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The Year 1 Numeracy Check: What Australian Parents Need to Know
Australian schools are rolling out a Year 1 numeracy check. What it assesses, which states use it in 2026, and how parents can support early number skills.
Read the guideKey points
A short one-to-one numeracy check for Year 1 students is being introduced across Australian schools. It is a screening conversation, not a graded test.
It looks at early number sense: knowing numbers, understanding how numbers relate to one another, and simple operations such as combining quantities.
New South Wales and South Australia rolled it out to all public schools in 2026. Queensland started in 2026, and Victoria piloted the check in Term 3 2026 before making it mandatory in public primary schools.
The purpose is early identification. If your child is flagged, it means the school has spotted something early enough to act on it.
What is the Year 1 numeracy check?
The Year 1 numeracy check is a short screening assessment carried out by a classroom teacher with one child at a time. It is designed to find children whose early number skills are shaky, so that extra teaching can begin in the first years of school rather than after difficulties have compounded.
In New South Wales, the assessment is called the Year 1 Number Screening Check. It takes about 15 minutes, is administered individually by the classroom teacher, and covers three areas of number sense: number knowledge, which is recognising and using numbers; number relations, which is understanding how numbers connect to one another; and number operations, which is early arithmetic such as combining quantities [1].
The check is not new in principle. It follows the Year 1 phonics screening check, which several states already use to identify children who need more support with early reading.
Why is it being introduced now?
Development of an early years of schooling numeracy check is one of the National Enabling Initiatives under the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement 2025-2034, the funding agreement between the Commonwealth and the states [2]. Under that agreement Victoria, for example, committed to introduce an early years numeracy check by 2028, and has moved earlier [10].
The federal Education Minister, Jason Clare, has been explicit that the check is not an exam. He described it as "not a test; that's a 10-minute check to identify kids that might need additional help" [4].
The wider context is national concern about numeracy. In the 2026 NAPLAN results, average numeracy scores improved in Years 5, 7 and 9 compared with 2023 [5], while the average Year 3 numeracy score was the lowest since 2023 [6]. Early screening is part of the response to that pattern. If you want help making sense of your own child's NAPLAN report, see our guide on how to read your child's NAPLAN report (noooli.com/learn/how-to-read-your-childs-naplan-report).
Which states and sectors are using it in 2026?
Arrangements differ by state and by school sector, so the most reliable source is always your own school.
New South Wales. The Year 1 Number Screening Check was launched across NSW public schools from Term 2 2026, following a two-year trial involving more than 7,000 students [7]. All Year 1 students in NSW public schools take part, usually in Weeks 4 to 6 of Term 2 [1]. The Deputy Premier, Prue Car, said the check "helps teachers identify the students who need extra help early, ensuring they receive the right support immediately" [7].
South Australia. South Australia trialled a Year 1 numeracy check in 95 public schools in 2024 before introducing it in all public schools from 2026 [8]. It is conducted as a one-to-one conversation using an assessment kit with physical props such as coins and cards [8].
Queensland. The Queensland Government announced Year 1 phonics checks from 2025 and numeracy checks from 2026, with a relief scheme to backfill teachers while they carry out the assessments [9].
Victoria. Victoria committed $10.4 million to a Year 1 numeracy check in 2025 [10]. More than 400 Victorian schools piloted the check during Term 3 2026, and it becomes mandatory in all public primary schools from the following year, remaining optional for specialist schools [3].
Catholic and independent schools. Catholic education is piloting the national Year 1 numeracy check from 2026 [11]. Independent schools set their own approach, so ask your school directly.
Will I be told the result?
Reporting practices vary between states and schools. In New South Wales, responses are recorded against the state syllabus and the National Numeracy Learning Progression, and results are available to teachers through departmental planning tools to guide their teaching [1].
The practical point for families is that the check is an instrument for teachers. It is not reported the way NAPLAN is, and it does not place your child in a band or a level. If your child's teacher raises it with you, treat it as useful early information rather than a verdict.
What if my child is flagged for extra support?
Being identified is the point of the exercise. Children develop number skills at different rates, and a child who is behind in Year 1 is not fixed in place.
Ask the teacher three questions:
1. Which specific skills did the check highlight?
2. What is the school doing about it, and for how long?
3. What would help most at home?
Small-group teaching and targeted in-class support are common school responses. At home, the useful contribution is short, regular, low-pressure practice of the same skills.
How can I support early number skills at home?
Research by the Australian Education Research Organisation, using data from nearly 2,000 Australian children, found that skills present at school entry predicted Year 3 and Year 5 NAPLAN performance, and that the skills with the strongest links included recognising numbers 1 to 10 and counting to 20 [12]. Notably, the skills that mattered most were not the hardest ones [12].
The Australian Government's Mathematics Hub advises families that "travelling, shopping, cooking and making are all great times to talk about numbers, measurements, shapes", and encourages parents to ask children to count, compare and explain their thinking rather than focusing on speed or getting the right answer quickly [13].
Practical activities for a Year 1 child:
Count forwards and backwards from any starting number, not just from one.
Recognise small quantities without counting, such as the dots on a dice.
Use everyday objects to make and break apart numbers to 10, then to 20.
Compare quantities: which pile is bigger, and by how much.
Handle coins and talk about their values.
Play simple board games with a dice, which combine counting with number recognition.
Short written practice helps too. Our free printable maths worksheets (noooli.com/worksheets/maths) cover Kindergarten to Year 6 and include answers, with topic sets for place value (noooli.com/worksheets/maths/topic/place-value) and addition and subtraction (noooli.com/worksheets/maths/topic/addition-and-subtraction). To see what the curriculum expects at each year level, read Is my child on track? (noooli.com/learn/is-my-child-on-track).
How Noooli can help
Noooli provides short daily maths practice, about 10 minutes, for Kindergarten to Year 6, aligned to the Australian Curriculum. Parents can see their child's progress, which makes it easier to keep working on the skills a teacher has flagged. The free printable worksheets (noooli.com/worksheets/maths) include answer keys and need no sign-up.
References
1. NSW Department of Education, "Year 1 Number Screening Check", 2026, https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/literacy-and-numeracy/assessment-resources/year-1-number-screening-check
2. Australian Government Department of Education, "The Better and Fairer Schools Agreement (2025-2034)", 2025, https://www.education.gov.au/recurrent-funding-schools/national-school-reform-agreement/better-and-fairer-schools-agreement-20252034
3. Premier of Victoria, "No Student Left Behind In Literacy And Numeracy", 11 June 2026, https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/no-student-left-behind-literacy-and-numeracy
4. EducationHQ, "'Not a test': Ministers speed up Year 1 numeracy check rollout", 30 June 2025, https://educationhq.com/news/not-a-test-ministers-speed-up-year-1-numeracy-check-rollout-195819/
5. Ministers' Media Centre, "NAPLAN results show real improvement in numeracy, but more work to do", 2026, https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/naplan-results-show-real-improvement-numeracy-more-work-do
6. Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, "Latest NAPLAN data shows improvements in national numeracy levels alongside areas for continued attention", 5 August 2026, https://www.acara.edu.au/docs/default-source/media-releases/media-release-latest-naplan-data-shows-improvements-in-numeracy-levels-alongside-areas-for-continued-action-5-8-26.pdf
7. NSW Department of Education, "Year 1 Number Screening Check launched in NSW public schools", 25 March 2026, https://education.nsw.gov.au/news/latest-news/year-1-number-screening-check-launched-in-nsw-public-schools
8. South Australian Department for Education, "Year 1 numeracy checks to be introduced in all schools across South Australia", 19 November 2024, https://www.education.sa.gov.au/department/media-centre/our-news/year-1-numeracy-checks-to-be-introduced-in-all-schools-across-south-australia
9. Queensland Government, "Back to basics phonics and numeracy check to boost results", 17 July 2025, https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/103090
10. Premier of Victoria, "We're Backing Public Schools - And Making Maths Count", 22 May 2025, https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/were-backing-public-schools-and-making-maths-count
11. National Catholic Education Commission, "Catholic Education to pilot national Year 1 numeracy check from 2026", 2 July 2025, https://ncec.catholic.edu.au/media-centre/catholic-education-to-pilot-national-year-1-numeracy-check-from-2026/
12. Australian Education Research Organisation, "Skills for future literacy and numeracy learning: Research summary", 2023, https://www.edresearch.edu.au/summaries-explainers/research-summaries/skills-future-literacy-and-numeracy-learning-research-summary
13. Mathematics Hub, "Families", Education Services Australia for the Australian Government Department of Education, https://www.mathematicshub.edu.au/families/
Common questions
Is the Year 1 numeracy check a test my child can fail?
No. It is a short one-to-one check, not a graded test, and there is no pass mark reported to families. Teachers use it to find children who would benefit from extra help with early number skills, so that support can start in Year 1 rather than later.
How long does the Year 1 numeracy check take?
It is short. The NSW Year 1 Number Screening Check takes about 15 minutes per student and is administered individually by the classroom teacher. The federal Education Minister has described the national check as a 10-minute conversation to identify children who might need additional help.
Which states are using a Year 1 numeracy check in 2026?
New South Wales rolled the check out across all public schools from Term 2 2026, and South Australia introduced it statewide in 2026. Queensland began numeracy checks from 2026, and Victoria piloted its check in more than 400 schools in Term 3 2026 before making it mandatory.
