Maths
At our school we think it is important that children are confident with different skills in Maths. In order to do this we ensure children work on a skill for an extended period of time and master all skills. We offer all children opportunities to master these skills through a variety of challenges and problems, helping to develop their reasoning skills.
At our school we want our children to help lead their Maths learning. By providing the children with the opportunity to tell us what they want to learn about and to support them with new learning, we start Maths topics with our prior assessment opportunities. This gives our children opportunities to show us and their peers what they know, as well as what they want to find out. This means staff plan and implement exciting and meaningful Maths sessions which help to move children's learning forward.
We are always looking for ways to make Maths exciting. One way we do this at our school is by providing links to our current topics. We want children to see Maths as a vital and integral part of everyday life and by learning about Maths through links with our topics helps children develop their Maths skills outside of Maths lessons.
Our children are encouraged to learn through a variety of practical and problem-solving approaches in number, shape, space, measure and handling data. Children are developing a wide range of mental and oral approaches to all aspects of Maths and are encouraged to apply this across the curriculum, in real-life situations and also for fun.
Maths Policies
Please click to read our Maths policy
KIRFs - Key Instant Recall Facts
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KIRFs (Key Instant Recall Facts) are designed to support the development of the mental fluency skills that underpin much of the mathematics curriculum. They are particularly useful when calculating, be it adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing.
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Each year group is allocated up to six facts to focus on throughout the year, in line with the National Curriculum and age-related expectations. Time is to be dedicated at least 3 times each week, possibly in smaller, regular bursts, as well as at home, to ensure that the KIRF is practiced and learnt so that children grow in confidence to recall their facts instantly.
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Please ensure you include the KIRF in your Maths Medium Term Plan.
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Instant recall of facts helps enormously with mental agility in mathematics; when children move onto written calculations and abstract methods, knowing these key facts is crucial. For children to become more efficient in recalling them easily, they need to be practised frequently and in short bursts.
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Each half term, children will be assessed on their year group’s KIRF. Teachers will track when pupils achieve their KIRF and pupils who do not achieve will continue to develop the skill in intervention time.
For further information please click here
KIRF Help Sheets for Parents
