The Government has announced $131 million to improve how reading, writing, and maths are taught in New Zealand primary and intermediate schools.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon revealed the spending plan ahead of Budget 2026, with Education Minister Erica Stanford saying it builds on changes already made to how core subjects are taught in Years 0–10.
Early data from a study carried out in late 2025 showed that Year 6 students made some progress in writing and maths after less than a year of the new approach. However, reading results did not improve at any year level. Stanford was careful to point out these are early signs only, and there is still a lot of work to do.
The biggest chunk of the funding, $43.5 million, will go towards training teachers and school leaders in more effective teaching methods. Writing support gets $38.7 million, which includes new workbooks for Year 4 and 5 students and free digital writing tools for more than 200,000 students in Years 6–8. Stanford noted that many schools had been paying for similar tools themselves, so providing them free is a real benefit.
Maths receives $29.7 million, including some exciting new initiatives. Three “Maths Hubs” will be trialled as centres of excellence where teachers can observe best practice and share ideas. Every Year 0–8 classroom in the country will also receive a hands-on maths equipment kit, helping more than 500,000 students across around 17,000 classrooms. A new times tables and division check will be introduced at Year 5.
The number of specialist maths intervention teachers will also increase from 143 to 179, giving more students extra support when they need it.
