Key Stage 2 English covers much more than spelling and handwriting.
Throughout Years 3–6, children develop their skills across reading, writing, vocabulary, spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Reading
Children should increasingly read fluently and understand a broad range of texts.
As they progress, they learn to:
retrieve information
summarise
discuss vocabulary
make predictions
draw inferences
identify evidence
discuss how authors use language
By upper KS2, pupils should increasingly be able to read silently with good understanding and discuss what they have read. GOV.UK
Writing
Children learn to plan, draft and improve their writing.
They write for different purposes and audiences and increasingly organise their ideas using paragraphs and appropriate structures.
Editing becomes particularly important. Children should learn to reread their work and improve vocabulary, grammar, clarity and punctuation.
Spelling
KS2 introduces increasingly complex spelling patterns.
Children learn about prefixes, suffixes, homophones and word structure and develop strategies for checking unfamiliar spellings.
Grammar and punctuation
In Years 3 and 4, this includes areas such as conjunctions, fronted adverbials, apostrophes and direct speech.
Years 5 and 6 introduce increasingly sophisticated grammatical structures and punctuation including relative clauses, modal verbs, parenthesis, colons and semicolons. GOV.UK
English skills work together
These areas aren't separate.
Reading widely builds vocabulary. Better vocabulary supports writing. Understanding grammar helps children edit. Discussing books strengthens comprehension.
Rather than treating English as a checklist of isolated skills, helping children make these connections can support much deeper progress.