Progression Steps Explained: A Parent’s Guide to the Curriculum for Wales

If you have a child in a Welsh primary school, you might have noticed a major shift in the language used on school reports. Terms like “Key Stage 2” or “working at national curriculum level 4” have vanished. Instead, teachers talk about Progression Steps (or in Welsh, Camau Cynnydd).

This is one of the core ideas behind the Curriculum for Wales (CfW). If you find it confusing, you are not alone. Here is a straightforward parent guide explaining what Progression Steps are, which ones apply to your child in Years 3 to 6, and how schools assess them.

What Are Progression Steps?

In England, primary education is partitioned into distinct stages (Key Stage 1 for Years 1–2, and Key Stage 2 for Years 3–6), ending with national SATs tests at age 11. Wales replaced this rigid model with a continuous, seamless journey from age 3 to age 16.

To help teachers track development without arbitrary cut-off points, the Curriculum for Wales uses five Progression Steps across the 3–16 continuum. Rather than measuring whether a child has memorised specific facts by a given month, Progression Steps describe the increasing depth, breadth, and sophistication of a child's understanding.

These are reference points, not year groups. In the Welsh Government's words, the progression steps “can only broadly correspond to expectations at ages 5, 8, 11, 14 and 16” (Hwb, Introduction to Curriculum for Wales guidance).

Progression Steps 2 and 3: The Primary Years (Years 3–6)

For parents of children in Years 3 to 6, your child will primarily be working within Progression Step 2 and Progression Step 3:

• Year 3 (Ages 7–8): Children are reaching the Progression Step 2 reference point. They are moving from early learning into secure fluency in reading, mental calculation, and foundational concepts across science, humanities, and languages.
• Years 4 to 6 (Ages 8–11): Children are working towards Progression Step 3. Learning moves from gaining basic tools to using them in new situations. Think multi-step maths problems, weighing up sources, and giving reasoned opinions in writing and discussion.

What Does Progression Look Like in Practice?

Welsh guidance identifies five “Principles of Progression” that teachers look for across all six Areas of Learning and Experience (AoLEs):

1. Increasing breadth and depth of knowledge: Learning more facts, but more importantly, connecting ideas across topics.
2. Deepening understanding: Moving from memorisation to explaining why something happens.
3. Refinement and dexterity in skills: Doing tasks more independently, accurately, and fluently.
4. Making connections: Applying what was learned in science to a geography problem, or applying maths to digital coding.
5. Increasing learner effectiveness: Becoming more confident, reflective, and capable of self-directed study.

What Will You See on School Reports?

Because Wales abolished Key Stage 2 SATs in 2005, your child will not receive a pass/fail grade or scaled test score at the end of primary school. Instead, reports provide qualitative feedback describing:

• Your child's progress along the progression steps in each Area of Learning.
• Their strengths and accomplishments across literacy, numeracy, and digital competence.
• Clear, constructive next steps to support their ongoing growth.
• Feedback from online personalised assessments taken in reading and numeracy during the year.

How to Support Progression at Home

Without the looming anxiety of May SATs papers, home learning in Wales can focus on what genuinely matters: building confidence and lifelong learning habits. Daily, bite-sized practice in mathematics, English reading and writing, science, and Welsh helps children reinforce classroom concepts before gaps can widen.