Instead of regular KIRF testing from Year 3, the children will be regularly tested on their times tables using paper quizzes from Times Tables Rockstars.
A separate letter about this with login details for your child will be sent home by your class teacher once they have had chance to explore the website with their class where children can play games to practise their times tables and boost their ‘rockstar’ status!
I like how you can earn coins for answering questions correctly, then buy new rock stuff, like guitars, clothes and rockstar hairdos! And we all LOVE it when we get to do Battle of the Bands!
There is also an app that can be downloaded for free and accessed using the login details provided on your letter. Please see class teachers if you have any problems and if they cannot help with a particular issue, please see Miss Thompson.
We have a few reasons why we are making these changes:
The recent curriculum and assessment changes explain how we should aim to keep pupils working on the same content for their appropriate year group whilst providing opportunities for children to apply their learning and problem solving in real life contexts to achieve a greater depth in their learning.
Regular KIRF testing dominated a lot of time in school which we wanted to free up to provide more directed intervention and further challenges based on work covered in lessons.
Times tables continues to be an area that holds pupils back, yet features in some way in most areas of the maths curriculum. By dedicating more time and energy on this key skill, we should have a much bigger impact on pupils’ confidence and ability in maths. Times tables actually feature in approximately 60% of GCSE papers too, which proves this is a skill that needs to be constantly practised in order to be properly retained.
A compulsory times table check began nationally for all Year 4 pupils from the 2019-20 academic year and continues to take place each year.
We have created a Number fluency and times tables progression document in the curriculum area which summarises what knowledge is taught and when based on progression of the Mastering Number programme and Numbots for Reception to Year 2; whilst Year 3 to Year 6 knowledge is based on the White Rose and Times Table Rockstars progression.
Children love Times Tables Rockstars!
Times Tables Rockstars makes times tables fun and helps you get better at your times tables...fast! The rock star status makes you feel like you have done really well and makes you want to improve.