Years 2–3
Foundation Learning
English and Maths for the years before exam preparation begins — building the ground everything later is built on.
Led by Anushka, working to the same teaching approach Shalaka sets for everything at Blossoming Mind. Anushka has assisted with large groups here as a Teaching Assistant and has held a taught at North Finchley Tutors for the past two years, where she still works.
What we work on
English
Reading fluency and comprehension, sentence construction, spelling patterns and handwriting. Enough grammar to write clearly — not grammar as a subject in its own right.
Maths
Number confidence, times tables to automaticity, place value, and the four operations understood rather than memorised. Word problems introduced once the arithmetic underneath is secure.
Habits that carry
Sitting down to work without a fight, checking an answer, having a go at something hard. These matter more at this age than any single topic and are far harder to install later.
Confidence first
A child who has decided they are bad at Maths will not learn Maths. Early sessions often do as much work on that belief as on the content.
Not early 11+ preparation
We don’t start entrance-exam coaching in Year 2. Children of this age get further with strong reading, secure number and the habit of working carefully than with practice papers aimed at children three years older.
Done properly, this is what makes the 11+ years straightforward when they come. When your child is ready for that, it’s Shalaka’s work they move on to.
Start in Years 2 or 3
Tell us your child’s year group and what you’d like them to be more confident with.