52506 (2024). Hon Jan Tinetti to the Minister of Education

52506 (2024). Hon Jan Tinetti to the Minister of Education: Does the Minister agree with the President of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation, Leanne Otene, who said “Schools that favour the structured approaches say they cannot implement both a new English and a new Maths curriculum by the start of 2025”; if not, why not?

Hon Erica Stanford: I agree that if a primary school does not currently use either structured literacy or maths approaches then the change that is being asked of them from next year to deliver better educational outcomes for children may be challenging. However, the results of the latest Curriculum Insights and Progress data revealed that the issues in maths student achievement are more serious than expected, making it imperative to accelerate the use of the refreshed maths learning area and pāngarau wāhanga ako. It is unfortunate that the previous Government, when provided with the evidence of student achievement decreasing in maths, did not act with urgency in response. Like maths and pāngarau, literacy and te reo matatini are fundamental as they are applied across all areas of learning. It is critical that we meet the needs of our students in these areas without delay. As this change will impact some schools and kura more than others, the Government and Ministry of Education is providing significant support for the changes. This includes: • pushing out the timelines for the new science and technology curricula for use and feedback until Term 3, 2025; and • investing $20 million in new resources for mathematics including detailed teacher guides and student workbooks, and professional learning and development; and • Investing $70 Million into the roll out of structured literacy focussing on providing training for Year 0-3 teachers this year who have not used structured literacy before; and • expanding the Curriculum Advisory Service. Schools will be at different points of readiness, but we are asking them to make a start. We do not expect it to be perfect on day one of Term 1. I encourage principals and schools to use the next four months to begin to prepare for the changes that are being introduced next year. A full implementation plan will be released by the Ministry by the end of this term and the Ministry will be providing wraparound support to schools that need additional help. In addition, I note that the changes to the curriculum that are currently being consulted on with the sector better support teachers by providing increased clarity as to what students should be learning at each year level.