11287 (2024). Rt Hon Chris Hipkins to the Prime Minister

11287 (2024). Rt Hon Chris Hipkins to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement “Well, I'll just say to you again, you know, what we've got is we will use consultants where we need to actually upskill teachers”, and if so, what will the yearly cost of these consultants be?

Rt Hon Christopher Luxon: Yes. For the structured literacy programmes to be offered from Term 3 2024, the forecasted annual external PLD provider costs per fiscal year are as follows. The scale of programme delivery beyond the 2026 school year (the 2026/27 financial year) is yet to be confirmed; as such, reliable projections are not able to be provided at this time. • 2024/25: $13,050,000 2025/26: $14,500,000 • 2026/27: $2,900,000 In addition, the Ministry also offers upskilling for teachers in structured literacy via the Better Start Literacy Approach (BSLA) programme, through the University of Canterbury. The Ministry is unable to provide a breakdown of structured literacy PLD costs for BSLA by calendar year. The agreement with BSLA crosses over calendar years, meaning the information held is that of a “whole of life value” that ranges from 2021 to March 2026. The “whole of life value” for the contract with BSLA totals to $19,246,986.95 (excl. GST). This is for professional development to meet or exceed a total of 750 literacy specialists and 4500 teachers by December 2025.