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- By Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister and MP for Botany
As your kids head back to school for the 2026 year, they’ll be better prepared than they’ve ever been under National.
When we came into Government, the education system was not delivering for too many young New Zealanders.
More than half of students were not attending school regularly, around 80 per cent of 13-year-olds were behind in maths, and around half were below where they needed to be in reading.
We’ve been busy. We’ve banned mobile phones in classrooms, mandated an hour a day of reading, writing and maths, introduced a more structured approach to teaching literacy and numeracy, and banned open-plan classrooms that distracted students and teachers.
Parents deserve to know how their kids are progressing at school. That’s why we’re rolling out a nationally consistent approach to reporting student progress, with regular assessments and clearer, more detailed reporting in reading, writing and maths for primary and intermediate students.
We’re also expanding support for students who need extra help. This year, more than 100,000 year 1-8 students across 474 schools will benefit from learning support coordinators ready to help students who need it.
Literacy intervention teachers will be placed in 1,248 schools and maths intervention teachers in 812 schools, to help children who need more support.
These changes are delivering results. Our relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly has seen 56 per cent of new entrants now meeting or exceeding expectations in phonics, up from 36 per cent, and 79 per cent of teachers report improved student focus on schoolwork since the mobile phone ban.
We’ve put ambition and achievement back at the heart of our education system, so Kiwi kids are set up for success. It’s all about fixing the basics and building the future.
