SPECIALIST TUITION
Key Stage 1
Laying the foundation for a child's academic journey & fostering a love of learning
Key Stage 1 covers Years 1 and 2, when children are aged five to seven. It is the stage at which reading becomes fluent and mathematical reasoning begins to develop. It is also a key time when a child forms their earliest understanding of education and how it fits into their wider life, developing the educational habits and joy in learning that will serve them throughout the rest of their academic journey and beyond.
At Witherow Brooke, we offer different services to support children through Key Stage 1. Our services include identifying and recruiting elite tutors for full-time homeschooling, academic support and travelling tuition roles, as well as flexible hourly tuition, both online and in-person in London and Dubai.
The tutors we identify are selected for their expertise in early years and primary teaching, in phonics and early reading, handwriting and written composition, and the foundations of numbers and mathematical reasoning. Above all we understand the importance of warmth and patience that teaching children of five to seven requires, with a child's progress at this stage heavily dependent on developing a strong rapport with their educator. At Witherow Brooke we also provide comprehensive support to both tutor and family throughout every engagement.
The academic aims & milestones of Key Stage 1
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Phonics and reading
Children are taught to decode through systematic synthetic phonics, and the statutory Phonics Screening Check is administered in Year 1, with a repeat in Year 2 for any child who does not meet the expected standard. Decoding is followed by fluency, expression and comprehension, and the volume of reading a child does in these two years is one of the strongest predictors of their later academic attainment. Reading widely, and being read to well beyond the level they can manage alone, is immensely valuable.
Writing and handwriting
Children move from forming letters correctly to composing sentences, and then to writing at length with accurate spelling and punctuation. Handwriting deserves particular attention, as poor letter formation established now is difficult to correct later and consumes attention that should be available for the content of a child's writing.
Mathematics
The emphasis at this stage falls on number, place value, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, fractions, measurement, shape and the beginnings of mathematical reasoning. The goal is to develop mathematical intuition and to be able to relate mathematics to a child's wider experiences.
Beyond the core, Key Stage 1 also introduces science, history, geography and the arts, and these are worth more than the curricular time they typically receive. A child who is fascinated by dinosaurs, volcanoes or the Egyptians is a child learning that knowledge is interesting, which is the disposition every later stage relies upon.
Educational habits & developing a love of learning
Beyond the curriculum, the formation of the habits and the mindset towards learning and education are a formative part of a child's early academic journey, forming the basis for everything that follows. The educational philosopher John Dewey highlights the ultimate aim of education being to help the child appreciate the present and prepare for the future, and those foundations are laid even at this early stage.
Concentration
A five year old can attend closely for a short time; a seven year old should manage considerably longer. That capacity is built deliberately, by extending the length of tasks a little at a time and by teaching a child to return their attention when it wanders, rather than by expecting stillness they cannot yet produce.
Flexible thinking
Children should learn early that most problems admit of more than one approach, and that being stuck is an ordinary part to be embraced rather than experienced as a source of frustration. A tutor who asks a child how else the problem might be tackled, or shows numerous ways of approaching a problem or topic, is displaying a crucial skill for the child to take forward into later life.
Patience
How a child responds when work becomes hard is largely settled in these years. A child who has been allowed to struggle briefly, with support, and has then succeeded, learns that difficulty is temporary and not to give up when challenges occur.
Self-Belief
A child's sense of whether they are "good at maths" tends to form early, and self-belief is among the strongest predictors of later mathematical attainment. A child who believes they can solve a problem will persist with it long enough to do so, and a child who does not will disengage before they have properly begun. Mathematics is also the subject in which anxiety takes hold most readily and most durably. This is why the tone of early mathematics teaching matters as much as its content: a child kept slightly ahead of the demands placed on them, given problems they can succeed at with sustained effort, and shown that difficulty is a normal part of thinking, arrives at the abstraction of later years expecting to cope with it.
Independence and pride in work
Children learn to take pride in something completed carefully and to a high standard, and that pride is the foundation of excelling in later study. It is built by expecting proper work and noticing it, not by praising everything indiscriminately.
Curiosity
Above all, this stage should leave a child wanting to know things. Making learning relevant to their own experience, and following their enthusiasms further than the syllabus requires. Curiosity is ultimately the most important trait to develop in order to foster a love of learning, to help the child appreciate the present and prepare for the future.
Selecting the right tutor for your family
The Key Stage 1 curriculum is best taught by a single educator, combining expertise in diverse teaching methodologies, with the warmth and personality to form a strong bond with the child. In this way the teacher can best understand which pedagogical approaches resonate with the child, as well as what motivates them and where their interests lie.
A single tutor is also the person best placed to develop the habits this stage exists to establish. Concentrating for gradually longer periods, approaching a problem in more than one way, and remaining patient when something proves difficult are gradually built across every task a child undertakes, by an adult who knows what they are looking for.
Where a child requires specialist input, for example structured literacy teaching for a suspected specific learning difficulty, or extension for a child working well beyond their year group, Witherow Brooke can identify specialists with the specific expertise as well as personality to best suit the child, providing support and oversight to both tutor and family with every engagement. We understand that every child is unique and work with each family to identify which approach best suits their specific needs.
Our immersive process
For full time positions, how we facilitate and oversee the highest-quality tutoring for your child.
Our goal is to ensure each child transitions confidently, whether into a higher level of education,
a new school, an alternative curriculum, or more advanced tuition.
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Our Tutors & Approach
When identifying elite tutors for KS1 students, we ensure they combine early years expertise with the warmth and personality to engage and motivate the child and foster a joy in their studies. To learn more about services, book a consultation today.
Homeschooling for Key Stage 1 Students
Witherow Brooke provides specialist full-time, in-person home tutoring worldwide for children in Years 1 and 2, whether across the full Key Stage or a shorter, more intensive period.
Every child is unique, and so is every family's situation. That's why we have a bespoke recruitment and oversight process for every full-time or intensive tuition role. This process carefully identifies tutors who are best suited to each child's needs, learning style and personality, ensuring children are paired with expert educators capable of delivering the full Key Stage 1 curriculum to an elite standard.
Homeschooling is particularly effective at this age. The Key Stage 1 curriculum can be delivered in far less time one to one than a classroom requires, which leaves room for the reading, conversation, play and physical activity that matter just as much at five and six. The day can be shaped around a young child's natural rhythm, with short periods of concentrated academic work when attention is strongest.
Key Stage 1 is also the stage at which additional needs most often first become apparent, and providing a safe and enjoyable learning environment at this stage is paramount to the child's future enjoyment of education. Our SEN tuition service identifies educators with specialist training and experience alongside their early years teaching experience to be able to tailor their lessons and approaches to suit the child's requirements.
When required, tutors are able to travel or relocate without disrupting academic progress, which makes this a natural fit for internationally mobile families who want continuity of teaching through the years when it matters most.
At Witherow Brooke we also provide a unique level of support and oversight, including quarterly reports where we track progress towards long-term educational ambitions and highlight any upcoming decisions or milestones, including 7+ and 8+ entrance timelines and advice on educational pathways.
Contact us today to explore how specialist homeschooling can support your child academically.
Directors Roland & William provide an overview of our Elite Homeschooling service
Academic Support for Key Stage 1 Students
Children working through Key Stage 1 alongside traditional schooling often benefit from additional support to secure phonics and early reading, develop handwriting and written composition, build fluency and confidence in number, prepare for 7+ or 8+ entrance, provide specialist SEN support, or provide the gentle extension a curious child needs when the class must move at the pace of the group.
Our academic support for Key Stage 1 can address such challenges with a tutor working alongside a child's school, in most cases a single tutor across the curriculum, who is also well placed to maintain oversight of the child's progress.
Difficulties identified now are far easier to address than the same difficulties identified at nine or ten. A child who has not secured phonics by the end of Year 2 will find every subject harder, because every subject requires reading. Early, unhurried support is among the most effective interventions available at any point in a child's education.
At Witherow Brooke we also provide a unique level of support and oversight, including quarterly reports where we track progress towards long-term educational ambitions and highlight any upcoming decisions or milestones including advice on educational pathways.
Tutors can also relocate or travel alongside a family to maintain a child's education for any period away from school.
Contact us today to discuss how specialist Academic Support can strengthen your child's early education.
K, (THE MOTHER)
“We were delighted to find your service, enabling us to travel to the places we want to whilst keeping up with B’s [the student] education. He really looked forward to his lessons with H [the tutor], and even today they are in touch.”
Flexible Hourly Tuition for KS1 Students
Witherow Brooke's hourly tuition services for Key Stage 1 can provide targeted support, whether as a standalone offering or alongside a broader homeschooling or traditional school programme.
Hourly tuition offers flexible schedules focused on specific areas, from phonics and reading fluency to handwriting, spelling and early mathematics, or on preparation for pre-prep entrance, helping children build confidence and secure foundations before the demands of Key Stage 2.
Contact us today to discuss how specialist Hourly Tuition can support your child's early education.
MEET ONE OF OUR TUTORS
Ilan Lazarus
Tutor of Mathematics
Ilan studied Mathematics at Cambridge University and currently works as a tutor and musician. He is an expert in Mathematics tuition, having taught at every age level from precocious 4 year olds in New York to 30-year old accountants in London, as well as preparing students for competitive 11+ and 13+ admissions tests in Maths and Non-Verbal Reasoning. He is also a Subject Expert for the Centre of Thinking Youth in London, covering Mathematics up to Further Maths A Level.
FAQs
Is a child of five or six too young for tutoring? Not if it is done properly. Tuition at this age should look like short, varied, largely enjoyable sessions with an educator who knows how to teach young children, not like a compressed school day. What makes the difference is the quality of the teaching rather than the quantity: an hour of precise, well-judged one-to-one work can achieve more than a day of classroom time, and it need not displace anything a childhood should contain.
Does Key Stage 1 tutoring help with 7+ and 8+ entrance? Yes. The 7+ and 8+ assess reading, writing and mathematics at a level a well-taught Key Stage 1 child should be comfortable with, alongside stamina and composure. Consistent teaching through Years 1 and 2 is therefore the most effective preparation available, and considerably gentler than a concentrated push in the months before an assessment.
Do you support families following other curricula or living abroad? Yes. We regularly work with internationally mobile families, and with those following the US, IB or other national curricula. Tutors can bridge the differences between systems as well as combining them, and prepare children for entry into a new school in a different country.
What if my child is ahead rather than behind? This is a common reason families come to us. A child who reads fluently at five or takes obvious pleasure in number can find that school necessarily moves at the pace of the class, and boredom at this age can become a durable habit of disengagement. One-to-one teaching allows a child to go as far and as fast as their interest carries them.
How can I tell whether my child needs specialised support? The clearest early signal is reading. A child who is guessing at words from pictures or context rather than decoding them, who avoids reading aloud, or who has not met the expected standard in the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check, will benefit from focused help. Reluctance to write, difficulty forming letters, or visible anxiety about mathematics are also worth attending to. In each case the difficulty is far more easily resolved now than later.
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