They also have to teach religious education. Topics such as personal, social and health education (PSHE) and citizenship, do not have to be taught - but many schools choose to teach them. Many such subjects are covered in Assemblies, geography and history work and even science topics. Key Stage 1 is intended to be the ideal level of education for children at the age of 7.

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The school will tell you in good time if your child is likely to find level 2 hard when they get to age 7. Every school must give parents at least an annual report on how their child is progressing in each National Curriculum subject. (The school is not obliged by law to give a level for each subject in this school report, but some will.) Level 2a, 2b or 2c will be discussed by teachers and other parents. These are sub-divisions of Level 2: 2a is higher, 2c is lower. A child who achieves level 2c at age 7, will have to work hard to attain a level 4 by the time they are aged 11.

Children develop at different rates so if the school says that your child is likely to find it difficult to attain a particular target do not become over anxious. Some may not reach the level at that age, but will catch up later. Talk to their teacher about how you can help. At the moment, however, your child may need extra help or further explanation from you or from the teacher. Some children have ‘Special educational needs’ but there is always extra help available.

School has the advantage of developing all aspects of your child’s personality and helping them mature in all directions. Your child has to grow up, make friends, and increase in confidence. School is also a ‘learning curve’ for parents and one where you have to learn to trust your child to professionals and to allow your child to mature and become more independent of you. Many parents find this difficult and are reluctant to ‘Let go’. Once your child wears school uniform they immediately look much more grown up!

Literacy hour and the daily mathematics lessons are frequently in the news. These are important elements of the Primary National Strategy, and they help teachers use the best methods for teaching, especially in English and mathematics. Evidence shows that children learn reading, writing and maths best when there is separate time set aside for them. This is why the Primary National Strategy recommends a literacy hour and mathematics lesson daily. Your child's school will be able to give you more information about the Primary National Strategy and what it recommends for children at different ages.

There are national tests for seven year olds only in English and maths. Other subjects are important and necessary for the complete development of your child. They should enjoy music, P.E. learning about the past and the area that they live in. There will be subjects to develop their creative tendencies such as art, music and drama. Some children will learn another language and if English is not their first language they will be developing their English vocabulary and grammar.All the National Curriculum subjects are very important; they all contribute to your child's education in different ways. English and maths are tested because, although the other subjects are important, these are the ones that provide the strongest foundation for future learning, so it is important that parents can be completely certain their children are making good progress in those subjects.

School responsibilities and School policies Your child's school should give you a written home-school agreement, which sets out the school's ethos, aims and values. The agreement will illustrate the school's responsibilities, your responsibilities, and what the school expects of its pupils. Many agreements include conduct, general behaviour and manners as high on their agenda. Each school's agreement is different but all should cover the importance of regular and punctual attendance, discipline and good behaviour, and sometimes homework.

Your school should have policies on illness, dietary problems and health issues such as diabetes and asthma. Make sure that you know these and have discussed them with your current child’s teacher. You will feel more relaxed and secure which is important too. You should be able to talk regularly to your child's teacher. You don't have to wait for a parents' evening - telephone and ask the school for an appointment with your child's teacher at any time.

Every school values the support of the parents and your encouragement to ensure that your child makes good progress. The idea of the home-school agreement is to help you to work with the school. Schools, by law, have to review their agreements every two or three years but must consult parents before making any changes. You will be asked to sign a copy of the agreement. This is a personal decision and if there are any aspects of the document that you are worried about do not hesitate to talk to the school and explain your concerns.

Many parents worry as their children get older about sex issues, drug education and the temptations which modern society may hold for young children. Most schools do include all of these issues both in the class lessons for the older classes and also by inviting outside agencies into school. Many children benefit from talks by the local police about drugs, crime and modern society. It does depend on the school policy but usually you are informed, sometimes invited to attend as it is important that children hear the same message at school and at home.

Homework policy Some schools have a homework policy and others feel that the children work hard enough in school and need time to relax.

The aims of setting homework are to ensure that your child has understood the work done in class; to reiterate the learning; for the teacher to see if the children have retained information and also sometimes to give children the opportunity to research, collate and present their own thoughts and ideas.

Your input into the homework is a personal decision. No teacher wants the parent to ‘do’ the work for the child but any elaboration or reinforcement is good and works towards the parent-school agreement. It is however important that each child has a quiet place to work, has clean paper, pencils and the necessary books at home to complete the given tasks. Spellings and tables will need to be ‘tested at home’ and children given encouragement.

Topic work follow up at home Sometimes during a specific topic or project parents might like to take the opportunity to visit a relevant venue with their child. This may be to see the dinosaurs in the museum or even to see the baby lambs being born! This enables the child to have a added dimension to the work done in school. Please avoid any class outing venues which the teacher or school may have already planned for the whole class. It is interesting for a parent to have the opportunity to know what their child is doing in school, to see the progress that they are making and to be able to discuss and help your child plan their thoughts and ideas.

Listening and caring It is always good to talk to children, to listen to their points of view and from there to guide them in the right direction. It is not always easy being a parent and it is a constantly changing learning curve. You love your children so it is worth remaining friends and for them to feel that you will support them even if they make mistakes. We have all done this and benefited from mums and dads who have been there for us. Enjoy your children - they so soon grow up into independent young people.