However, Minister of Education Erica Stanford said the aim was to create consistency across the country, and the Government would ensure that came with the required resources.
Recent data showed that just 45% of NCEA students achieved the co-requisite standard for numeracy, she said.
Further data from the Curriculum Insights and Progress Study (CIPS) showed just 22% of Year 8 students in New Zealand were at the expected curriculum benchmark for mathematics.
But Tai Tokerau Principals’ Association president Brendon Morrissey said Stanford was “putting the cart before the horse”.
“First they need to help rectify and remedy nationwide staffing shortages so schools have adequate staffing,” he said.
Morrissey believed the changes were well-intentioned but said structured literacy was not a new concept and the speed of change was unsustainable.
“If the Government really wants an improvement in results, then give us a chance to get that for them, and the best chance is to have adequate levels of staffing.”
He said principals felt as though the changes were being forced upon them rather than a much-preferred collaborative approach.
“A one-size-fits-all approach is not going to be good enough for the whole country.”
Different regions have different needs, he said.
Equally frustrated was Hora Hora Primary School principal Pat Newman.
“What we’re being asked to do is way past the realms of what any reasonable person would be expected to do.”
Hora Hora Primary School principal Pat Newman. Photo / Michael Cunningham
That included running a classroom, dealing with a range of children many of whom need extra learning support but have no access to it, and now bringing in two new curricula.
“I’ve just said we will introduce it when we can. If they want to take us to jail, they can but there’s no one to replace us.
... unless they’re going to come out of their beehives with their perks and come and teach in our classrooms,” he added.
Whangārei Principals’ Association member and Whangārei Intermediate School principal Hayley Read said Northland was in a staffing crisis and a rollout of a new curriculum would only exacerbate the issue.
Principals across the region were teaching because of short staffing and she herself had recently hired three early childhood teachers to fill gaps.
Staffing challenges were ongoing as it was more difficult to find qualified teachers - specifically those from New Zealand.
The job was simply no longer an attractive one, she said.
“It’s such hard work and it’s getting harder and harder.”
She also questioned whether claims of a widespread crisis in numeracy and literacy aligned with the reality of Whangārei schools.
NZEI Te Riu Roa put out a release alongside the New Zealand Principals’ Federation that schools and their leaders were struggling with a lack of learning support.
“Adding implementation of two new major curriculum areas simultaneously would burn out already stressed teachers and move their focus from meeting the immediate needs of the children in front of them,” the release said.
It instead suggested a delay in the maths curriculum until 2026 or leaving it to school leaders’ judgment about which should be implemented in 2025.
Stanford said the Ministry of Education was currently preparing a full-implementation guide that would detail the provision of curriculum-aligned resources, workbooks, curriculum days and guides.
“By no means do we expect perfection on day one. Embedding a curriculum refresh, running professional development and responding to our sector feedback are things we will work on together over the coming years.
We will walk alongside school throughout this process so teachers can have confidence in the classroom.”
“I’m committed to continuing to work hand in hand with the sector so together so we can lift student achievement and close the equity gap in our education system.”
