Foundational knowledge and skills in education refers to the essential knowledge, skills and behaviours that pupils must secure in order to access the curriculum and succeed in later learning.
The notion of building something from the ‘bottom up’ is a familiar one. We often hear of the importance of developing a sport from the ‘grass roots’ or of using the very freshest ingredients to create a meal. Indeed, who would not want to live in a house with firm, solid and dependable foundations?
Education is no different and this is a message that many colleagues in schools, of all phases, have been focused on for a long time. If we want to ensure that our pupils are truly ready for the next stage in their education and indeed for lifelong success, then we must ensure the foundations of learning are securely in place. We must build, as they say, from the ‘bottom up’.
According to Strong foundations in the first years of school, this means that by the end of Reception and Key Stage 1, pupils should have secure foundations in communication and language, early reading and writing, mathematics and executive functioning.
- communication and language skills - developing vocabulary, speaking and listening skills
- early reading skills - such as learning the phonic code and becoming a fluent reader
- early writing skills - such as transcription and composition
- early mathematics - developing number sense, subitising and early calculation
- executive functioning - enabling pupils to focus, remember, self-regulate and respond flexibly in learning
In addition, children need to develop secure personal, social and emotional skills such as building confidence, positive learning behaviours, self-regulation and relationships.
Where schools face the greatest challenges
Although the importance of foundational knowledge is widely recognised, ensuring it is consistently secured in practice remains a challenge.
For many schools, the challenge is ensuring that key foundational knowledge and skills are identified within curriculum planning; for others it is ensuring that pupils have sufficient time to focus on foundational learning and do not accelerate through the intended curriculum too quickly. In many cases, pupils are recognised as needing further support, but the specific gaps in their knowledge and skills are not always clearly identified and so intervention can lack precision
Sometimes, foundational learning is seen as an early years responsibility, rather than a whole-school priority,
The result is that pupils continue through the curriculum without securely establishing the knowledge they need.
How do schools identify and close gaps in foundational knowledge?
One of the biggest challenges for school leaders is identifying what pupils have not yet secured.
Key questions for leaders include:
To what extent does your curriculum planning (in every subject) explicitly identify the key foundational learning pupils will acquire, and when?
How are your staff trained and supported to recognise when there is a gap in a pupil’s foundational learning as well as identify precisely what that gap is?
What are the systems and processes, in your school, which allow for rapid and timely intervention so that pupils do not simply quickly catch up with their peers but, crucially, continue to ‘keep up’?
How foundational skills are developed across Early Years, Primary and Secondary
Early Years: building the foundations right from the start
Practitioners in early years are familiar with focusing on the three prime areas of personal, social and emotional Development (PSED), communication and language (CL), and physical development (PD). These form the basic foundations on which all other aspects of learning are built. If a child does not feel safe and belong, for example, they will not be in any position to take a risk in their learning. If they do not have the words to describe an event or a situation, they will not be able to speak in sentences, let alone write one!
As children’s learning and experience grows, they begin to acquire knowledge and skills which link to specific subjects. These might relate to reading, writing or mathematics. However, they might also link to core or ‘bedrock’ concepts from the wider curriculum. For example, the passing of time as a core concept of chronology in history. A sense of place and location in geography.
In Early Years, foundational learning is critical in establishing the building blocks for all future success.
What is established at this stage directly shapes how successfully pupils build knowledge in Key Stage 1 and beyond.
This requires a strong emphasis on vocabulary development, early phonics, number sense and early writing, embedded within everyday practice rather than delivered as isolated activities.
How HFL supports Early Years settings:
- Baby Training e-learning programme
- EYFS e-learning induction programme (full programme or individual modules)
- Foundations for phonics and early literacy development
- Foundations for counting and early maths understanding
- Essential writing for Early Years
Primary: securing and embedding knowledge
In primary education, the challenge is ensuring pupils secure and retain and grow their foundational knowledge across all subjects. This might involve assessing pupils’ foundational knowledge and skills, informally, before moving on in their learning and should not be left to colleagues in key stage 1 alone.
Key priorities are:
- developing reading fluency alongside comprehension
- securing writing through both transcription and composition
- embedding mathematical fluency and reasoning
- building knowledge across all foundation subjects through careful curriculum sequencing
As explored in our blog on foundational knowledge in the primary curriculum, the key issue is not what is covered, but what is securely learned before pupils move on.
How HFL supports primary schools:
Secondary: closing gaps and sustaining success
In secondary education, foundational gaps become critical, but not always immediately apparent. With more teachers and more subjects, schools have to take a planned and forensic approach to identifying these gaps before it impacts on the students' progress, behaviour and self-esteem'
The priority at this stage is to ensure that foundational skills are strong enough to support subject learning. This includes improving reading fluency, strengthening writing and embedding disciplinary literacy so that pupils can engage with subject-specific language and concepts.
How HFL supports secondary schools:
- KS3 and KS4 Reading Fluency programmes
- Fluent & Flexible Foundations (Year 7 Maths)
- Disciplinary literacy training across subjects
- Reading across the curriculum
- Subject reviews to identify core and foundational knowledge in subjects
HFL programmes to support foundational knowledge
HFL Education supports schools, settings and trusts to secure foundational knowledge through a combination of curriculum expertise, professional development and targeted programmes.
Rather than relying on isolated initiatives, this work focuses on ensuring that foundational learning is clearly defined, securely taught and embedded over time so that pupils can access and succeed across the curriculum.
The clear sequencing and subject knowledge support look really useful. I love the links to cognitive science. The links between year groups are great to potentially support growing SEND needs.
Zoe Hall, Mastery Specialist & Trust Maths Lead , Northampton Primary Academy Trust about ESSENTIALMATHS
I have …. witnessed 15 students from Year 7 improve their reading comprehension by an average of 2 years in the space of 8 weeks. It’s hard to believe without witnessing it, isn’t it?
Kelly Burke, second in department for English, Thomas Alleyne Academy, Stevenage about Reading Fluency KS3
Through HFL ESSENTIALWRITING, grammar content is mapped consistently throughout school and ensures coverage of the key aspects of writing. The texts are of high quality and the planning enables teachers to deliver excellent lessons.
Rachel Smith, Class Teacher and English Subject Leader, Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Ware about ESSENTIALWRITING
FAQs
-
Where foundational knowledge is secure, pupils are able to engage with new learning and build understanding cumulatively. Where it is not, gaps widen quickly and become more difficult to address. This is where misconceptions arise and frustration can set in.
In practice, this means that pupils who are not fluent readers can struggle to access subject content, while those with insecure writing or mathematical understanding are unable to demonstrate or apply what they know. Over time, this limits attainment and disproportionately affects disadvantaged pupils.
Securing foundational knowledge is therefore central, not supplementary to improving children’s outcomes.
-
No, and this is one of the most common misconceptions.
While foundational learning begins in the early years, it must be continually reinforced and developed across all phases.
Where gaps are not addressed early, they:
- become harder to close over time
- make catching-up increasingly difficult
- limit access to subject-specific knowledge.
- disproportionately impact, negatively, on disadvantaged learners.
- can lead to ‘masking’ which can display as poor behaviour and/or attendance
-
Pupils who begin with weaker prior knowledge are more at risk of falling behind if foundational skills are not secured early. These gaps widen over time, particularly if they are not identified and addressed precisely. Focusing on foundational knowledge is one of the most effective ways to improve equity and ensure all pupils can access learning.