Education Minister Erica Stanford has set out her top six priorities in education and promised announcements in the coming weeks, saying “fundamental changes” were needed to improve achievement statistics.
”The reality that we face is quite stark, I can’t sugarcoat it.”
Stanford said her six priorities were a clearer curriculum, a focus on literacy and numeracy, especially at the early stage of schooling, more consistent assessment and achievement reporting, better teacher training, targeted support for students with additional needs and more use of data and evidence to drive improvements.
Stanford said work programmes in each of the priority areas would take place, with an announcement set for this week.
Many of the priorities announced today were included in the Government’s action plan until the end of June and Stanford said the first announcement would come later this week.
She said she also intended to work closely with Māori representatives to develop a Māori education work programme.
“Expectations for strengthened educational outcomes and achievement for tamariki and rangatahi Māori is a shared bottom line.”
She said the initial focus was on achievement, attendance and engagement.
Stanford pointed to the steps already taken, including the ban on cellphones in schools which began today, truancy measures and requiring schools to teach an hour of reading, writing and mathematics.
Education Minister Erica Stanford outlines her six education priorities at today's post-Cabinet press conference. Photo / Mark Mitchell
She said the Government had set an “ambitious target” to reach 80 per cent of Year 8 students at or above the expected curriculum level for their age in reading, writing and maths by December 2030.
“For parents, these priorities will give them confidence their children are receiving quality education that will set them up for future success in further study or employment.”
In response to the announcement, New Zealand Post Primary Teachers’ Association president Chris Abercrombie warned the priorities were “meaningless” if the teaching workforce wasn’t boosted.
“The Government can have all the education priorities in the world but they will be meaningless if schools don’t have enough teachers in the first place,” he said in a statement.
Abercrombie cited a staffing survey carried out in March that found 56 per cent of schools had teachers working in non-specialist areas because they could not find suitably qualified staff, the highest proportion in almost 30 years.
“Students need teachers who know their subject area inside out, are passionate about it and can stretch students’ knowledge and skills,” Abercrombie said.
“We need to get these foundations right before focusing on other priorities.”
Schools flouting cellphone ban to face ERO audits, PM warns
The ban on cellphones in schools was one of National’s election promises, along with its policy to require schools to teach at least one hour of maths, reading and writing each day.
The ban became mandatory from today, the start of term two.
Stanford said schools not complying with the ban would get a visit from the Education Review Office (ERO). She said schools would have different ways to enforce it and was confident the ban was working, claiming she’d received reports from librarians that more students were taking out books.
Asked about his former school Howick College not enforcing the now mandatory ban, Luxon chose to focus on how he thought it was a “fantastic policy”. He said schools that didn’t follow the ban would be audited by the ERO.
Luxon accuses previous Government of leaving Pharmac ‘fiscal cliffs’
The Prime Minister said the previous Government not allocating financial resources for Pharmac in the previous Budget was “irresponsible”. It comes after the current Government committed to $1.7 billion in new funding over the next four years.
Luxon was referencing how the last Budget hadn’t included new funding for Pharmac, which took into account increasing cost pressures. The Government, as many have in the past, has characterised such instances as “fiscal cliffs” in its attempt to accuse former Governments of not funding important programmes.
He was then asked whether he could guarantee his Budget would contain no fiscal cliffs. The PM was reluctant to answer at first, before confirming all programmes in his Budget would be fully funded for four years.
Luxon wouldn’t answer whether more funding would be in the Budget for new drugs to be funded by Pharmac, but said there would be more money for health in general.
He also wouldn’t discuss what the Government’s position was on the state of prescription co-payments. National campaigned on bringing the co-payment back after it had been dropped by the previous Government.
Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.
