Source: Radio New Zealand
The government will spend $131 million on improving students’ reading, writing and maths in this year’s budget, the Education Minister Erica Stanford says.
Stanford made the pre-Budget announcement alongside Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at Boulcott School in Lower Hutt on Monday.
They revealed 12 initiatives as part of the government’s “generational reforms” in primary and intermediate school education.
The new maths intiatives included:
- Maths hubs to improve teacher confidence and capability
- Hands-on maths resources and games for all Year 0-8 classrooms
- 36 additional Maths intervention teachers
- A new times table and division check at Year 5
The new literacy initiatives included:
- New writing workbooks for Year 4 and 5
- A digital writing tool for all Year 6-8 students
- New “decodable” books for older learners in Year 3-10
- A 12-week structured literacy programme for those who are struggling
- A new Year 2 Literacy Check, covering reading, comprehension, writing, spelling and basic punctuation (joining the existing Year 2 Maths Check)
- Guidance for teachers to improve the teaching of literacy, with supporting videos and resources.
There would also be a new reading action plan called Read to Succeed – joining the Make it Count maths plan and Write it Right writing plan.
The initiatives would contribute to the government’s target of seeing 80 percent of Year 8 students achieving the expected curriculum level for their age in reading, writing and maths by December 2030, Stanford said.
“Parents will have more information at each step of their child’s journey about how they are doing at school and students will be better set up for success when they enter high school.”
Stanford said the investments would “level the playing field, reducing costs for schools and backing evidence-led reforms”.
There were early signs the government’s education reforms were already working, she said.
The latest Curriculum Insights and Progress Study looked at student achievement in late 2025 – three terms into previous reforms – and the results “surpassed expectations”, she said.
“A statistically significant improvement of 5 percent in writing and 6 percent in mathematics for Year 6 students between 2024 and 2025 interrupts New Zealand’s long-term decline in achievement between Year 4 and Year 8 and will better set these students up for success at high school.”
But the early improvement in some areas needed to translate to more consistent improvements over time, with more students achieving and fewer needing additional support, Stanford said.
She said the government is delivering on its promise to continue investment in education reforms.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand