In the UK, we’re really lucky that there are lots of great free resources we can use for homeschooling, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 year olds. So whether your child is at Key Stage 1 age (would have been in school years 1 or 2) or is Key Stage 2 age (would have been in school years 3, 4, 5 or 6) you should be able to find some great free resources for homeschooling them.
While key stages aren’t relevant to home educators, many resource providers use them to separate their resources. Remember that the education you provide should be right for your child’s age, aptitudes and abilities, don’t feel you have to use resources from the year or key stage they would have been in at school. There is no such thing as behind when you home educate.
If you are looking for free resources for older children have a look at this post on free homeschooling resources for 11-16 year olds.
A note on language: In my posts, I refer to “homeschooling”. In the UK, the correct term for educating your child at home is “home Educating”, with homeschooling referring to a child doing work at home that has been set by school. I use the the term homeschooling in my posts because many people who are new to home educating will use the term homeschooling when searching online and I want to make sure they can find the information.
Sources of Free Worksheets
Worksheets are a great way to practice learning that has already taken place.
- Worksheet Resources – Worksheet Resources offers a number of free worksheets for early learning concepts. Their worksheets cover literacy and numeracy including early phonics and basic number skills.
- Learning Resources – Learning resources offer free worksheets on a wide range of Key Stage One and two topics. The company’s primary function is create physical learning resources but the site has a good range of worksheets including seasonal themes and links to number blocks.
- Teachit – Teachit offers lots of free resources, you just need to sign up for a free account to download them. While the site does include paid resources too, you can access a lot of PDF worksheets for free.
Free Websites that Offer a Range of Subjects
BBC Bitesize
BBC Bitesize has lots of great resources for children between 5 and 11 and they are all completely free. It covers the following topics Key Stage 1 (roughly 5-7 years):
- Art and design
- Citizenship
- Computing
- English
- Geography
- History
- Maths
- Music
- Religious Education
- Science
at Key Stage 2 (roughly 7-11 years old), it also covers:
- French
- Spanish
- Mandarin
- Welsh
Most topics include short written information along with interactive elements like quizzes, games and videos.
BBC Teach
BBC Teach is another BBC resource. It is aimed at teachers but includes resources that parents could use when home educating, in particular video clips. At Key stage 1, it covers the following topics:
- Art and Design
- Computing
- Cross Curricular Topics
- Design and Technology
- English
- Geography
- History
- Music
- PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education)
- Religious Studies
- Science
At Key Stage 2 it also covers:
- French
- German
- Italian
- Spanish
- Media Studies
- Physical Education
Oak National Academy
Oak National Academy was set up during the pandemic to support children learning from home. It has a good range of content in the form of recorded lessons. The subject it covers are at Key Stage 1 are:
- Art and Design
- Design Technology
- Drama
- English
- Geography
- History
- Maths
- Music
- Physical Education
- RSHE (PSHE)
- Religious Education
- Science
At Key Stage 2 it also covers:
- French
- Spanish
- Computing
Teach Your Monster
Teach your Monster to Read is an online game that helps young children learn to read. It’s completely free and was a big hit with my daughter when she was learning to read.
It also has some spin off games for learning early maths and healthy eating.
Premier League Primary Stars
Premier League Primary Stars has some great resources for teaching a range of subjects through the love of sport and football in particular. This worked well for my son during lockdown learning when he was the right age.
Resources for Specific Subjects
The free resources below are aimed at developing knowledge in specific subject areas.
Free Maths Resources for 5 – 11 Year Olds
Top Marks
Top Marks is a website that has a great range of educational maths games. For 5-7 year olds there are some fun games for for number recognition, counting and early addition and subtraction. For 7-11 year olds there are some great games to practice times tables, hit the button has been popular in our house.
NRICH Maths
NRICH Maths is about helping children to develop a mathematical mindset and see the value of maths in the real world. It has a section aimed at parents but some of the section aimed at teachers and students would also be useful for home education.
Free English Resources for 5-11 Year Olds
The National Literacy Trust
The National Literacy Trust offers some great themed resources for different themes that tie in with UK events like black history month or world book day. They also have some literacy advice and resources aimed at parents.
Oxford Owl
Oxford Owl is a free website created by Oxford University Press to support reading and writing. As well as advise on how to support your child to read and write, you can access the free ebook library of early reader books.
Free Science Resources
STEM Learning
STEM Learning has a huge number of science learning resources. They are aimed primarily at teachers but some will be adaptable for use when home educating. It will likely take some time to navigate but it’s worth a look if you’re after resources for a particular science topic.
Science Sparks
Science Sparks is a fantastic website with lots of science experiments that can be done at home as well as worksheets that you can download.
Free Geography Resources
National Geographic
National Geographic has some a primary school age resource section on their UK kids site with a range of resources including topics on caves, fair trade and climate change.
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey have some great resources on their website for map reading and understanding maps.
Free History Resources
The Historical Association
The Historical Association has a collection of history teaching resources on a range of subjects for key stage 2 and key stage 3.
The British Museum
As well as learning resources that allow you explore time periods and artefacts, The British Museum offers virtual visits online.
Free Art and Design Resources
Art UK
Art UK has a range of free resources to support learning about artists, themes and art techniques at primary school age.
Technology Triumph’s Draw Along with Pip
This free provision from Technology Triumphs is chance to draw a specific animal alongside Pip in a Facebook live session and get feedback on your final picture.
For Moree information home educating in the primary years have a look at this post on home educating at Key Stage one and this one on home educating at Key Stage two.
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