Which numbers can children count by?

2s, 3s, 5s and 10s, or Mixed for a different step on every row.

Do the patterns always start at zero?

No. They start at different multiples, so children have to find the step from the numbers they can see.

Why practise skip counting?

It is the start of multiplication: counting by 5s is the 5 times table.

Why does Year 2 count in 3s when the 3 times table comes later?

The curriculum guidance links counting in 3s to understanding a third, which is also taught in Year 2. The 3 times table itself is a Year 3 requirement, along with the 4s and 8s.

Skip Counting Worksheets: Count by 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s

From counting to times tables

Skip counting builds the patterns children later need for multiplication and division. When it is fluent, move on to the multiplication worksheets.

Curriculum links in England

Year 1Children count in multiples of 2, 5 and 10.
Year 2Counting goes up in steps of 2, 3 and 5 from 0, and in 10s from any number, forwards and backwards.
Year 3Multiples of 4, 8, 50 and 100 are added.
Year 4Multiples of 6, 7, 9, 25 and 1,000 follow.

Counting in steps is the national curriculum’s route into the times tables: the 2s, 5s and 10s become tables to recall in Year 2, and the guidance notes that counting in 3s helps children understand a third.

The Year 2 statement includes counting in 10s from any number, such as 23, 33, 43. These sheets start on multiples of the step, so practise the “any number” version aloud as well. The maker doesn’t do 4s, 8s or 50s, so for Year 3 and Year 4 steps use the times tables sheets.

Summarised in our own words from the National Curriculum in England: mathematics programmes of study (DfE).