Primary Tuition

Primary education in England runs from Reception to Year 6, split into Key Stage 1 (Years 1-2) and Key Stage 2 (Years 3-6). Most children sit at least one government-set check before secondary school, including the Year 1 phonics screening check and the Year 4 multiplication tables check; 63% met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at the end of Key Stage 2 in 2026, according to DfE's provisional figures. Leading Tuition's primary specialists build the specific skills each child needs.

When Primary Tutoring Makes Sense

Primary school covers two key stages: KS1, which includes Years 1 and 2 (ages 5–7), and KS2, which runs from Years 3 to 6 (ages 7–11). Across those years, children are building the foundational skills — reading, writing, and number sense — that everything else depends on. When a child starts to struggle with those foundations, the gap can widen quickly if it goes unaddressed, because later learning is built on top of earlier learning.

Tutoring tends to be most valuable when a child has a specific gap that classroom teaching cannot easily fill — perhaps they missed a chunk of learning, find it hard to keep up in a busy class, or are preparing for a selective school entrance exam. It can also help children who are capable but have lost confidence, and who need a quieter, more patient space to rebuild their belief in themselves.

Where tutoring is less likely to help — and may even be counterproductive — is when a child is developing perfectly well and simply needs time and encouragement at home. Not every wobble requires intervention. A good tutor will tell you honestly if they think your child does not need regular sessions.

What Primary Tutoring Covers

Primary tutoring often focuses on building genuine confidence and foundational skills rather than drilling test content. The most common areas include:

• Early reading and phonics — helping children decode words accurately and develop fluency
• Spelling, punctuation, and grammar — the building blocks of clear written communication
• Times tables and mental arithmetic — developing speed and accuracy with number
• Problem-solving and reasoning — applying maths skills to unfamiliar questions
• Reading comprehension — moving beyond decoding to understanding, inference, and vocabulary
• 11+ preparation — verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, and extended practice for selective entry exams

Sessions at primary level are typically shorter and more varied than those for older students. A good primary tutor knows how to keep a young child engaged, and understands that learning through games, discussion, and low-stakes practice is often far more effective than sitting a seven-year-old in front of worksheets for an hour.

Key Assessments at Primary School

Parents are sometimes surprised by how many formal assessments exist within primary school, several of which are statutory nationally. Understanding what each one covers, and when it falls, helps you know what your child is working towards and where support might be timely.

Reception: two low-stakes starting points

Children beginning Reception take the reception baseline assessment (RBA) within the first 6 weeks of starting school - a short, interactive and practical assessment of early literacy, communication, language and maths skills. The Department for Education is explicit that a child cannot ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ it: its purpose is to give a later, whole-cohort starting point for measuring a school's progress, not to label an individual child. At the end of Reception, every school also completes the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) - a statutory teacher judgement of a child's development, due to the local authority no later than 30 June.

Year 1: the phonics screening check

The Year 1 phonics screening check is a short, one-to-one assessment usually taken in June - for 2026/27, the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) has set it within the 1-week period from Monday 14 June 2027. A teacher reads through 40 words, split into 2 sections of 20, with your child - a mix of real words and made-up ‘pseudo-words’. The pseudo-words are included deliberately, to test whether a child is applying phonics rules rather than recognising words from memory. Nationally, 80% of pupils met the expected standard in Year 1 in 2025 (unchanged from 2024), and 89% of the whole cohort had met it by the end of Year 2 once resits are included.

Year 2: the optional KS1 tests

Key stage 1 tests in reading and maths became non-statutory from the 2023/24 academic year onwards. Schools may still use the STA's optional tests - the recommended window is May 2027 - but results are no longer collected nationally, and teacher assessment now carries the weight KS1 testing once did.

Year 4: the multiplication tables check

The Year 4 multiplication tables check (MTC) is an on-screen check testing fluent recall of times tables up to 12: 25 questions, each with a 6-second limit, after 3 practice questions, usually completed in under 5 minutes. There is no pass mark - the school simply reports your child's score. For 2026/27, the STA has set the check within the 2-week period from Monday 7 June 2027, and it has been statutory for every state-funded Year 4 pupil since 2022.

Year 6: the KS2 tests (SATs)

The end-of-Key-Stage-2 tests - commonly called SATs - cover English grammar, punctuation and spelling (Paper 1: questions, Paper 2: spelling), English reading, and maths (Paper 1: arithmetic, Paper 2 and Paper 3: reasoning). For 2026/27, the STA has published the full timetable: Monday 10 May (grammar, punctuation and spelling), Tuesday 11 May (reading), and Wednesday 12 to Thursday 13 May (maths). There is no test in English writing or science; both are reported instead as a statutory teacher assessment judgement, with writing externally moderated by the local authority. Results are reported as a scaled score from 80 to 120, where 100 or more means a child is working at or above the expected standard. Secondary schools receive these results too, and commonly use them alongside teacher assessment to help set expectations and inform which teaching groups a child starts in during Year 7.

Nationally in 2025, 62% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined - up from 61% in 2024, though still below the 65% recorded in 2019. DfE's provisional figures for 2026, published on 10 September 2026, put the combined figure at 63%. Individually, 75% met the standard in reading, 74% in maths, 72% in writing, 73% in grammar, punctuation and spelling, and 82% in science; 8% reached the higher standard across all three tested subjects combined, unchanged since 2023.

The same 2025 data shows a consistent gap for disadvantaged pupils: 67% met the phonics standard in Year 1 against 84% of other pupils, and the average MTC score for disadvantaged pupils rose to 19.3 against 21.7 for their peers. Targeted, individual support tends to matter most for children who are already behind, not only those aiming for full marks.

For families considering selective secondary schools, 11+ preparation typically begins in Year 4 or Year 5 - our guide to building foundations for 11+ success in Year 4 covers what that first year of preparation actually involves. Starting too late, particularly for the most competitive grammar or independent schools, can make the process feel rushed.

Our primary specialists work with children from Reception to Year 6, building the core literacy, numeracy and reasoning skills that set children up well for secondary school and, where relevant, selective entry. Book a free consultation to talk through what your child needs and how we can help.

Leading Tuition is rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 59 reviews, read on 3 October 2026, and 91% of our students achieve their desired grades.

The government's Curriculum and Assessment Review published its final report in November 2025, alongside the government's response. STA says future assessment arrangements are under review in line with the relevant recommendations, and that arrangements for the 2026/27 academic year will remain unchanged.

What Parents Say

DP

Deborah Prior

★★★★★

Confidence and progress

My son was low in confidence after COVID and the gaps in learning were building up. Using this service helped plug those gaps, rebuild confidence, and improve his ability to learn properly again.

NI

Nicola

★★★★★

Amazing tutors!

We arranged maths and English tuition ahead of GCSEs and both tutors were brilliant. My daughter's grades improved, and by results day she achieved two grades higher than in her mock exams.

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Saifan Khan

★★★★★

Great Teaching and Focused Learning

I attended an English bootcamp with Leading Tuition and the experience was excellent. The teacher gave focused attention to the small group while keeping the lessons interactive and engaging.

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How We Work with Primary-Age Children

Working with younger children requires a different approach to working with teenagers. Primary-age children need tutors who are warm, patient, and skilled at explaining things in multiple ways without making a child feel they have failed. They also need sessions that feel manageable — not like an extension of the school day.

At Leading Tuition, our primary tutors are experienced in working with children across KS1 and KS2. We begin with a clear picture of where your child is and what they need, and we work closely with parents to make sure progress is visible and sessions remain enjoyable. We do not believe in loading young children with excessive homework or creating anxiety around learning. The goal is always to leave a child feeling more capable than when they arrived.

Because sessions can run in person or online, location is rarely a barrier to starting.

Reviewed September 2026: primary curriculum and statutory assessment dates (phonics, multiplication tables, KS2) and 2025 national attainment figures checked against the Department for Education and the Standards and Testing Agency.

Frequently Asked Questions about Primary Tuition