Back to School: How compulsory structured literacy and numeracy will look in class

School’s nearly back but for many the class will look very different with the rollout of the coalition Government’s structured literacy and numeracy. The push for a more focused, step-by-step approach is a welcome change for many, especially for children needing extra support. Kirsty Wynn reports.

For 6-year-old Margot Lay, structured literacy has been a game-changer.

About to start in Year 3 at Chelsea Primary School in the North Shore suburb of Chatswood, she has been taught to read and write using the same programme the coalition Government is rolling out in all schools this term.

Her big sister, Georgia Lay, 12, was also taught through structured literacy with Chelsea Primary School, like many others in New Zealand, already using the evidence-based process.

Charlotte and Ben Lay with children Georgia (Year 8) and Margot (Year 3). Photo / Alex Burton

However, parents Charlotte and Ben Lay said the programme’s structure had been particularly helpful for Margot who had undiagnosed vision problems in her early years.

“She had quite severe eyesight problems, which we picked up just before she started school, so at preschool she didn’t have any early word recognition,” Charlotte Lay said.

“She had fallen behind by school.”

Lay said the regular tests with structured literacy meant teachers could see what help was needed.

“The testing gave the teachers a solid footing on where she was, and they had a plan to help her,” she said.

“She was placed in a much smaller, focused reading group and received an extra hour of help.”

There was also clear and consistent reporting, Lay said.

“When you meet with the teachers, you have a solid framework for where your child is at,” she said. “It’s very transparent, and it helps you understand what needs to be done to support your child’s progress.”

Structured literacy teaches reading and writing by focusing on foundational skills such as phonics, phonemic awareness, and spelling in a step-by-step manner.

It is especially effective for struggling students because it provides clear and consistent instruction to build strong literacy skills.

Starting from this term all schools in New Zealand will be required to use structured literacy and numeracy from Years 1 to 8.

Schools will be provided teaching material, physical readers, marking schedules and other teaching tools from their choice of named structured learning providers. All new resources are government-funded.

However, there is concern the rushed rollout meant many would start the year without the required resources.

“At this stage, we still haven’t received what we need and there is a stack of information to go through and go through with teaching staff,” one Auckland principal said.

Another teacher agreed saying the list of resource providers was provided too late.

”The researching and choosing the physical provider of resources like the children’s readers was too rushed,” the teacher said.

“There were three or four providers, and the schools needed to decide quickly, with resources ordered to be ready for February.”

“There will be a lot of schools starting the year without the resources.”

But she said the return to structured learning was otherwise positive.

“It’s a very different approach to teaching – your child will learn to decode or read certain sounds in a particular order which is very explicit,” she said.

“The readers are very different, Each reader is based on sounds – the stories don’t have the depth they used to, but they are focused on words with a particular sound.”

The previous method of teaching was successful for some but structured literacy has been proven to catch those struggling – especially those with dyslexia, she said.

And the new numeracy curriculum focused on developing a deeper understanding of maths that goes beyond getting the right answers quickly.

“It encourages a more comprehensive approach, focusing on problem-solving and inquiry-based learning,” she said.

Principal Caroline Bush at Mission Heights Primary School in Flat Bush said teachers, pupils, and parents should expect a more structured and consistent approach that aligned with best practices already established in many schools.

“However, the focus should not be solely on compliance; rather, it should emphasise quality teaching and engagement to inspire learning.”

Bush was critical of the daily hours the government mandated for literacy and numeracy.

“For schools, political mandates like the “one-hour rule” can feel reductive when holistic approaches and integrated teaching are already working well.”

Structured literacy in practice:

Phonics Instruction: Students learn to connect sounds with letters or groups of letters. For example, teaching children that the letters “c,” “a” and “t” together make the word “cat” and that each letter makes a specific sound (“k”, “a” and “t”).

Spelling Rules: Structured literacy emphasizes teaching consistent spelling rules. For instance, the “i before e except after c” rule or teaching how to spell common vowel patterns like “ai” in “rain” or “ea” in “read”.

Silent Letters and decoding: Recognising that in Knight that the “k” is silent, so decode the remaining sounds: /n/ (n), /igh/ (long /i/ sound), /t/ (t), then blend the sounds to say “knight”.

The series

Monday: What structured literacy and numeracy means in the classroom

Tuesday: How to get the best deal on school uniforms

Wednesday: A parent’s guide to laptops, Chromebooks and other devices

Thursday: Packing a healthy lunch – that your kids will actually eat

Friday: Car, bus, bike, walking bus – the school transport dilemma

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