Live sessions built around how 6-year-olds actually learn — through games, stories and hands-on problems. Australian Curriculum-aligned, with a real tutor every session.
Year 1 is a big shift. Kindy was largely about play and social skills — Year 1 is when formal academic learning really starts. Most 6-year-olds are still developing the attention and fine motor skills to sit and write, while simultaneously being asked to decode phonics, count to 120, and write sentences with capital letters and full stops. That's a lot to juggle at once.
Some kids take to it immediately. Others need more time, more repetition, or a different angle before things click. If your Year 1 child is avoiding reading, freezing at number questions, or saying "I can't do it" before they've even started — that's worth paying attention to. It doesn't mean they're behind. It often just means the content hasn't been presented in a way that makes sense to them yet.
Year 1 tutoring at Merit is designed around how young children learn best: through short, active tasks, immediate feedback, and plenty of repetition built into something that feels like a game rather than a test.
The Australian Curriculum Year 1 maths strand covers a lot of ground — much more than most parents expect. It's not just counting. Students are working on number sense, early algebra thinking, measurement, geometry and data all at once.
In Merit's live Year 1 sessions, students often play Balloon Pop to build number recognition and addition speed — each correct answer pops a balloon on screen, and the competitive element gets kids leaning forward to think faster. The game is simple by design. At this age, the goal is rapid retrieval of basic facts so that harder concepts have something to build on.
English in Year 1 is dominated by phonics and early reading — which makes sense, because a child who can't decode words confidently will struggle with every other subject that involves reading. But there's also a lot of grammar, writing and comprehension work happening alongside phonics.
Year 1 students at Merit use Word Hunt to reinforce phonics and sight words — they search for words matching a sound pattern, which builds both decoding skill and reading speed. The structure keeps kids moving rather than sitting still and staring at a page. That matters more than most people realise at this age.
"I like going to Merit Tutoring because the lessons are fun and not boring. They are nice and make it easy to learn things I don't understand at school."— Samraat, Year 1 student
Wondering whether your Year 1 child is where they should be? The free trial session includes a quick assessment — we'll show you exactly what they can do and where there are gaps.
Merit uses a three-phase approach called Play. Build. Grow. — and at Year 1, the Play phase is where most of the magic happens.
Play is the live 60-minute session. Your child joins a small group (max 5 students, not Zoom — Merit's own platform) with a real tutor leading the class. At Year 1, sessions are deliberately fast-paced and varied: a few minutes on phonics, a game to reinforce maths facts, some whiteboard work with the tutor, a short comprehension activity. Short bursts. Lots of switching. Because that's how 6-year-olds stay engaged.
Build is the homework side. After each session, students unlock practice challenges on Merit's platform — not worksheets, but levelled tasks where completing one opens the next. At Year 1 level, these are short and visual, designed to be completed with a parent nearby rather than independently.
Grow is what you see as a parent. Weekly updates tell you which topics were covered, what your child found difficult, and how they're tracking. You're not left guessing.
Tutors are university students studying Education or qualified classroom teachers — all WWCC-verified. They're matched to year levels where they genuinely know the content.
Year 1 tutoring at Merit covers both Maths and English — you don't pay separately for each subject.
$29/week
Max 5 students. Live tutor. Australian Curriculum-aligned. Billed fortnightly, no lock-in.
$59/week
Your child, one tutor, full session. Good for students who need more individual attention or have specific gaps to close.
The free trial is a full 60-minute session — same format as a regular class. Full pricing details here.
Not every Year 1 child needs a tutor — but it's worth considering if your child is showing frustration with reading or maths, avoiding schoolwork, or losing confidence. Year 1 is when the academic foundations are being set. A small gap now can get bigger over time because both maths and reading are cumulative. If you're uncertain, the free trial session is a low-pressure way to see where your child actually is.
By the end of Year 1, most students are expected to read and write numbers to 120, understand tens and ones (place value), add and subtract within 20 using strategies like counting on and making 10, skip count by twos, fives and tens, and work with simple shapes and data. They're also developing early pattern recognition and equal sharing concepts. If your child is comfortable with most of these, they're tracking well.
The most effective thing you can do at home is read together every day — even 10–15 minutes. For phonics specifically, practise letter sounds and blends in short sessions rather than long drilling sessions. Point to words as you read them. Let your child guess what comes next in a familiar book. Sight words (high-frequency words like "they", "said", "have") benefit from repeated exposure in context rather than flash card drills alone. If reading is causing tears or your child is actively avoiding books, a tutor can help identify exactly which sounds or patterns are causing the block.
Yes — with the right setup. Year 1 students need sessions that are short, fast-paced and visually engaging, with a live tutor (not pre-recorded video) who can respond to them directly. Merit's Year 1 sessions are 60 minutes with frequent activity switches to match short attention spans. Most 6-year-olds adapt to the online format quickly, especially when there are games involved. You'll want to sit nearby for the first session or two while they get used to the platform.
A full 60-minute live session — we'll assess where your child is in maths and English, cover some real content, and you'll see exactly how Merit works before committing to anything.
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