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A parent’s guide to Key Stage 2 maths
Understand what Years 3 to 6 cover in England and find practical ways to talk about maths at home.
What does Key Stage 2 cover?
In England, Key Stage 2 covers Years 3 to 6. In Years 3 and 4, children build confidence with whole numbers, place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. In Years 5 and 6, they work with larger numbers and develop their understanding of fractions, decimals and percentages. Shape, measures and statistics are also part of the curriculum.
Start with what they recognise
Ask your child what they have been doing in class. If the topic is fractions, try sharing 12 grapes between four people. Ask how many each person gets, then write 12 ÷ 4 = 3 together. Link the calculation to the question by asking what the 12, the 4 and the 3 each mean.
Use the school year as a starting point
If your child finds a topic difficult, try a simpler example and see where they get stuck. They might be able to work out a quarter of 12 with objects but need time to recognise the same idea when it is written as a fraction. In quarter, use Skills to find a topic and the year it is first taught.