to Year 6

Secondary, Year 7 to Year 11

Scotland

More guides: UK maths exam boards and specification codes · UK selective school maths tests: 7+, 11+, 13+ and 16+ · UK university admissions: maths tests and computing applications · UK maths enrichment, competitions and able pupils

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Book a free Year 1 maths class

Pop your number in the form and we will ring at a UK time that works around school. The first class is a handful of counting and sharing games, so the teacher can see your child's starting point.

Curious about the content first? The Elementary Maths course shows its weeks, and how we teach walks through a lesson.

WhatsApp us · +91 91233 66161 · connect@modernagecoders.com

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