Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, August 6, 2024
The coalition government has announced a series of education initiatives including the overhaul of the mathematics curriculum and improve school attendance and nutrition for students.
In response to the chronic crisis in maths education, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford have put forth an ambitious plan to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics, designed to set both students and New Zealand on a path to future success.
The recently published Curriculum Insights and Progress Study (CIPS) said that only 22% of Year Eight students in New Zealand were meeting the expected curriculum benchmark for mathematics. The statistics for Māori students indicated that just 12% reached the expected level. About 63% of the overall Year Eight cohort was more than a year behind.
“Last year, around 50,000 children in Year Eight did not meet the expected curriculum benchmark for maths. There is no way to describe those results as anything other than a total system failure,” Mr Luxon said.
Describing the figures as ‘appalling,’ he said that they would not surprise many parents who are frustrated and despondent about the progress of their children.
“Whether it is the curriculum, teacher training, or priorities within the education system, for years, we have not been setting children up for success and we are not setting New Zealand up for success,” he said.
The new Maths Curriculum
Ms Stanford said that the government is launching the first three components of ‘Make It Count’ – a comprehensive Maths Action Plan to be implemented next year.
“In line with our shift to structured literacy to change the way children learn to read and write, we will bring forward the rollout of a new structured maths curriculum for year 0-8 students a year earlier than planned. It is about getting the focus of our curriculum back to the basics,” she said.
From Term 1 next year, children will be learning maths based on a new world-leading, knowledge-rich curriculum adapted from successful models in Singapore and Australia. To support this change, the government will collaborate with a range of providers to introduce teacher guides and student workbooks in classrooms nationwide. The expectations for what children must learn each year will be set so that parents know exactly what their children will be learning.
The plan also includes a $20 million investment in professional development for teachers to ensure that they are equipped to teach the new curriculum.
The Teaching Council has agreed to lift the maths entry requirements for new teachers to at least NCEA Level 2.
From next year, there will be twice-yearly standardised assessments for maths in primary schools, and small group interventions for students who are significantly behind will be implemented.
Improving attendance
Associate Education Minister David Seymour said that the recent improvements in school attendance were a promising sign that educational reforms are being taken seriously.
“Almost every aspect of someone’s adult life will be defined by the education that they receive as a child. If we want better social outcomes, we need more students attending school and a curriculum that delivers,” he said.
He reported an encouraging start to term three, with attendance rates up from the last two weeks of term two, reaching an overall attendance rate of 83.9%.
But attendance on Fridays remained a problem.
“I encourage parents to think of the long-term impact of letting students skip Fridays, both in missed education and in setting good habits for future employment,” he said.
Mr Seymour praised the Auckland Central and East region for their attendance rate of 86.9% and emphasised the government’s target of ensuring that 80% of students are present for more than 90% of the term by 2030.
“To achieve this, I am saying to schools that they need to aspire to reach an average daily attendance rate above 94%,” he said.
The Government’s Attendance Action Plan, which includes the introduction of a traffic light system later in the year, aims to address the truancy crisis comprehensively.
“If the truancy crisis is not addressed, there will be an 80-year-long shadow of people who missed out on education when they were young, are less able to work, less able to participate in society, and more likely to be on benefits. That is how serious this is,” Mr Seymour said.
Boosting nutrition
Budget 2024 is providing $478 million in funding for the Healthy School Lunches programme for the 2025 and 2026 school years. This includes funding for food for up to 10,000 two-to five-year-olds in need in early childhood centres, which is outside of this procurement process.
The full redesign of the programme for future years will combine the commercial experience, data, and evidence gathered from this new provision model.
Mr Seymour is inviting food manufacturers, producers, wholesalers, and distributors to register their interest in the new and improved Healthy School Lunches programme.
“The Healthy School Lunches programme delivers lunches to over 240,000 children. It is a great opportunity for enterprises in the food industry to be a part of one of the biggest food programmes in the country,” he said.
From Term 1 2025, healthy lunches will be delivered to needy students in a smarter way that reduces cost, as well as surplus food and waste.
“The next step in the process is for enterprises with existing food infrastructures across communities to register their interest and pitch for being part of a more efficient Healthy School Lunches programme,” Mr Seymour said.
Registration of interest in the Healthy School Lunches Programme will be open on the Government Electronic Tender Service (GETS) website from Monday, 12 August 2024.
Mr Seymour said that the Ministry of Education and an expert advisory group consisting of commercial and not-for-profit experts in procurement, logistics and contracting, and child welfare and nutrition, have been working to realise this vision.
“We know that through improved practice we can deliver delicious lunches for the children for a lot less than what the previous Government spent on each meal. There has also been engagement with representatives from schools, kura, boards, and sector leaders. I acknowledge this is a very important project at this time due to the current cost of living and food insecurity, which impacts the most vulnerable children. I am excited for the market, not just because of the commercial opportunity in this challenging economic environment but because it supports some of New Zealand’s most vulnerable children,” he said.
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Hamilton.
