In England, Year 3 is part of Key Stage 2, which covers children aged 7-11 years old. Key stages are the different stages or blocks of the national curriculum. The national curriculum is organised into blocks of years called ‘key stages’ (KS) . The key stages taught at primary schools to children 5 to 11 years old are:

• Early Years Foundation Stage – ages 3-5 (Nursery and Reception)
• Key Stage 1 – ages 5-7 (Years 1 and 2)
• Key Stage 2 – ages 7-11 (Years 3-6)

At the end of each key stage, the teacher will formally assess the child’s performance. In Year 3, children will enter Key Stage 2 as a Junior, where they will engage in a broad and balanced curriculum, with less focus on phonics and early maths and reading. They will start to develop their knowledge of History, Geography, Science and other subjects, only covered in KS2, like learning a new language. Furthermore, there will be greater emphasis on understanding and learning spelling rules and importantly, in maths, children will be using more formal methods of calculation than in previous years.