- Hon Erica Stanford
The Government is turbocharging student achievement in maths by ensuring extra help is available at every stage of primary and intermediate schooling, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.
"Proficiency in maths is such an important foundation of success in life. Every child deserves the opportunity to be confident and capable in maths so they can reach their potential. Budget 2025 invests nearly $100 million over four years so children needing extra help with maths gets the early intervention and targeted support they need to succeed," she says.
"Four million dollars of that investment is going into the development and implementation of a new Maths Check for lower primary students.
"From next year, every child will have their maths ability checked in their first two years of schooling. The check will identify students who would benefit from additional support, early on in their schooling journey. Professional development and specialist support will be available to teachers to ensure the checks are used effectively.
"The first two years of school are critical for developing foundational maths skills. Support in that time can transform a child's learning journey. We've already successfully introduced this in literacy through the Phonics Check," Ms Stanford says.
"$56 million of the investment will fund the equivalent of 143 new full-time maths intervention teachers to provide targeted support to children in years 0-6 who are not achieving at curriculum level. This provides the same kind of additional staffing support as structured literacy approaches.
"This investment means more students will get the expert support they need, when they need it," Ms Stanford says.
"The remaining $40 million will fund targeted, small-group maths tutoring for up to 34,000 year 7-8 students each year from Term 1 2026. This programme will build on the current pilot to provide tutoring to students who are not yet at curriculum level.
"Ensuring students are prepared to enter secondary school with strong foundations in maths will support them to succeed in the co-requisite assessment, NCEA and life beyond school".
All of these initiatives will also be introduced in te reo Māori for students who are learning in a bilingual unit or kura Kaupapa so that students learning in te reo Māori have the same access to resources and support.
Budget 2025 builds on Teaching the Basics Brilliantly and the Make it Count maths action plan to transform the teaching and learning of maths in New Zealand.
- A clear and detailed, year-by-year and internationally comparable maths curriculum
- Approximately 830,000 maths books and resources distributed to schools
- Around 980 schools and over 15,000 teachers involved in maths professional learning and development
- 3,000 students already involved in a Year 7-8 maths trial to accelerate learning
"We want 80 per cent of Year 8 students achieving at or above curriculum expectations in reading, writing, and maths by 2030. This system-wide boost will ensure Kiwi kids have the knowledge, skills and competencies they need to reach their full potential," Ms Stanford says.
