New Maths, English & Science Resources Boost NZ Student Achievement and Engagement

The Government is rolling out new Maths, English, and Science resources and initiatives, helping raise student achievement and sparking discovery in primary classrooms with brand-new science kits, Education Minister Erica Stanford announced.

We’re committed to helping young people who are behind to accelerate and to ensuring they have the foundations to set them up for the next steps in their learning journey, Ms Stanford says.

New resources now available include: A new teacher-facilitated writing tool for Year 6 to 10 students a year or more behind Maths resources for Year 9 and 10 students New science kits for primary school classrooms Today’s Maths and English package will help ensure children are ready when they finish primary school, along with supporting students currently in their early years of secondary school.

From next week, through our Make it Write action plan, Year 6 to 10 students who are a year or more behind are set to benefit from the new Writing Acceleration Tool.

Scribo is a teacher-facilitated 14-week tutoring programme that will provide targeted support for each student’s learning needs.

The writing tool will help close literacy gaps and strengthen students’ writing, spelling, and grammar. It is curriculum aligned and designed to reflect New Zealand context and culture.

We have been able to extend the programme to Year 10, which was initially announced for Years 6 to 8. There will be 120,000 student licences available to all state and state-integrated schools. Resources and strong support will be available for teachers alongside the release.

New curriculum-aligned digital maths resources are also being provided for Year 9 and 10 students, alongside professional learning and development, following feedback from secondary schools. This is a continuation of the maths supports we have provided to every primary school across the country, now rolling up to Years 9 and 10.

The new digital resources for Years 9 and 10 will include digital textbooks and workbooks guidance for teachers. Over the next three years, the resources are expected to benefit around 140,000 students each year, supporting 6,000 teachers.

Teachers can choose the extent to which they use the resources, whether in full, or for supplementing existing resources that are working for them. There will also be professional learning development provided.

Ms Stanford says a major milestone has also been reached in delivering Budget 2025 investments to strengthen science in primary and intermediate schools.

New science kits are now rolling out across schools. These will be hands on and curriculum aligned, supporting teachers with bringing science to life in classrooms.

We’re focused on ensuring every child is inspired and engaged with their learning. The new kits will support strong science from an early age and support teachers to deliver practical, interactive lessons.

Science is such a fun and interesting part of school for so many young people, full of discovery and experimentation. These kits will provide another great dynamic element to lessons that helps spark interest and knowledge that can lead into new pathways in the future. This will help provide a great introduction to STEM subjects, an in-demand area with high-value jobs.

Through the Government’s investment of $40 million, science kit provision is set to have full national coverage by early 2027, to align with the implementation of the new science curriculum.

This is a Government that has put more resources into the hands of students to help raise achievement and close the equity gap, through careful financial management and prioritisation.

Our children and teachers deserve the resources and supports to set them up for success. We’re committed to increasing the number of students to the expected level and to growing potential – our investment today is about fixing the basics, and teaching the basics brilliantly.

Notes to editor: The initiatives support the Government’s target of 80 percent of Year 8 students at, or above, the expected curriculum level for their age in reading, writing and maths by December 2030. The Curriculum Insights and Progress Study 2024 showed that: For writing, 24 percent of Year 8 students were at the expected curriculum benchmark.

For maths, 23 per cent of Year 8 students were at the curriculum benchmark The Writing Acceleration tool has been made available in response to results released last year from the Curriculum Insights and Progress Study.

Scribo is used internationally by leading school systems across Australia, South-East Asia, the USA and the Middle East.

The Government has also funded 349 literacy intervention teachers for primary schools and 143 maths intervention teachers through Budget 2025’s learning support investment package.

The maths resources are being provided by Education Perfect, a local Kiwi company.

In Maths, through Budget 25, maths intervention teachers will also be providing a new 12-week Maths Acceleration Programme for Years 3 to 6. This will facilitate small-group sessions as an addition to the regular classroom programme. More than 800 schools will be using the programme in 2026, with almost 140 additional full-time equivalent teachers already funded.

The maths resources into schools programme for Years 0 to 8 has delivered more than one million maths books.

Science kits will be developed and provided by House of Science, a reputable local provider. Training and ongoing support will be available for teachers.

720 schools have already registered for a science kit, ahead of the curriculum. There will be, on average, two kits per year level at any one time. The kits will be taken after a period of time and replaced with a brand-new kit.

As part of this initiative, an entirely new suite of science kits is in development for Māori‑medium education, with purpose‑built resources for and settings that align with Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, the Māori curriculum.