When your child receives the right education and support in basic learning areas, it helps them succeed in life. Right now, the national curriculum is being updated to give your child the best start. Mathematics and statistics is one of the first learning areas to change.

What your child is learning in maths#

You child now spends at least 5 hours a week focused on maths at school. They learn how useful maths is in everyday life, for example in personal finance, health, dance, and design. The curriculum aims to have every child enjoy and be curious about maths.

Their learning will build their basic skills in these phases:

• Years 0 to 3 – thriving in environments rich in maths.
• Years 4 to 6 – expanding knowledge and working with others.
• Years 7 to 8 – seeing themselves in the wider world and supporting themselves and others.

Years 0 to 3#

Your child will learn in ways that encourage curiosity and success. They will explore environments rich in numbers and shapes. Hands-on activities will engage them in maths and statistics, with tasks that reflect their interests and the world outside the classroom.

Years 4 to 6#

Your child will:

• connect ideas about numbers to learn about fractions, decimals, and percentages and how these are used in our lives
• learn more about numbers and use them to solve a range of problems
• develop skills such as accurate measuring using a range of tools
• investigate and explain similarities, differences and patterns in shapes, numbers, and data.

Years 7 to 8#

Your child will identify and solve problems. They will make connections between maths and statistics concepts and start to apply their learning to more complex situations. They will communicate their ideas using maths language, symbols, and equations, and clearly explain their problem-solving approaches.

Teaching methods#

The changes we're making to strengthen the national curriculum will mean it is:

• clear
• consistent
• sequenced
• evidence-based
• high-quality.

We require the use of explicit teaching. This involves:

• connecting current learning to what your child already knows
• providing concise, step-by-step explanations, with your child's input and discussion
• explaining, modelling, and demonstrating new learning
• regularly checking for understanding and providing feedback
• providing opportunities for your child to practise collaboratively and independently.

Structured maths approaches#

We use structured maths approaches in the maths learning area. This means every teacher knows what to teach, when to teach it, and how to teach it. This includes the following.

Clear teaching and explanations#

Teachers use clear demonstrations and explanations to teach maths ideas. This helps your child understand and solve problems. Teachers use visual and hands-on materials to help your child understand maths concepts.

Solving complex tasks#

Your child will investigate and solve maths problems using a structured process. This helps them use maths in other subjects and in real life. It also involves teaching your child to share and explain their ideas, preparing them for NCEA and beyond.

Building positive relationships with maths#

Your child will build confidence, experience success, and see how useful maths is.

Communication#

Your child learns to share, explain, and record their ideas using maths language.

Simple things to help your child learn at home#

It takes a village to support your child on their learning journey. We encourage you to explore our resources so you can help your child practise and build on their knowledge and skills outside the classroom.

Supporting learning at home

Extra support or enrichment#

Some learners need extra help with their learning. If your child needs support, talk to their teacher first. They will use targeted strategies to help your child in the classroom. If your child needs more challenges, talk to their teacher too.

As part of the new curriculum, we’ll make sure you know your child’s progress through clear updates from their teachers. Regular reporting to parents is a key part of the changes we’re making for assessment.