Kickstarting kids' reading levels

FUN: Ititau Mare (left), and Ititau Punua, 3, taking part in the Reading is Power programme for Pacifica children. PHOTO/BEN FRASER

Rotorua has been picked to trial a new Pacifica programme and will be used as a model for other provinces following its success.

Pacifica Power Up is a core component of the implementation of the Ministry of Education's Pacifica Education Plan and has previously only been delivered in main city centres.

The programme focuses on the health, education, and economic and social wellbeing of Pacifica people in the region and is being delivered by the Rotorua Pacific Island Development Charitable Trust.

The initiatives encourage family involvement in a child's education to better support success in the New Zealand education system. Reading is Power is the first of several new initiatives to be rolled out under the new programme.

Rotorua Power Up project manager Sylvia Tapuke said the three-week reading "boot camp" encouraged primary and intermediate school children to read outside school hours.

"The free sessions take a holistic approach to reading, incorporating games, food, music and prayer into the children's reading time.

"Often during the school break children are reading very little, if at all, and as a result they come back to school on the back foot and need to catch up. This crash-course allows them to ease into the new school year and get back to the reading level they were at before school finished."

Ms Tapuke said the programme was designed to address low education achievement levels of Pacific Island children.

"Being the first place outside the main cities to trial the Power Up programmes, we will ultimately be used as a model for other provinces.

"Areas outside the cities like Auckland have a much lower number of Pacifica people but they are more isolated and still experience the same problems."

She said Reading is Power was just the start of a long line of education-based initiatives.

"Probably the most important of the initiatives is the Pacifica Power Up for NCEA. It's an eight-week course which helps secondary students feel more confident entering their NCEA exams.

"The end goal is making sure families in the Pacific community understand the New Zealand education system and what is needed to get qualifications."