How the UK Curriculum Works
A plain-English guide to the structure of the UK National Curriculum, from Reception to Year 11.
Key Stages
The UK National Curriculum divides schooling into five stages. Each stage has its own programmes of study that define what children should learn.
Early Years Foundation Stage
Reception (age 4-5) · Play-based learning across 7 areas
Key Stage 1
Years 1-2 (age 5-7) · Infant school · Core literacy and numeracy
Key Stage 2
Years 3-6 (age 7-11) · Junior school · SATs at end of Y6
Key Stage 3
Years 7-9 (age 11-14) · Secondary school · Broad subject range
Key Stage 4
Years 10-11 (age 14-16) · GCSE preparation · Subject specialisation
How It Fits Together
The curriculum has a nested structure. Each level adds more detail about what children learn.
What are Concepts?
A concept is the smallest unit of knowledge in the curriculum. It represents one thing a child needs to understand or be able to do.
Example: Place Value in Year 3
"Recognise the place value of each digit in a three-digit number (hundreds, tens, ones)." This is one concept within the Number: Place Value domain of Year 3 Mathematics.
This site maps 1,300+ concepts across all subjects from Reception to Year 11.
How Prerequisites Work
Concepts build on each other year-on-year. A prerequisite is a concept that must be understood before moving on to the next one.
Y2: Place Value
Two-digit numbers
Y3: Place Value
Three-digit numbers
Y4: Place Value
Four-digit numbers
There are over 1,350 prerequisite links in the graph, showing how learning progresses across years.
What are Difficulty Levels?
Each concept has 3-4 difficulty levels that describe what children working at different levels can do. These help with differentiation in the classroom.
Working towards the concept. Needs support and scaffolding.
Beginning to grasp the concept. Some independence.
Meeting the standard. Can work independently.
Exceeding expectations. Can reason and apply.
At secondary level (KS3-KS4) the labels change to: Emerging, Developing, Secure, Mastery.