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Funding contribution for structured literacy and te reo matatini resources

19 September, 2024

To help raise student progress and reduce the equity gap we are introducing a knowledge-rich, clear, and sequenced curriculum, as well as delivering professional learning and development in structured literacy approaches.

As part of supporting schools and kura to implement structured literacy and te reo matatini approaches the Ministry of Education is providing a contribution towards purchasing resources for structured approaches to literacy and te reo matatini.

  • Every school and kura with students in Year 0-3 will receive a minimum of $500, with any additional funding on top of this based on Year 0 – 3 roll numbers at 1 July.
  • Schools and kura will receive the first contribution alongside their 1 October (quarter three) operational grant this year.
  • Funding will be allocated every year for the next four years, adjusted according to the 1 July roll.

 

How to use the funding

The funding contribution is intended for resources for students, teachers and kaiako to use, and can include:

  • Decodable student books (if you school does not want to use the free Ready to Ready Phonics Plus or Ngā Kete Kōrero reading series),
  • Rich language picture books that promote vocabulary development and comprehension skills,
  • Manipulatives (such as letter tiles, magnetic letters, and letter flashcards), and games (both digital and hard pack) that support students to practise literacy skills.

Schools and kura do not have to spend all the money in one year. It can be carried across multiple years. The funding is only intended for resources that support structured literacy and te reo matatini approaches.

Schools and kura might want to discuss appropriate resources with their structured literacy or te reo matatini PLD provider. Schools and kura are able to purchase resources from any provider of resources that align with structured literacy and te reo matatini approaches. Schools and kura may also want to wait until they have completed their PLD for teachers of Years 0 – 3 before deciding what resources to purchase.

The funding cannot be used for staffing, e.g. teacher aide hours, librarian hours, teacher hours or salaries.

 

Thinking about what to buy

Quality resources support explicit teaching of the aspects of a structured literacy approach. These are:

  • Oral language
  • Vocabulary
  • Phonemic awareness
  • Systematic synthetic phonics teaching and knowledge
  • Fluency
  • Handwriting
  • Comprehension
  • Syntax
  • Study of text structure.

If schools or kura choose to spend this allocation on decodable books, look for publications that:

  • Follow a clear scope and sequence
  • Have clear fonts that are easy to read
  • Increase in complexity (for example early readers contain only one sentence to a page, with the series increasing the amount of words and sentence complexity)
  • Include correct grammar and punctuation, and are error free
  • Provide multiple opportunities for students to practice the target phoneme grapheme correspondences
  • Are limited in their use of words with irregular pronunciation of spelling patterns that have not yet been taught e.g. is, the, said. (These are acceptable in decodable readers so long as they are limited in number.)

Schools and kura can purchase supporting resources, including letter cards and games. High quality supporting resources will:

  • Align with the scope and sequence being used
  • Provide multiple opportunities for students to practice the target phoneme grapheme correspondences
  • Provide multiple opportunities to practice the target literacy skills your student is learning (such as decoding).

As you consider purchasing books to support structured literacy approaches, you may find this guidance from the National Library useful:

Books and strategies to use alongside structured literacy approaches

Lifting Literacy Aotearoa and Dyslexia Evidence Based (DEB) also have guidance on resources for structured literacy approaches:

Lifting Literacy Aotearoa

Dyslexia Evidence Based

 

Free Ministry of Education resources

The Ministry of Education provides free, quality resources that can be used to support structured literacy approaches and Rangaranga Reo ā-Tā. Note that resources, such as Ready to Read Colour Wheel and Junior Journals are still useful to support learning in the English learning area and with structured literacy approaches. (See the draft English learning area for guidance on when to use texts). These are distributed to schools and kura and can also be ordered here:

Down the Back of the Chair

For students in Years 0-8 learning through English Medium, Ministry provided resources include:

You can find information about these series, PDFs of the books, teacher support materials, and videos showing teachers using the Ready to Read Phonics Plus series, on Tāhūrangi. Upcoming Ministry of Education resources to support teaching using structured literacy approaches include:

  • A teacher manual and quick guides on using existing Ministry resources to support a structured literacy approach
  • More Ready to Read Phonics Plus student books
  • Ready to Read Phonics Plus phonics cards for the Māhuri | Sapling phase
  • CHAPTERS, Junior Journal, and School Journals 2025.

For students in Years 0-8 learning through te reo Māori, Ministry provided resources include:

Upcoming Ministry of Education resources for students learning through te reo Māori include:

  • Rangaranga reo ā-Tā Kaiako manual with QR codes that link to an online site
  • New and updated teacher support materials (TSMs) for existing resources such as Ngā Kete Kōrero series
  • New decodable texts at KKa level
  • New teaching and independent learning resources to support phonics.

 

The National Library Services

The National Library Services to Schools has approximately 70,000 titles to support every phase and learning area of The New Zealand Curriculum. It includes a wide range of high interest, engaging books across many genres and formats.

Books can be borrowed by all schools in Aotearoa New Zealand to supplement oral language, reading and writing teaching and learning.

If you are looking for books to support structured literacy approaches, use phrases such as “picture books with rich language and vocabulary” or “sophisticated picture books with rhyme and repetition” or “high interest nonfiction to support instructional writing” in your loan request, and the National Library will select a range of these for you.

If your school has 100 or fewer students, you can also register for the Standing Order targeted programme, and be sent a range of high interest, engaging books to support reading in your school. All freight costs are covered in this programme.