National Standards and ECE

How do the National Standards relate to early childhood education?

National Standards aim to lift achievement in literacy and numeracy by helping teachers, students and families be clear about what students should achieve and by when. They come into effect in 2010 for English-medium schools with pupils in Years 1 to 8.  National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics will be used to assess children's learning progress after the first 12 months of attendance at school.  The development of National Standards in schooling has not changed Te Whāriki the early childhood curriculum.

Te Whāriki the early childhood education (ECE) curriculum links to the NZ curriculum in schools.  Parents can expect children to develop early skills in literacy and numeracy while their children are enrolled in ECE. 

Earlier this year the Ministry of Education released the final books in Kei Tua o te Pae Assessment for Learning: Early Childhood Exemplars.  This series of books entitled Symbol Systems and Technologies for Making Meaning, include exemplars focused on assessing oral, visual and written literacy (book 17) and mathematics (book 18) in early childhood settings.  These resources will encourage teachers, parents and whānau to notice, recognise and respond to children using these concepts, and develop children's literacy and numeracy confidence and competence.

The Ministry of Education has confidence in the professionalism of teachers and educators in the sector, who work with families on a daily basis, to communicate the importance of children's learning that happens in early childhood services.