In schools in England, Year 5 is for children 9–10 years old, and is the third year of Key Stage 2. Children will be encouraged to take on more responsibility and become more independent.
Although there is no statutory test at the end of Year 5, your child’s teacher will assess your child throughout the year to make sure that they’re at the expected level in English and maths. There is an emphasis on grammar as new concepts like fronted adverbials are introduced.
What to expect in Year 5
Year 5 can be a calm and studious year; a year to embed all of the knowledge learnt in lower Key Stage 2; a year to start the preparations for transition to secondary school.
This is often a year when children grow in maturity – sometimes even more so than in their final year in primary. They gain a greater independence and confidence from being given more responsibility in their learning.
Children in Year 5 are increasingly encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning: to do their homework, to pack their school bag, to remember their PE kits. And they develop and grow as a result. It is about encouraging independence in preparation for bigger things to come.
Here is an all-you-need-to-know guide to life as a parent of a Year 5 child!
What will my child do in Year 5?
As with every other year, the government have set out statutory schemes of learning that must be taught in Year 5. There is an expected standard to reach by the end of the year, and most teachers will make assessments throughout the year to judge if your child is on track to achieve their expectations for maths and English.
1. Maths
In maths, there is an emphasis on fractions, decimals, and percentages in this year. There is also an expectation that they will know all of the written methods for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
2. English
For English, new punctuation is introduced (such as hyphens, semi-colons, and colons). There is a greater emphasis on grammar features too (for example, modal verbs like would, could, might, and must).
3. New topics
There are some fantastic topics this year. A favourite science topic in Year 5 is often space as the children find it so engaging. With lots of space travel in the news, it is also very easy to incorporate science into all areas of the curriculum, especially English and maths.
This is the year when your child will probably have their first sex and relationship lesson in school as it combines neatly with the science unit on reproduction, puberty, and changes in the human body. Often a school will organise parent letters and meetings to let you know just what you will need to discuss over the dinner table.
4. Trips away
Another first experience for many children in Year 4, Year 5, or Year 6 is their first residential visit – a couple of nights away from home, learning lots of new things, mostly outdoors.
Some children are over-excited, some are nervous, some are laid-back, and some are homesick. Don’t worry if your child has not slept away from home before. Often, the parents miss the children more than the other way around!
How can I help my child in Year 5?
Obviously, keep doing all of the usual things that schools say. Continue to hear them read, practise times tables, help them with homework, talk to them about their day, and encourage them to read by visiting the local library or visiting books4people.co.uk
Here are a few extra ideas for can try on top of this.
1. Encourage them to take responsibility
Just like in school, give them some independence and responsibility for their learning at home. Here are a few ways you can start giving them some responsibility at home:
Make them pack their own bag for school so that they get into the habit of thinking for themselves about what they need and what they will be doing that day.
Allow them to make mistakes. If they forget their homework, make them tell the teacher themselves (they learn more quickly from their mistake and they are taking responsibility for it too).
Get into the routine of doing homework at a set time each week if possible. By all means help them, but make sure they make their own decisions about presentation, for example.
If your child is not very organised, then taping a list by the door or to a lunch box works well, as does getting equipment ready the night before.
2. Be encouraging
Another simple thing that you can do as a parent is to be a good example. Never say: ‘I was no good at spelling at school!’ Never tell your child: ‘Go to Dad and let him help you with your maths because he is better than me.’
Children need adults to show them that learning is fun, relevant, and enjoyable – and difficult sometimes. Does it matter if you don’t know the answer? Of course it doesn’t. Instead, look it up together and show that you want to find things out too.
3. Take it easy
Finally, remember that even in Year 5 your child will still need some down-time playing outside or reading a much-loved book. Let them be silly. Let them dress up. Play board games together.
To See the Full Range of Year 5 Books at Wise4Words Click Here