How do KIRFs work?

We are using Key Instant Recall Facts, or KIRFs, to help your child improve their mental numeracy and fluency during the school day. KIRFs are a method for teaching your children important knowledge and facts that they should be able to recall instantly by heart.

The goal of KIRFs is to aid in the development of mental maths abilities, which are the foundation of a large portion of connected maths areas and systems. When calculating, adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing, they are especially helpful. They include mathematical information that children must constantly exercise and rehearse in order to remember them precisely and swiftly, including number bonds and times tables.

KIRFs in the classroom

In KS1, our children embed early addition and subtraction structures through the Mastering Number programme (NCETM). With a link to the popular CBeebies show 'Number Blocks', the children use a range of tools to support number sense and recall. 

In Year 2, a focus turns to multiplication and division. Alongside the development of the children's conceptual understanding, the children are taught a range of strategies to enable them to recall multiplication and division facts at an ever-increasing pace. 

In KS2, the children continue to develop their multiplication and division recall. By the end of Year 4, all children are taught times tables to 12 with a focus on recognition and recall. This is developed and maintained with access to the Times Tables Rock Stars platform, where children work on specific fact recall to earn coins and a rock status.

In addition, our children continue to develop fact-recall of addition and subtraction through games and starter activities in lessons.