PRIMARY YEARS · YEARS 1–6
Curiosity today.
More possibilities tomorrow.
Years 1 to 6 are about building confidence and skills, and noticing what your learner enjoys. We help you understand what matters now, what’s coming up, and which opportunities may be worth knowing about early.
No account needed to look around.
Where is your learner in their primary years?
Pick their year and where you live. Everything in the four boxes below changes with it.
Their year this year
Year 3 · New South Wales
Growing independence
What’s happening now
- Using skills more independently
- Reading to learn, not only learning to read
- More responsibility for their own work
Things you may notice
- Strengths becoming clearer
- A subject they light up about, or avoid
- Changes in confidence or friendships
Coming up
- NAPLAN was in March. Their report comes from the school
- Reports and interviews
Worth knowing in NSW
Opportunity Classes, from Year 5
A full-time class for high-potential students in Years 5 and 6. In most cases, taking a place means moving to the school that has the class. Rural and remote students can instead join Aurora College’s online opportunity classes while staying at their local school. Families apply from November of Year 3 to February of Year 4, and the test is in May of Year 4. There are no late applications.
Next for Year 5 entry in 2028: applications open, usually in November 2026.
Dates for 2028 aren’t published yet (only for 2027), so these are the usual months. Check the source closer to the time.
If it might suit your learner, note the window. You don’t need to decide yet.
Last checked 21 October 2026
Why you’re seeing this: you picked Year 3 and New South Wales. Families in other states see something different, or nothing at all.
The primary years, in three parts
Every learner moves at their own pace. This is the broad shape most families see.
Years 1–2
Building the foundations
- Adjusting to school
- Developing core skills
- Exploring what they enjoy
- Confidence and friendships
Years 3–4
Your learnerGrowing independence
- Using skills more independently
- Interests and strengths becoming clearer
- Trying new opportunities
- More responsibility
Years 5–6
Looking ahead
- Consolidating learning
- Getting ready for secondary school
- Some opportunities or applications may need attention
- Building on interests and strengths
What are they learning?
The same eight broad areas across Australia. What’s taught, and when, depends on your state’s curriculum, the school and the year.
- English
- Mathematics
- Science
- Humanities and social sciences
- Health and physical education
- Technologies
- The arts
- Languages
Want the detail for this year? Ask the teacher for the term’s learning overview. Most schools send one home.
How do I know how they’re going?
Progress is more than one result. Put several signals together.
- School reports
Usually twice a year - Teacher feedback
Interviews and day-to-day chats - Assessment results
Classwork and tasks - Your learner’s view
What they say about school - Engagement
Keen, flat, bored, anxious? - NAPLAN
Years 3 and 5 only
About NAPLAN
One source of information, in Years 3 and 5
NAPLAN happens in March. It looks at reading, writing, spelling and grammar, and numeracy, and gives you and the school one more view of how your learner is going.
It doesn’t measure everything they can do, and it doesn’t define their potential. There’s nothing to study for. If a result surprises you, talk with the teacher about what they see in class.
Notice what lights them up
This isn’t about picking a career. It’s about noticing. Try finishing these together, now and then. What you notice in primary helps later, when choices start to come up in secondary school.
- I enjoy…
- I’m good at…
- I’m curious about…
- I’d like to try…
- I care about…
- Skills I’d like to build…
Support and opportunity for every learner
Some learners need more help in an area. Some need more stretch. Schools can do both.
If they need more support
- Extra help in a specific area
- Changes to how they learn or are assessed
- A learning or support plan
- Wellbeing and social support
- English language support, where relevant
If they need more challenge
- Deeper learning and enrichment
- Working above their year level
- High-ability or gifted programs, where they exist
- Moving ahead in one subject, where it suits
- Programs outside school, including online
Some learners need both
A learner can be highly able and also have ADHD, autism, dyslexia, a disability or another need. Challenge and support can sit side by side. Nobody has to be put in one box or the other.
If something isn’t working, these questions help
- What has the teacher noticed?
- What support is already in place?
- Would a change to how they learn or are assessed help?
- Is a learning or support plan worth having?
- How will we all know if it’s working?
- When will we look at it again?
Schools must make reasonable changes so a learner with disability can take part on the same basis as everyone else. Your plan explains what that can look like.
Not sure who to ask?
Start with the classroom teacher. Depending on the school, these people may also help. The names vary between states and schools.
- Classroom teacher
- Learning support coordinator
- Wellbeing coordinator
- High-ability or gifted lead
- Student support team
- Transition coordinator
- Principal
Some opportunities are worth knowing about early
Many families only hear about these from other parents, a group chat or an open day. You don’t need to know what to search for. We bring forward the ones that fit your learner and your state, and leave the rest out.
More challenge
Extension, enrichment or learning above their year level.
State programs
Selective, high-ability or specialist programs, in the states that run them.
Future school pathways
Some secondary school applications begin while your learner is still in primary.
Scholarships and help with costs
Some scholarships, and help with camps, uniforms or devices, start in primary.
Not everything is urgent. We label each one so you know where it stands.
- Action needed
- Coming up
- Worth exploring
- No action yet
Is your learner getting what they need at school?
Four things worth checking in on now and then. If one isn’t right, the first question is usually: could something change at their current school?
Supported
Are they getting help where they need it?
Challenged
Is the learning engaging, and stretching them enough?
Belonging
Do they feel included and connected?
Opportunities
Are their interests being encouraged?
What if something isn’t working?
Most things don’t need a diagnosis, a formal process, a tutor or a new school. Your plan gives you practical ideas and questions for each step.
- 1 · Understand the issue
- 2 · Talk to the school
- 3 · Agree a change
- 4 · Keep an eye on it
- 5 · Review together
If their class doesn’t offer something they need
That doesn’t have to mean changing schools. There are usually options in between.
- Different work in the same class
- Enrichment groups or activities
- Moving ahead in one subject
- Programs outside school, or online
- Programs shared between schools, where they exist
When should we start thinking about secondary school?
There isn’t one answer. For many families, Year 6 is enough. A few options need you to know about them earlier.
In some states, applications for selective classes or schools begin before Year 6. In others there is no selective entry from primary at all.
Some take applications, or keep waiting lists, years before Year 7. Each school sets its own dates.
Music, sport, arts or academic programs can involve tests, auditions or portfolios, sometimes in Year 5 or early Year 6.
Your address can decide which government secondary school you can enrol in, where your state uses zones or catchments.
Some secondary school scholarships test or take applications in Year 5 or 6.
You don’t need to choose early. You may need to know which options ask you to act early.
Keep the options that matter in one place
Your plan keeps the few options you’re actually considering, and tells you when each needs something. No “apply everywhere just in case”.
| Option | Why we’re considering it | Entry year | Next date | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local high school | Close to home, friends going | Year 7 | Enrolment in Year 6 | No action yet |
| Independent school | Strong music program | Year 7 | The school’s own date | Coming up |
| Selective high school | Loves maths, finds class easy | Year 7 | Applications from Term 4 of Year 5 | Worth exploring |
Important moments across the primary years
Shown for New South Wales. Change where you live above and this changes too.
Year 1
- Settling in, routines
- Reports and interviews
Year 2
- Growing confidence and independence
Year 3
- NAPLAN (March)
- Interests and strengths clearer
- Opportunity Class applications open (Term 4)
Year 4
- More independence
- Opportunity Class test (May)
Year 5
- NAPLAN (March)
- Secondary open days
- Selective high school applications open (Term 4)
Year 6
- Year 7 enrolment
- Orientation
- Year 7 Expression of Interest (Term 1)
Moving interstate, or new to Australian schools?
States and territories run things differently. We translate the new system for you, and don’t assume you already know it.
- Names of programs and year levels
- Gifted and high-ability programs
- Selective schools, and when you apply
- When secondary school applications happen
- School zones, and how support is arranged
What EduTrail does with all this
See what EduTrail can uncover for your learner
Tell us their year, where you live and what they enjoy. We sort what matters now from what can wait, and bring things forward before you need to act.
- Their year at school
- Where you live
- What they enjoy and are good at
Free. Nothing is shared with a school.
Ava
Year 3 · NSW · Enjoys maths, science and making things
Year 3 NAPLAN
What it tells you, and what it doesn’t.
Opportunity Class decision
Applications for Year 5 entry open around November and close in February. Worth a look, given how much Ava enjoys maths.
Does Ava need more challenge?
Questions to ask the teacher about extension and working above year level.
Secondary school options
We’ll bring the choices and important dates forward before you need to act.
Common questions
In Years 3 and 5, in March. Years 7 and 9 sit it in secondary school. It’s one source of information about reading, writing and numeracy, alongside reports and what the teacher sees.
Start with the teacher. Ask what they see, whether the work can go deeper in class, and whether moving ahead in one subject could fit. Some states also run high-ability programs; pick your state above to see yours.
Talk with the teacher first: what they’ve noticed, and what’s already in place. Schools must make reasonable changes so a learner with disability can take part on the same basis as everyone else.
Some states run them, and they work differently in each. Others leave it to each school. Many schools also extend learners within their class.
In many schools, yes, in one subject or across the board. It’s a decision the school makes with you. Ask what it would involve, and how it would be reviewed.
For many families, Year 6 is enough. Start earlier only if an option you’re considering has early applications, tests or auditions.
Some secondary schools test for scholarships in Year 5 or 6, so ask the schools you’re considering. Help with costs like camps, uniforms and devices also exists, and differs by state.
Program names, selective entry and secondary application dates can all be different. Starting ages differ too, so your learner may be placed in a different year from where they were. Talk with the new school.
How they’re going against what’s expected this year. What they’re good at. What they find hard. How you can help at home. Anything the teacher thinks you should know.
From your learner’s year, where you live, and anything you tell us about their interests and needs. We use official sources and show when we last checked them. Tell us something isn’t for you and we stop showing it.
You don’t have to keep track of all this yourself.
Tell us about your learner. We’ll show what fits, keep quiet about what doesn’t, and let you know when something needs you.