All primary schools are required to teach the National Curriculum. Each National Curriculum subject has been divided into levels, with the children starting by working towards level 1 and progressing higher as they get older. Each subject consists of programmes of study which the teachers use when planning work. Each subject contains a set of level descriptors which assist the teachers in assessing the children's progress.
Internal testing is carried out in other years.
At Key Stage 1 the majority of children should have reached level 2 or above, and at Key Stage 2 most children should have reached level 4 or above. The information is used to judge the individual child's progress, both at the end of the reception year and as they progress through the school.