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Pre-school is early childhood education for children in the year or two before they start Kindergarten, usually from around the age of three or four. It is play-based and guided by the national Early Years Learning Framework rather than the NESA school syllabuses, so there are no formal subjects or assessments. The focus is on developing language, social skills, curiosity and independence through play, stories, music and group activities, with programs led by qualified early childhood teachers. In NSW, preschool is not compulsory and is delivered in many settings — community and private preschools, long day care centres, and a smaller number of preschools attached to public schools, mostly in rural and remote areas or serving Aboriginal communities. Attending preschool helps children settle more easily into the routines of formal school.

Kindergarten is the first year of formal schooling, known in the curriculum as Early Stage 1. Children usually start at age five, and enrolment is compulsory by the year a child turns six. Much of the learning still happens through structured play as children adjust to school routines, classrooms and working alongside others. The focus is on foundational literacy — learning letters, sounds and early reading and writing — and foundational numeracy, such as counting, number recognition and simple patterns. Students are introduced to the key learning areas, including English, Mathematics, Science and Technology, Creative Arts, and personal development and health. On entry, teachers assess each child's early literacy and numeracy to plan the support they need.

Stage 1 covers Years 1 and 2, when children build on their Kindergarten start. Reading and writing become more confident and independent, and students work with larger numbers, simple addition and subtraction, and early measurement. Learning is organised across the six primary key learning areas: English, Mathematics, Science and Technology, Human Society and Its Environment, Creative Arts, and Personal Development, Health and Physical Education. There is a strong continued emphasis on phonics and number fluency as the foundation for later years, while lessons still make room for play and hands-on activities alongside more structured classwork. By the end of Stage 1, students are expected to read and write simple texts and solve everyday number problems.

Stage 2 covers Years 3 and 4. Students consolidate their literacy and numeracy and apply them across a wider range of subjects studied in more depth. They read and write longer and more varied texts, work with multiplication and division, fractions and data, and take on short research and project tasks. The six key learning areas continue, with science, history, geography and the arts becoming more distinct. Year 3 is the first year students sit the national NAPLAN assessments in reading, writing, language conventions and numeracy. Students are encouraged to work more independently and to explain their thinking — the stage where the focus shifts from learning to read toward reading to learn.

Stage 3 covers Years 5 and 6, the final stage of primary school. Students take on more extended and independent work, including longer writing, multi-step problems and research projects across the key learning areas. They deepen their mathematics with fractions, decimals, percentages and basic geometry, and develop stronger comprehension and critical-thinking skills, with Year 5 students sitting NAPLAN again. Much of Stage 3 also prepares students for the move to high school by building organisation, study habits and independence. Many primary schools run transition activities and orientation days with their local high schools during Year 6.

Stage 4 covers Years 7 and 8, the first years of high school. Students move from a single classroom teacher to specialist teachers for each subject and rotate between rooms across the day. They study the full range of key learning areas, including English, Mathematics, Science, History and Geography, a language, technology subjects, the creative and performing arts, and Personal Development, Health and Physical Education. The work becomes more demanding, with a stronger focus on independent study, organisation and meeting deadlines. Some subjects are studied for only part of the year on a rotation, giving students a taste of different areas, and Year 7 students also sit NAPLAN.

Stage 5 covers Years 9 and 10. Students continue the core subjects — English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography and PDHPE — while choosing elective subjects that suit their interests, such as a language, commerce, a technology subject, music or visual arts. These choices begin to shape each student's pathway and build the foundation for senior study. The work is more demanding and increasingly assessment-based, helping students develop the independent study skills they will need in Years 11 and 12, and Year 9 students sit NAPLAN for the last time. Students who complete Year 10 may receive the Record of School Achievement (RoSA), a formal record of their results for those who leave school before the HSC.

Stage 6 covers Years 11 and 12, the senior years of school. Students study Preliminary courses in Year 11, then Higher School Certificate (HSC) courses in Year 12. They choose their own pattern of subjects from a wide range of courses, keeping English as the one compulsory subject, and may include vocational education and training (VET) courses or study at TAFE. Senior study places greater weight on formal assessment, examinations and independent learning, and completing the requirements leads to the award of the Higher School Certificate. For students seeking university entry, their HSC results contribute to an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), though many go on instead to TAFE, apprenticeships or work.