Year 1 maths: what your child learns and how to help

What's in the Year 1 maths curriculum?

This is everything in the national curriculum for England for Year 1, in plain words. Schools choose the order and the pace, so your child won't meet these in the order below. Much of it is done with real objects first: counters, cubes, coins, rulers and containers.

Number and place value

• Count to 100 and past it, forwards and backwards, starting from 0, 1 or any number.
• Read and write numbers to 100 in numerals.
• Read and write numbers from 1 to 20 in words.
• Count in 2s, 5s and 10s.
• Say the number that is one more or one less than a given number.
• Show numbers with objects, pictures and a number line, and use the words equal to, more than, less than, fewer, most and least.

Addition and subtraction

• Read and write number sentences with the +, − and = signs.
• Know the number bonds within 20, and the subtraction facts that go with them: if 9 + 7 = 16, then 16 − 7 = 9.
• Add and subtract one-digit and two-digit numbers up to 20, including zero.
• Solve one-step problems with objects and pictures, and missing number problems like 7 = ? − 9.

Multiplication and division

• Solve one-step problems by grouping and sharing objects, with pictures and arrays (objects set out in rows and columns), with help from the teacher.
• Start to understand doubling, and make links between arrays and counting in 2s, 5s and 10s.

Fractions

• Recognise, find and name a half as one of two equal parts of a shape, object or amount.
• Recognise, find and name a quarter as one of four equal parts.

Measurement

• Compare and describe lengths and heights, weights, how much a container holds, and time, using words like longer, heavier, full, empty, quicker and later.
• Start to measure and record lengths, weights, capacity and time (hours, minutes and seconds).
• Know the value of the different coins and notes.
• Put events in order using words like before, after, first, next, yesterday, today and tomorrow.
• Use the days of the week, weeks, months and years.
• Tell the time to the hour and half past the hour, and draw the hands on a clock to show these times.

Geometry: shapes

• Recognise and name common 2-D shapes, like rectangles (including squares), circles and triangles.
• Recognise and name common 3-D shapes, like cuboids (including cubes), pyramids and spheres.
• Know a shape is still the same shape whichever way round it is or however big it is.

Geometry: position and direction

• Describe position, direction and movement, with words like left, right, above, between, in front of and inside.
• Make whole, half, quarter and three-quarter turns, both ways.

There is no statistics strand in Year 1: charts and tables start in Year 2.

What should a Year 1 child know by the summer?

The curriculum describes what children are taught across the year, and every child moves through it at their own pace. Government guidance for teachers picks out the ideas that the rest of primary maths builds on most. For Year 1 they are:

• counting forwards and backwards within 100, starting from any number
• knowing where numbers up to 20 sit on a number line, and comparing them with <, > and =
• adding and subtracting within 10 quickly and confidently
• counting in 2s, 5s and 10s, starting from any multiple, and counting through the odd numbers
• making numbers to 10 from two parts and splitting them into parts (7 is 5 and 2, or 4 and 3), and spotting odd and even numbers
• reading and writing number sentences with +, − and =, and linking them to real life
• recognising common 2-D and 3-D shapes whichever way round they are
• building shapes from smaller shapes

Most children won't remember every fact within 10 yet. The guidance says they should also learn to work facts out from ones they already know. For example: "I know double 3 is 6, so 4 + 3 = 7." The guidance shows this with a tens frame: a grid of 10 boxes with counters in it.

Are there Year 1 maths tests?

There is no national maths test in Year 1. Your child's teacher checks how they're getting on through everyday class work, and some schools use their own short assessments during the year to see what to teach next. Your child's teacher can tell you how these are used. The optional KS1 maths tests come at the end of Year 2, and the KS1 maths guide explains how they work.

Maths words for Year 1

Number bond

A pair of numbers that make another number. 6 and 4 are a number bond to 10.

One more, one less

The next number up or down. One more than 19 is 20.

More than, less than, fewer

Words for comparing. 8 is more than 5. "Fewer" is used for things you count: 3 apples is fewer than 5 apples.

Equal to

Worth the same. The = sign means "is equal to".

Add, altogether, total

Words for putting numbers together. 3 add 4 makes 7 altogether.

Subtract, take away

Words for taking one number from another. 9 take away 2 leaves 7.

Difference

How much bigger one number is than another. The difference between 10 and 7 is 3.

Number line

A line with numbers marked in order, used for counting on and back.

Odd and even

Even numbers can be split into pairs with none left over, like 2, 4 and 6. Odd numbers have one left over, like 1, 3 and 5.

Double

Two lots of a number. Double 4 is 8.

Array

Objects set out in equal rows and columns, like eggs in a box.

Half and quarter

One of two equal parts, and one of four equal parts.

2-D and 3-D shapes

2-D shapes are flat, like a circle or triangle. 3-D shapes are solid, like a cube or sphere.

Quarter turn and half turn

A quarter turn is a quarter of the way round. Two quarter turns make a half turn.

O'clock and half past

On the hour, the long hand points to 12. At half past, it points to 6.

Maths questions for Year 1 to try

These are our own practice questions for Year 1, not a test from school, so there's no score to worry about. Try a few together, then open the answers to check.

1. What is one less than 40?
2. 6 + 4
3. 13 − 5
4. What is the missing number? 7 = ? − 9
5. Count on in 5s: 15, 20, 25, then what are the next two numbers?
6. What is half of 8?

Answers

1. 39
2. 10
3. 8
4. 16
5. 30 and 35
6. 4

How to help with Year 1 maths at home

• Count real things. Stairs, cars, buttons and grapes all count. Count back as well as forwards, and sometimes start from a number other than 1.
• Play with number bonds. Hide some of 10 toys under a cup and ask how many are hidden. It builds the bonds to 10 the whole year rests on.
• Count in 2s, 5s and 10s. Pairs of socks, fingers on hands and 10p coins are good for this, and they lead straight into the 2 times table, 5 times table and 10 times table in Year 2.
• Ask how they worked it out. Explaining out loud helps it stick, and shows you the methods your child's school uses. It's worth sticking to those rather than teaching a different way.
• Share fairly. Splitting a snack between two or four people is halves and quarters in real life.
• Use the clock and the calendar. Point out o'clock and half past, and talk about what day it was yesterday and what month it is.
• Spot shapes. Look for circles, rectangles, cuboids and spheres around the house and on walks.