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Grange Farm Primary School

Grange Farm Primary School

 

Mathematics

At Grange Farm, we value Maths as an integral part of our curriculum.  It is one of the foundations of learning both as a subject in itself and in playing a significant part of learning in other subjects and in preparation for life beyond school.

Maths is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries and across many cultures.  It provides the solution to some of history’s most intriguing questions and still poses fascinating questions that we are yet to solve.  It is essential to everyday live, critical to science, technology and engineering and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment.  It opens doors in children’s thinking that helps them to make links between and progress in other areas of the curriculum.

In following the National Curriculum, we aim to ensure that all children:

  • Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice in a variety of increasingly complex contexts over time, so that pupils are able to recall and apply their knowledge rapidly and accurately to problems
  • Reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language
  • Can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions

We value each of these three tenets as foundations of our curriculum throughout school: all three will feature within the curriculum for all age groups.  

We adhere to the National Curriculum expectation that a majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace.  However, we recognise our children as individuals who will each need personalised challenge at times.  Children who grasp concepts rapidly will be challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content.  Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material will be supported in consolidating their understanding, including through additional practice, securing firm foundations to base their future learning on before moving on.

Our vision for Maths is that it provides, for all pupils, a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.  As such, we aim to provide the children with a wide variety of mathematical experiences, both within and beyond the classroom, including: external competitions, internal times table contests, Number Day and Money Sense activities.

Key Instant Recall Facts (KIRFs)

As part of our commitment to ensuring all children develop strong mathematical foundations, we are excited to introduce a focus on Key Instant Recall Facts (KIRFs) this year.  These are specific facts that  child will be expected to learn and recall quickly, such as number bonds, times tables, or key measures.  Mastering these facts will support their confidence and success in a wide range of maths topics.

KIRFs are essential mathematical facts that children should know instantly, without hesitation.  They form the building blocks for many areas of maths and help children solve problems more efficiently. By practising these key facts, children will become more confident, fluent mathematicians.  Instant recall reduces the cognitive loads during problem solving, allowing children to focus on understanding and applying maths concepts more effectively.

In school, we will teach strategies to help children to learn their KIRFs and provide regular opportunities for practice and each half-term, your child will focus on one key fact or set of facts appropriate to their year group. These can be found on the whole school overview below.

We believe that working together will make a big difference to your child’s learning.  Practising KIRFs at home will help your child achieve instant recall and strengthen their confidence.  Simple, short bursts of practice – just 5 to 10 minutes a day – can have a huge impact. 

 

Some suggestions for practising KIRFs include:

  • Using flashcards to test quick recall
  • Playing online games or apps focussed on maths fluency e.g. ‘Hit the Button’
  • Incorporating KIRFS into everyday activities, such as asking quick-fire questions in the car or while cooking.
  • Displaying KIRFS in a visible place at home.  E.g. on the fridge to encourage regular review.

We have broken down some further practice suggestions into year groups for parents to access at home:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

overview.pdf