The New National Curriculum: What Changes in Primary School

Primary schools in England will start teaching a new national curriculum in September 2028. The final version is due by spring 2027, giving schools four terms to prepare. For children aged 4 to 11, the headline changes are compulsory citizenship lessons, more weight on fluent reading, writing and speaking, and a maths curriculum reordered so that number skills build more steadily.

The changes come from the Curriculum and Assessment Review, published in November 2025. The government accepted every one of its subject recommendations for pupils under 16, so the direction is settled even though the detailed wording is still being drafted.

From review to classroom

For the first time, the curriculum will be published in a digital, machine-readable format, which should make it easier for schools to see how a topic in Year 2 connects to one in Year 5. Academies are not legally bound by the national curriculum, but nearly all follow it closely, not least because national tests are based on it.

English: less labelling, more fluency

Phonics remains the foundation of early reading. Schools will have to use a systematic synthetic phonics programme, and the government wants 90% of children to meet the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check.

The bigger shift comes later in primary. The review questioned how much time ten and eleven year olds spend learning technical grammar terms, and some of the more complex ones may move to secondary school. The aim is for children to spend that time writing well, using varied sentences confidently, not identifying them in isolation. Year 6 writing assessment will reward fluent, controlled writing accordingly.

Speaking and listening get proper attention too. A new oracy framework will describe how children's spoken language should develop by the end of Key Stage 2, from explaining an idea clearly to building on someone else's point in a discussion.

Maths: a reordered sequence

Maths in Key Stages 1 to 3 will be resequenced, with particular care over number. The idea is that each step rests on something children already understand, so fewer pupils reach fractions or long multiplication with shaky foundations.

There will also be more non-routine problem solving. A routine question tells a child which method to use. A non-routine one might ask which of 16, 25, 36 and 42 is the odd one out and why, leaving the child to notice that three are square numbers. That kind of reasoning will feature more often. The Year 4 multiplication tables check continues unchanged and stays timed.

New and expanded areas

Citizenship becomes a compulsory part of primary education in Key Stages 1 and 2. It will cover the basics of money, media literacy and spotting misinformation, climate education, and how democracy, government, law and rights work.

Computing stays the home of digital skills, with clearer attention to safe and responsible technology use and an early awareness of data and artificial intelligence.

Food becomes its own strand within design and technology, renamed food and nutrition.

Alongside the curriculum sits a new enrichment entitlement covering civic engagement, arts and culture, nature and the outdoors, sport and wider life skills. The government's summary of the new curriculum sets these out in more detail.

Which children it will reach

Every primary year group switches to the new curriculum in September 2028. A child starting Reception in 2026 or 2027 will spend almost all of primary school on it. Children in Years 1 to 4 this year will move onto it partway through. Children in Years 5 and 6 now will finish primary on the current curriculum and meet the new one at secondary school. National tests will be revised over time, and the government has said maths test content will be reviewed once the curriculum is confirmed.

What families can do now

Nothing here requires waiting until 2028. The skills the new curriculum leans on are the ones that already make the most difference. Read together and talk about new words. Ask children to explain how they worked something out, not just what the answer is. Practise number bonds and times tables until they are automatic, and talk about money when you shop or save.

Two habits connect directly to the new content. Discussing something your child has seen online, and how you might check whether it is true, is early media literacy. Giving them chances to talk at length, such as retelling a trip or explaining the rules of a game, is oracy in practice.

Support from Merit Tutors

Our KS1 maths tuition and KS2 English tuition work on these foundations in groups of five or six children. For extra number practice at home, our Year 3 maths workbooks are one of a year-by-year series.

Questions parents ask

Will SATs change?

Year 6 SATs continue. The grammar, punctuation and spelling test is under review, maths test content will be reviewed once the curriculum is confirmed, and writing assessment will focus more on fluency.

Is religious education changing?

RE sits outside the national curriculum. The government has said it will only consult on a national RE curriculum if there is clear agreement across the sector.

Will primary children learn about artificial intelligence?

The revised computing curriculum is expected to introduce early awareness of data and AI alongside safe technology use. The details will be confirmed when the curriculum is published.