At a glance
- Ages
- 5 to 11, Years 1 to 6 (Cambridge Stages 1 to 6)
- Strands
- Reading, writing, spelling, grammar, spoken language
- KS2 tests (England)
- Grammar and spelling 10 May, reading 11 May 2027
- Writing (England)
- Teacher assessed at end of Year 6
- Cambridge test
- Primary Checkpoint English or ESL, end of Stage 6
What children work towards each year
Highlights from England's National Curriculum programmes of study.
| Year (age) | Reading | Writing, grammar and spelling |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 (5 to 6) | Decode words using phonics, read common exception words, phonics screening check in June | Form letters correctly, write simple sentences with capital letters and full stops |
| Year 2 (6 to 7) | Read accurately and with growing fluency, answer questions about stories | Use commas in lists, apostrophes, past and present tense, spell common words |
| Year 3 (7 to 8) | Read silently with understanding, use a dictionary, retrieve information | Paragraphs, conjunctions, prefixes, joined handwriting |
| Year 4 (8 to 9) | Infer feelings and motives, identify themes, read aloud with expression | Fronted adverbials, speech punctuation, possessive apostrophes |
| Year 5 (9 to 10) | Compare books, explain the effect of language, summarise | Relative clauses, modal verbs, brackets and dashes for parenthesis, editing |
| Year 6 (10 to 11) | Inference across a text, distinguish fact and opinion, KS2 reading test | Passive voice, semi-colons and colons, formal writing, teacher-assessed writing |
Summarised from the statutory programmes of study and their grammar appendix. Cambridge Primary English sets comparable objectives by stage.
England's Year 6 English tests in May 2027
| Paper | Date | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Grammar, punctuation and spelling Paper 1 (questions) | Monday 10 May 2027 | 45 minutes |
| Grammar, punctuation and spelling Paper 2 (spelling) | Monday 10 May 2027 | 20 words read aloud, about 15 minutes |
| Reading | Tuesday 11 May 2027 | 60 minutes |
Dates from GOV.UK primary assessments future dates, checked 6 October 2026. Results are scaled from 80 to 120, with 100 the expected standard. Statutory in England only; Gulf British schools decide whether to use them.
What is changing, and what Gulf schools use
England's government response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review (November 2025) plans a revised national curriculum from September 2028, with a stronger writing assessment in Year 6 and a new focus on oracy. Gulf British schools are not bound by these changes but often adopt them. Today many use their own reading ages and writing assessments, GL Assessment tests such as the New Group Reading Test, and in Cambridge schools, Primary Checkpoint English or English as a Second Language at the end of Stage 6, scored 0 to 50.
How online English lessons work for young children
Lessons are 60 minutes. For younger children the tutor runs several short activities: reading a page together with the book held up to the camera or shared on screen, a word game for spelling patterns, a few minutes of handwriting or sentence building, a stretch break, and a story or question to finish. For Years 5 and 6, more of the hour goes on comprehension questions and planned writing that the tutor marks with your child on the shared whiteboard.
The tutor first listens to your child read and looks at a recent piece of writing, then works on the specific skill that is holding them back, which might be decoding, reading speed, inference or sentence control. A parent nearby helps young children for the first few lessons. Arabic-speaking tutors are available for some subjects, ask when you book.
Signs your child would benefit
- Reads slowly or guesses words from the first letter in Year 2 or 3.
- Reads fluently but cannot explain why a character acts as they do.
- Writes long sentences without full stops, or very short pieces.
- Spelling has not moved on from phonetically plausible guesses.
- Avoids reading for pleasure.
Common questions
My child speaks Arabic at home. Will that slow their English?
Bilingual children often speak English confidently but need extra work on written grammar and vocabulary. A tutor focuses on exactly that, while home language skills remain a strength.
Do Gulf British schools sit the Year 6 SATs?
Only if the school chooses to. They are statutory in England only. Many Gulf schools use GL Assessment tests or Cambridge Primary Checkpoint instead.
Can lessons help with school homework and reading books?
Yes. Share the reading book or homework, and the tutor uses it as part of the lesson while working on deeper skills.
How quickly will I see progress?
It depends on the gap. Reading fluency and spelling often show change within a term of weekly lessons; writing takes longer. The tutor reports progress in your parent account.
What do primary English lessons cost?
$15 a lesson, the same for every subject. Lessons are one to one and 60 minutes, on a weekly plan of 1 to 5 lessons billed monthly. The first lesson is a free trial.
Sources
Dates and figures on this page come from these official and published sources. Always confirm deadlines on the official page before acting on them.