Find your curriculum: school years and curricula around the English-speaking world
30 curricula, from Common Core and England's National Curriculum to Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Australia, India and South Africa: how each counts school years, what it expects and how to use Peabody with it.
A curriculum and a way of teaching are two different choices. The curriculum is what a child is expected to learn and when: England’s National Curriculum, Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence, your state’s standards. The way of teaching is how: phonics first, math blocks first, Charlotte Mason, unschooling. A family in Edinburgh can follow Curriculum for Excellence and teach maths the Singapore way. Peabody lets parents and teachers pick both, separately, for each child. This page is the first half; the curriculum guide is the second.
Each curriculum below is described from the body that sets it, read on 6 November 2026; a few checks are named from the body’s own site without a deeper read, and every page links the official document so you can confirm. Years are matched by age and are approximate: cut-off dates differ.
Setting your child’s curriculum on Peabody
A grown-up picks it on the child’s page at peabody.kids/grown-ups, under What they’re learning. From then on Peabody counts school years the curriculum’s way (P3, Year 2, Grade R, JK) for the child, shows the grown-up where the child is in it and which national checks are ahead, and offers the math approach closest to how it teaches. Nothing is ever locked: every subject and skill stays open whichever you pick. Without an account, you can set how school years are counted on a device at peabody.kids/country.
Not yet: the learning map’s standard codes are US ones (Common Core, NGSS, C3), and topics come in one order for everyone. Matching each topic to another curriculum’s own codes needs that curriculum’s documents read line by line, and we will add them one at a time rather than guess.
School years side by side
Matched by age at the start of the school year. Peabody keeps one grade for each child and shows it in the words of their curriculum.
| Age | US, Canada (most), Philippines, Jamaica | Ontario | England, Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | Ireland | Australia | New Zealand | India | Singapore | South Africa | Kenya |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4–5 | Preschool | JK | Reception | P1 | P1 | Junior Infants | Kindy | Kindy | LKG | K1 | Pre-Grade R | PP1 |
| 5–6 | Kindergarten | SK | Year 1 | P2 | P2 | Senior Infants | Foundation | Year 1 | UKG | K2 | Grade R | PP2 |
| 6–7 | 1st | Grade 1 | Year 2 | P3 | P3 | 1st Class | Year 1 | Year 2 | Class 1 | Primary 1 | Grade 1 | Grade 1 |
| 7–8 | 2nd | Grade 2 | Year 3 | P4 | P4 | 2nd Class | Year 2 | Year 3 | Class 2 | Primary 2 | Grade 2 | Grade 2 |
| 8–9 | 3rd | Grade 3 | Year 4 | P5 | P5 | 3rd Class | Year 3 | Year 4 | Class 3 | Primary 3 | Grade 3 | Grade 3 |
| 9–10 | 4th | Grade 4 | Year 5 | P6 | P6 | 4th Class | Year 4 | Year 5 | Class 4 | Primary 4 | Grade 4 | Grade 4 |
| 10–11 | 5th | Grade 5 | Year 6 | P7 | P7 | 5th Class | Year 5 | Year 6 | Class 5 | Primary 5 | Grade 5 | Grade 5 |
| 11–12 | 6th | Grade 6 | Year 7 | S1 | Year 8 | 6th Class | Year 6 | Year 7 | Class 6 | Primary 6 | Grade 6 | Grade 6 |
| 12–13 | 7th | Grade 7 | Year 8 | S2 | Year 9 | 1st Year | Year 7 | Year 8 | Class 7 | Secondary 1 | Grade 7 | Grade 7 |
| 13–14 | 8th | Grade 8 | Year 9 | S3 | Year 10 | 2nd Year | Year 8 | Year 9 | Class 8 | Secondary 2 | Grade 8 | Grade 8 |
United States
- Common Core and states that follow itEach state adopts its own standards; most are based on the Common Core State Standards for English and math.
Stages: Pre-K (state early learning standards); Elementary school; Middle school. High school, 9th to 12th grade, with state tests and the SAT or ACT.
School years on Peabody: Preschool to 8th
Checks and tests: State tests begin: Reading and math tests each spring from 3rd to 8th grade.
Reading: Foundational skills (phonics, fluency) in K to 5th, then reading literature and informational text; many states now require systematic phonics.
Math: Fewer topics a year in more depth: place value and operations, then fractions from 3rd grade, ratios and expressions in middle school.
With Peabody: Peabody's maps already speak this one: the codes on the learning map are Common Core, NGSS and C3.
- Texas (TEKS)The Texas State Board of Education sets the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.
Stages: Elementary school; Middle school. High school, with end-of-course tests.
School years on Peabody: Kindergarten to 8th
Checks and tests: STAAR: Reading and math from 3rd grade, science in 5th and 8th.
Reading: Systematic phonics in the early grades, then reading and writing across genres.
Math: Similar ground to Common Core, with some topics in different grades; personal financial literacy is its own strand.
With Peabody: Use the year picker and Numbers' doors to match what the class is on this week; nothing is locked.
- Florida (B.E.S.T.)The Florida Department of Education sets the B.E.S.T. standards for English and math.
Stages: Elementary school; Middle school.
School years on Peabody: Kindergarten to 8th
Checks and tests: FAST: Progress checks three times a year from kindergarten; the spring one is the state test from 3rd grade.
Reading: Explicit phonics in K to 2nd, and a booklist of suggested texts by grade.
Math: Standards close to Common Core in content, with fact fluency named grade by grade.
With Peabody: Use the year picker and Numbers' doors to match what the class is on this week; nothing is locked.
- Virginia (SOL)The Virginia Board of Education sets the Standards of Learning.
Stages: Elementary school; Middle school.
School years on Peabody: Kindergarten to 8th
Checks and tests: SOL tests: Reading and math from 3rd grade.
Reading: Phonics and fluency first, then comprehension and research skills.
Math: Its own standards, not Common Core, with a strong focus on number sense and computation.
With Peabody: Use the year picker and Numbers' doors to match what the class is on this week; nothing is locked.
- Another US state's standardsEach state writes or adopts its own; your state's education department publishes them.
Stages: Elementary school; Middle school.
School years on Peabody: Kindergarten to 8th
Checks and tests: State tests: Most states test reading and math each spring from 3rd grade.
Reading: Most states now require systematic phonics in the early grades.
Math: Most cover the same ground as Common Core, sometimes in a different order.
With Peabody: Use the year picker and Numbers' doors to match what the class is on this week; nothing is locked.
UK and Ireland
- National Curriculum in EnglandThe Department for Education, for state-funded (maintained) schools; academies and independent schools may use it too.
Stages: Reception (Early Years Foundation Stage); Key stage 1 (Years 1 and 2); Key stage 2 (Years 3 to 6); Key stage 3 (Years 7 to 9). Key stage 4 (Years 10 and 11) ends in GCSEs, graded 9 to 1.
School years on Peabody: Reception to Year 9
Checks and tests: Phonics screening check: Year 1, in June: reading words aloud with phonics. Multiplication tables check: Year 4, in June: 25 questions, six seconds each, tables to 12 × 12. No pass mark. Key stage 2 tests (SATs): Year 6, in May: reading, maths, and grammar, punctuation and spelling.
Reading: Systematic synthetic phonics from Reception, with books matched to the sounds taught, then a big push on grammar, punctuation and spelling in Key stage 2.
Math: Times tables to 12 × 12 by the end of Year 4, formal written methods, and many schools teach for mastery: small steps, the whole class together.
With Peabody: Six-second tables in the Math Dojo (All times tables) is shaped like the Year 4 check: 25 questions, six seconds each, no pass mark. Phonics steps follow a synthetic-phonics order. Suggested math approach: Small steps (teaching for mastery).
- Curriculum for Excellence (Scotland)The Scottish Government, with Education Scotland; schools and councils plan the detail.
Stages: Early level (pre-school and P1); First level (P2 to P4); Second level (P5 to P7); Third and fourth levels (S1 to S3). The senior phase, S4 to S6, with National 5s and Highers.
School years on Peabody: P1 to S3
Checks and tests: CfE level reported: Teachers judge whether each child has reached the expected level in P1, P4, P7 and S3, in literacy and numeracy.
Reading: Literacy and English through the levels, with each school choosing its phonics programme.
Math: Numeracy and mathematics as experiences and outcomes for each level; children move through a level at their own pace.
With Peabody: Levels span about three years, so pick the band your child is working at, not their age; nothing on Peabody is locked.
- Curriculum for WalesThe Welsh Government; each school designs its own curriculum within the framework.
Stages: Progression step 1 (about age 5); Progression step 2 (about age 8); Progression step 3 (about age 11); Progression step 4 (about age 14). Progression step 5 (about age 16), then GCSEs made for Wales.
School years on Peabody: Reception to Year 9
Checks and tests: Personalised assessments: Online reading and numeracy assessments that adapt to the child, at least once a year in Years 2 to 9. For next steps, not a pass or fail.
Reading: Literacy runs through every area; in Languages, Literacy and Communication children learn Welsh and English.
Math: Mathematics and Numeracy is one of six areas, with five statements of what matters rather than a list for each year.
With Peabody: Progression steps are reference points, not targets for a year; use Peabody's doors to work across a step at the child's own pace.
- Northern Ireland CurriculumThe Department of Education, with CCEA writing the curriculum and its guidance.
Stages: Foundation Stage (P1 and P2); Key Stage 1 (P3 and P4); Key Stage 2 (P5 to P7); Key Stage 3 (Years 8 to 10). Key Stage 4 (Years 11 and 12) ends in GCSEs.
School years on Peabody: P1 to Year 10
Reading: Language and literacy as an Area of Learning, with reading through play in the Foundation Stage.
Math: Mathematics and numeracy as an Area of Learning, starting with a lot of play and talk in P1 and P2.
With Peabody: P1 here is England's Reception: Peabody counts it as the year before kindergarten, so the early doors are the right ones.
- Ireland's Primary CurriculumThe Department of Education, with the NCCA writing the curriculum.
Stages: Junior and Senior Infants; 1st and 2nd Class; 3rd and 4th Class; 5th and 6th Class; Junior Cycle (1st and 2nd Year). Junior Cycle ends in 3rd Year; Senior Cycle ends with the Leaving Certificate.
School years on Peabody: Junior Infants to 2nd Year
Checks and tests: Standardised tests: Primary schools test English reading and maths in some classes, including 2nd, 4th and 6th.
Reading: English and Irish from the start, with oral language, reading and writing built together.
Math: A new Primary Mathematics Curriculum from 2023, being brought in from September 2024, with a strong place for play and talk.
With Peabody: Peabody teaches in English only; for Irish, keep to the school's own books.
Canada
- Ontario curriculumOntario's Ministry of Education.
Stages: Kindergarten (JK and SK); Grades 1 to 8. Secondary school, Grades 9 to 12.
School years on Peabody: JK to Grade 8
Checks and tests: EQAO: Provincial reading, writing and math tests in Grades 3 and 6, and math in Grade 9.
Reading: Since 2023 the Language curriculum asks for direct, explicit and systematic teaching, with Grades 1 to 3 focused on word reading and spelling.
Math: A provincial math curriculum with coding and financial literacy woven in.
With Peabody: Peabody's phonics order fits Ontario's explicit, systematic approach to early reading.
- British Columbia curriculumBritish Columbia's Ministry of Education and Child Care.
Stages: Kindergarten to Grade 7; Grades 8 to 12.
School years on Peabody: Kindergarten to 8th
Checks and tests: Foundation Skills Assessment: Reading, writing and numeracy in Grades 4 and 7.
Reading: Big ideas, curricular competencies and content for each grade: what students understand, do and know.
Math: The same know–do–understand shape, with core competencies (communication, thinking, personal and social) in every subject.
With Peabody: Use the year picker and Numbers' doors to match what the class is on this week; nothing is locked.
- Alberta curriculumAlberta Education; a new K–6 curriculum has been phased in since 2022.
Stages: Kindergarten to Grade 6; Junior high (Grades 7 to 9).
School years on Peabody: Kindergarten to 8th
Checks and tests: Provincial Achievement Tests: In Grades 6 and 9.
Reading: A new English Language Arts and Literature curriculum for K–6, with explicit phonics and spelling in the early grades.
Math: A new K–6 math curriculum with number facts and standard methods named grade by grade.
With Peabody: Use the year picker and Numbers' doors to match what the class is on this week; nothing is locked.
- Another Canadian province or territoryEach province and territory sets its own; the provincial education ministry publishes it.
Stages: Elementary; Middle years.
School years on Peabody: Kindergarten to 8th
Reading: Varies by province; most now teach phonics explicitly in the early grades.
Math: Varies by province, with broadly the same ground as the US by grade.
With Peabody: Use the year picker and Numbers' doors to match what the class is on this week; nothing is locked.
Australia and New Zealand
- Australian Curriculum (Version 9.0)ACARA writes it; states and territories put it into practice, and NSW and Victoria publish their own versions.
Stages: Foundation; Years 1 to 6 (primary); Years 7 to 10 (secondary). Years 11 and 12 follow each state's senior certificate.
School years on Peabody: Foundation to Year 8
Checks and tests: Year 1 phonics check: In several states, with a national check agreed. NAPLAN: Reading, writing, language conventions and numeracy in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.
Reading: Version 9.0 puts more weight on phonics and phonemic awareness in the first years of school than the version before it.
Math: Eight learning areas in all; in maths, number and algebra, measurement and space, statistics and probability.
With Peabody: NAPLAN's language conventions (spelling, grammar, punctuation) match Peabody's sentence and spelling practice.
- NSW syllabuses (New South Wales)NESA, the NSW Education Standards Authority.
Stages: Early Stage 1 (Kindergarten); Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2); Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4); Stage 3 (Years 5 and 6); Stage 4 (Years 7 and 8).
School years on Peabody: Foundation to Year 8
Checks and tests: Year 1 phonics check: NSW public schools check phonics in Year 1. NAPLAN: Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.
Reading: English K–10 (2022) teaches phonics and phonological awareness explicitly in the early stages.
Math: Mathematics K–10, implemented stage by stage.
With Peabody: In NSW the first year of school is called Kindergarten; Peabody shows it as Foundation, the same year.
- New Zealand Curriculum (Te Mātaiaho)The Ministry of Education; the refreshed curriculum, Te Mātaiaho, is being phased in.
Stages: Years 1 to 6 (primary); Years 7 and 8 (intermediate); Years 9 to 13 (secondary). NCEA in the senior secondary years.
School years on Peabody: Year 1 to Year 9
Reading: Every state school has taught reading with structured literacy since the start of 2025, with the refreshed English for Years 0 to 6 and a phonics check for new entrants.
Math: Refreshed maths and statistics for Years 0 to 8, also required from 2025, set out year by year.
With Peabody: Peabody's year words follow New Zealand's: a child who started school at five is in Year 1.
India, Singapore and the Philippines
- CBSE (NCERT)The Central Board of Secondary Education, following NCERT's books and the National Curriculum Framework 2023.
Stages: Foundational stage (pre-school to Class 2); Preparatory stage (Classes 3 to 5); Middle stage (Classes 6 to 8); Secondary stage (Classes 9 to 12). Board exams in Class 10 and Class 12.
School years on Peabody: LKG to Class 8
Checks and tests: Board exams ahead: Class 10 and Class 12 board exams.
Reading: English is usually taught beside a regional language or Hindi; early reading is part of the foundational stage's literacy and numeracy push.
Math: NCERT's books, new from Class 6 under the 2023 framework, with more activity and less memorising.
With Peabody: Peabody counts Class 1 as the US 1st grade; LKG and UKG are the two years before it.
- ICSE and ISC (CISCE)The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations.
Stages: Primary (to Class 5); Middle and secondary (Classes 6 to 10). ICSE exams in Class 10, ISC in Class 12.
School years on Peabody: LKG to Class 8
Checks and tests: ICSE ahead: The ICSE exam in Class 10.
Reading: English-medium, with a strong place for English literature and grammar.
Math: Its own maths syllabus, set by the council class by class.
With Peabody: Use the year picker and Numbers' doors to match what the class is on this week; nothing is locked.
- Singapore (MOE)Singapore's Ministry of Education.
Stages: Kindergarten (K1 and K2); Primary 1 to 6; Secondary. Secondary school with Full Subject-Based Banding: each subject at the level that fits.
School years on Peabody: K1 to Secondary 2
Checks and tests: PSLE: At the end of Primary 6; each subject's result sets its starting level in secondary school.
Reading: English as the first language of school, with a Mother Tongue Language as a second.
Math: Concrete, then pictures, then numbers, with bar models: what the rest of the world calls Singapore math.
With Peabody: Use the blocks-first lens, and the bar models and fraction bars on Teach for the picture step. Suggested math approach: Blocks first (Singapore style).
- Philippines (MATATAG)The Department of Education (DepEd), rolling out from school year 2024–25.
Stages: Kindergarten; Grades 1 to 6; Junior high school.
School years on Peabody: Kindergarten to 8th
Reading: Grade 1 has Language and Reading and Literacy as subjects; English and Filipino are taught as subjects from Grade 2.
Math: Mathematics from Grade 1; science joins in Grade 3.
With Peabody: Peabody teaches in English; keep Filipino with the school's own materials.
Africa
- South Africa (CAPS)The Department of Basic Education.
Stages: Foundation Phase (Grades R to 3); Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 to 6); Senior Phase (Grades 7 to 9). The FET Phase, Grades 10 to 12, ends in the National Senior Certificate (matric).
School years on Peabody: Grade R to Grade 8
Checks and tests: Matric ahead: The National Senior Certificate at the end of Grade 12.
Reading: A home language and a first additional language; for many children English is the additional one, taught from the Foundation Phase.
Math: Mathematics from Grade R, with a lot of counting, number and mental maths in the Foundation Phase.
With Peabody: For a child learning English as an additional language, the picture cards on /english and Read to me help most.
- Kenya (Competency-Based Education)The Ministry of Education, with KICD writing the curriculum designs.
Stages: Pre-primary (PP1 and PP2); Primary (Grades 1 to 6); Junior school (Grades 7 to 9). Senior school, Grades 10 to 12.
School years on Peabody: PP1 to Grade 8
Checks and tests: KPSEA: The Kenya Primary School Education Assessment in Grade 6.
Reading: English and Kiswahili, with competencies such as communication and collaboration in every subject.
Math: Mathematics activities in pre-primary, then mathematics from Grade 1.
With Peabody: Use the year picker and Numbers' doors to match what the class is on this week; nothing is locked.
- Nigeria (Basic Education Curriculum)NERDC writes the 9-Year Basic Education Curriculum; a revised version runs from the 2025/2026 session.
Stages: Primary 1 to 6; Junior secondary (JSS 1 to 3).
School years on Peabody: Primary 1 to Secondary 2
Reading: English Studies as a subject throughout, beside a Nigerian language.
Math: Mathematics throughout; the revision cut overload within and across subjects.
With Peabody: Use the year picker and Numbers' doors to match what the class is on this week; nothing is locked.
The Caribbean
- Jamaica (National Standards Curriculum)The Ministry of Education; CXC sets the regional secondary exams.
Stages: Primary (Grades 1 to 6); Lower secondary (Grades 7 to 9). CSEC exams from CXC in Grade 11.
School years on Peabody: 1st to 8th
Checks and tests: PEP: The Primary Exit Profile assesses Grades 4 to 6 outcomes and informs high school placement.
Reading: Language arts in English throughout, with performance tasks in PEP.
Math: Mathematics by grade, assessed by PEP's curriculum-based tests and performance tasks.
With Peabody: Use the year picker and Numbers' doors to match what the class is on this week; nothing is locked.
International schools
- International Baccalaureate (PYP, MYP)The International Baccalaureate Organization; each school writes its programme of inquiry.
Stages: Primary Years Programme (ages 3 to 12); Middle Years Programme (ages 11 to 16). The Diploma Programme, ages 16 to 19.
School years on Peabody: Preschool to 8th
Checks and tests: PYP exhibition: A long inquiry project in the last PYP year.
Reading: Language through units of inquiry; many IB schools add a structured phonics programme in the early years.
Math: Maths inside and beside the units of inquiry, with the school choosing its own maths programme.
With Peabody: Everything to learn's topics make good starting points for a unit of inquiry; each has a question to wonder about.
- Cambridge (Primary, Lower Secondary, IGCSE)Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Stages: Cambridge Early Years; Cambridge Primary (Stages 1 to 6); Cambridge Lower Secondary (Stages 7 to 9). IGCSE at about 16, then AS and A Levels.
School years on Peabody: K1 to Secondary 2
Checks and tests: Primary Checkpoint: Optional tests at the end of Stage 6 in English, maths and science.
Reading: English as a first or second language, chosen by the school.
Math: A stage-by-stage maths framework with thinking and working mathematically in every stage.
With Peabody: Cambridge Stage 1 is for children of about 5 to 6, Peabody's kindergarten; pick the year by age.
- British curriculum abroadInternational schools that follow England's National Curriculum, often with IGCSEs.
Stages: Foundation Stage 2 (Reception); Key stage 1 (Years 1 and 2); Key stage 2 (Years 3 to 6); Key stage 3 (Years 7 to 9). IGCSEs or GCSEs in Year 11.
School years on Peabody: Reception to Year 9
Reading: Synthetic phonics from Reception, as in England.
Math: England's programmes of study, often taught for mastery.
With Peabody: Year words follow England's on this device, wherever you are; Six-second tables in the Math Dojo practises for a Year 4-style times tables check. Suggested math approach: Small steps (teaching for mastery).
- American curriculum abroadInternational schools that follow US standards, usually Common Core or AERO.
Stages: Elementary school; Middle school.
School years on Peabody: Kindergarten to 8th
Reading: As in US schools: foundational skills in K to 5th.
Math: As in US schools that follow Common Core.
With Peabody: Grade words stay American on this device, wherever you are.
Our own way
- Our own way (homeschool or no set curriculum)You. Most homeschooling families mix programs and approaches.
Stages: The early years; Elementary; Middle school.
Reading: Peabody's reading follows a structured, phonics-first order; the curriculum guide explains the other ways to teach it.
Math: Pick how you teach math on your child's page: Peabody's way, mixed practice, small steps, blocks first or your program's order.
With Peabody: Keep the year words you like (the country's are the default), and see the curriculum guide for each approach.