KS2

What is Key Stage 2?

Key Stage 2 is the phase of primary school for children in year 3, year 4, year 5 and year 6. Sometimes divided into Lower KS2 (LKS2) – years 3 and 4, and Upper KS2 (UKS2) – years 5 and 6. It’s formerly known as ‘Juniors

What subjects do KS2 age children learn?

There are 11 mandatory subjects for Key Stage 2 age children:

Schools must also provide Religious Education, although parents can ask that their children are taken out of part or all of the lessons. Schools sometimes teach Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) and/or citizenship at this Key Stage.

PSHE teaches children how to stay safe and live a healthy lifestyle. It aims to help children develop positive social skills and important attributes like empathy. It also features topics like sex education, puberty, relationships and emotional wellbeing. Parents can choose to remove their children from sex education lessons in KS2.

Citizenship introduces topics like debating, critical thinking and politics. It can feature themes such as identity, racism and recycling.

How are Key Stage 2 children assessed?

At the end of KS2, children sit their SATs in the following subjects:

Scaled scores are used to grade these assessments. For more information on KS2 scaled scores, take a look at this helpful 2018 KS2 SATs Scores Explained - Adult Guidance resource. Children receive their results for these assessments in July.

Some children will sit SATs in Science, although this is limited to samples of children from around 1900 schools. The children selected are thought to be representative of the population as a whole, and will sit papers in:

The DfE states that the national curriculum for KS2:

‘… provides an outline of core knowledge around which teachers can develop exciting and stimulating lessons to promote the development of pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills as part of the wider school curriculum.’

Below are outlines of the national curriculum for Maths KS2 and the national curriculum for English KS2.

National curriculum Maths KS2

The DfE states that the national curriculum for Maths aims to ensure that all pupils:

The topics covered in the national curriculum Maths KS2 include:

National curriculum English KS2

The DfE states that the national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:

The topics covered in the national curriculum English KS2 include:

 Life in Key Stage Two at Wood Lane Primary

Key Stage 2 Curriculum

 

Useful Websites

KS2 - England - BBC Bitesize

Home learning – 50 free apps and websites for KS1 and KS2 pupils - Teachwire

Free KS2 Teaching Resources for Lesson Planning | Oak National Academy

Key Stage 2 (KS2) resources | TheSchoolRun

Recommended Reading

Books for KS2 learners aged 7-11 | School Reading List