Hon Erica Stanford
Minister of Education

Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.

“Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To achieve our goal of getting 80 per cent of our kids to curriculum by the time they get to high school, we need to be relentlessly focused on teaching the basics brilliantly at school.

“We are ensuring more kids who need extra support, get it. 145 English and Māori medium schools across the country have been identified to take part in the $3 million intensive trial which aims to bring 3000 Year 7 and 8 students up to the required curriculum level in maths,” Ms Stanford says.

The 12-week trial will take place in Term 1 and 2 and involve small group tutoring and supervised online tuition for 30 minutes, up to four times a week for each child.

Schools participating will receive funding for staff involved based on the number of children taking part. It will be used to pay for staffing as well as cover costs associated with an AI tutoring tool. An evaluation of the trial will inform how to scale it up nationwide by next year.

“Every year 65,000 young New Zealanders start school, we must ensure they’re getting off to the very best possible start. That’s why primary school students will now benefit from explicit teaching through structured mathematics and a clear, detailed and knowledge-rich curriculum based on the science of learning.

“We are laser focused on lifting student achievement and closing the equity gap in our education system so all children are equipped with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future,” Ms Stanford says.

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