Key stage 1 education

Your daughter will by now be happily settled into school and enjoying making new friends. Depending on the school she attends she may move from an infant to a junior school when she is 7, at the end of Key Stage 1. The Preparatory Departments of some girls’ schools begin at age 7 and will welcome applications at this stage.

Wherever your daughter goes to school she will cover the national curriculum for Key Stage 1. You can find out more about this on the following website
http://curriculum.qca.org.uk/key-stages-1-and-2/index.aspx. In the pre-prep departments of independent girls’ schools, pupils are likely to go beyond the confines of the prescribed curriculum, including beginning to learn a modern language. They usually perform well above the national average in any assessments taken at the end of this Key Stage. All state schools and some independent schools will use the teacher-assessed SATs (Standard Attainment Tests) to monitor progress in English, Maths and Science.

In these early years, your daughter may start to develop her first interests outside the classroom. Many schools will offer clubs either in the lunch hour or after school and it is often in Year 2 (age 6-7) that pupils first have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. With so many options available both inside and outside school, it can be tempting to fill a child’s diary with music lessons, drama clubs, swimming lessons and so on.

Your daughter may well try a new activity only to lose interest quite quickly. Gently encourage her to persist if you think she has some aptitude but dropping one hobby may give her time to discover a new talent – it’s only by trying lots of different things that she can find what she really enjoys.

Whilst all of these activities are both beneficial and enjoyable– remember that children need time to play, too!