Expressions of interest are now open and will close Monday 11 November 2024.

Leaders are supported by the mentor to understand what evidence-based accelerative practices are, how they’re being used in their school and plan together how these practices will be implemented as part of a multi-layered Te Tūāpapa approach. Leaders are supported to include the coaching of these practices school-wide in their strategic planning. Click here to find out more.

All providers in partnership with their mentors will deliver a hybrid model combining face-to-face and online meetings. The programmes will be delivered in English and are open to schools and kura that use the New Zealand Curriculum and meet the eligibility criteria.

Accelerating learning Literacy and Accelerating Learning in Maths will be delivered from February 2025 to December 2025. For Programmes for Students to be effective, it needs to be given a high priority within the school's professional development plan. Teachers and kaiako involved need to make sure they have sufficient time available to engage in ongoing learning and development. Teachers and kaiako are funded 8 to 10 days relief funding to participate in the programme.

The Ministry of Education funds $4,000 (GST excl) per year through the school’s operations grant, which goes towards all teacher release time (8-10 days) to support teachers and kaiako to engage in ALL and ALiM. As part of this they will also develop accelerative practices for the school, including attending workshops, planning, data collection/assessment/observation reporting, meetings, and evaluation.

Go to this link for more information about the funding: 

Ministry of Education - School funding for Programmes for Students (PfS): ALL and ALiM

This support is designed for teachers and kaiako who have taught for several years and are confident teachers of literacy or mathematics.

To be eligible for Programmes for Students, teachers and kaiako will need to: 

• be a fully registered teacher with a current practising certificate - Tiwhikete Whakaakoranga Tūturu - and able to commit for the length of the programme
• be confident teachers of literacy or mathematics
• be culturally responsive and take identities, languages and cultures into consideration as well as holding high expectations of all ākonga
• be willing to and capable of sharing knowledge of effective practice to other kaiako/teachers in the school
• be employed for the duration of the programme as a kaiako/teacher at a state or state-integrated school.

Schools within each region will be selected using the following criteria in this order.

Firstly by:

1. Percentage of students by year levels who need accelerated support.

Secondly by:

2. Schools that have not been on Programmes for Students in the last three years.

Then, if oversubscribed the following will be prioritised in the following order:

3. Someone from your regional office such as Regional Lead, Education Adviser or Curriculum Lead or from the Education Review Office supports an application from your school.
4. The school is participating in professional development with a Ministry approved provider for Structured Literacy.
5. Distribution across the region is equitable (referring to the Equity Index and isolation index). 

Find information about the equity index through the following link:

Ministry of Education - The Equity Index - Key resources and analysis

For more information, please contact your Regional Lead below: 

1. When will Programme for Students applications open and close in 2024?

The round will open from Friday 20 September and close on Monday 11 November 2024.

2. When will schools be notified if their application is successful or unsuccessful?

Regional Leads will aim to let schools know by early December about the outcome of their application.

3. What are the changes to the Programmes for Students Programme for 2025?

For 2025, teachers and kaiako can apply for ALL if they are teaching years 3-8 while ALiM teachers and kaiako can apply for years 0-8. Programmes for Students will align with structured approaches to literacy and maths, including the updated English and mathematics & statistics curriculum content. The targeted support provided by mentors will build on the universal approaches that schools are implementing through Ministry-funded PLD.

4. What is a structured literacy approach?

The draft English learning area defines a structured literacy approach as incorporating the following elements into the teaching of reading and writing in a considered and deliberate way. Those elements are:

• oral language – including learning to communicate and learning through communication, and both listening and speaking
• phonemic knowledge – knowledge of the smallest units of sound in words (e.g., the word ‘ship’ has three phonemes – ‘sh’, ‘i’ and ‘p’). This is taught most effectively when letters are presented along with sounds
• systematic synthetic phonics teaching and knowledge for decoding and spelling. Synthetic phonics involves explicitly teaching students to read and spell words by blending phonemes into words and segmenting words into phonemes. For example, ‘mmm-aaa-nnn’ to ‘man’ (blending) or ‘man’ to ‘m-a-n’ (segmenting). Synthetic phonics teaching is systematic when it follows an evidence-informed scope and sequence. A phonics ‘scope’ is the summary of what is being taught and moves from simple to complex. A phonics ‘sequence’ is the order that sounds and letters are cumulatively introduced within the scope
• handwriting – explicitly teaching handwriting to fluency, along with spelling and executive function skills, reduces cognitive load and frees up cognitive resources for composition. It also supports the consolidation of phoneme-grapheme relationships
• vocabulary – explicit teaching of sophisticated vocabulary (sometimes referred to as ‘tier 2 words’) and content-specific words (sometimes referred to as ‘tier 3 words’) supports comprehension.
• morphology – the study of the meaningful parts of words. Morphemes are the smallest unit of meaning. An example is ‘ed’, which shows us that the action captured by a verb happened in the past
• syntax – explicitly teaching the structure of sentences supports comprehension and composition
• fluency – decoding and handwriting fluency reduces cognitive load and supports students to focus on higher-order comprehension and composition tasks
• text structure – explicitly teaching the structure of diverse types of text supports both comprehension and written composition
• writing processes – planning, drafting, revising, and editing
• comprehension – many of the other elements of structured literacy approaches combine, along with prior knowledge and knowledge building, to support the active and complex process of comprehension.

5. How does Programmes for Students reflect the Te Tuapapa o He Pikorua framework? 

Programmes for Students provides targeted support at the Te Kāhui level of the framework as part of universal classroom experiences. The most effective targeted supports build on high-quality and effective teaching at the universal curriculum level. Te Kāhui (the second layer) identifies supports that build on strong universal practices by taking a more targeted approach. It increases the intensity and frequency of teaching using flexible grouping. Click here for additional information.

6. How do I identify students requiring targeted / Te Kāhui support that would benefit from the programme?

Students who are beginning to fall behind the expectations for their year group and those who are up to a year below curriculum expectations, as identified by teachers using assessment and diagnostic tools, would benefit most from Programmes for Students. Students who are further behind will likely require more intensive support at Te Arotahi level. Mentors will provide assessment guidance for teachers to identify students and determine their level of need.

7. How does Programmes for Students lift teachers’ and kaiako practice in relation to accelerating learning?

• Participating teachers and kaiako will be supported to deliver evidence-based accelerative support aligned to the updated curriculum. 
• They will have opportunities to develop their leadership skills as they share their learning school-wide.  
• Mentors will enable teachers and kaiako to apply ALL and ALiM practices for learning in their classrooms using flexible groupings. Best practice is represented by teachers addressing the learning needs of their learners within the classroom.
• Mentors will support classroom teachers to upskill in accelerative practices that are aligned to the updated English and Maths curricula and to accelerate learning for their target students.  

8. Will providers for Programmes for Students deliver content that aligns with Structured Literacy Approach (SLA) Professional Learning Development (PLD)? 

From 2025, ALL providers will need to meet the same criteria as SLA PLD providers. ALL support will align and build from universal SLA teaching. 

9. Can I apply if I teach where te reo Māori is the education pathway?

Yes, you can apply. If you teach using the New Zealand Curriculum, you just need to be aware Programmes for Students is delivered in English.

10. What accelerated learning supports will be available for Te Marautanga o Aotearoa?

From 2025 there will be targeted and tailored supports for accelerated learning in Te Reo Matatini and Pāngarau.  It will be updated to align with the new curriculum, inclusive of Rangaranga Reo ā-Tā, Rangaranga Pāngarau and Aromatawai.  It covers accelerated learning for Years 0-8 in kura and schools teaching through Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. Applications for kura and schools will open in term 1, 2025.

11. How will the programmes operate over the year?

Your mentor will contact you to outline how they will support you over the year. You can expect to attend workshops focused on building knowledge of acceleration and sharing best practice and to connect regularly with your mentor throughout the year, both in-person and online. Your mentor will support you to select your students, implement approaches to accelerate their learning, and measure achievement gains made by students.

12. How many ALL and ALiM places are there for 2025?

This year there are over 800 places for ALL and ALiM.

13. How many ALL and ALiM places can a school apply for?

Teachers and kaiako participating in ALL and ALiM will need to have release time to do workshops and work with their mentors on the programme. If you have more than one teacher doing the programmes you will need to factor in coverage for relievers.  

14. What is the length of the ALL and ALiM programmes?

The length of the programme is for one year, starting in February and finishing in December.

15. Can any school apply?

This intervention is for students and ākonga in years 3-8 for ALL and years 0-8 for ALiM in state and state-integrated schools only.

16. What are the common assessment tools to be used?

The common assessment tools to be used for Programmes for Students are:

• e-asTTle for years 3-8 (ALL).
• Adapted Bryant may also be used for students who require support with decoding e-asTTle for maths (ALiM) for years 3-8 and JAM for years 0-2.

17. Can I still apply if my school doesn’t use e-asTTle or Adapted Bryant?

Yes, you can still apply. Your mentor will support you in the use of these tools.

18. What is the expectation of school leaders with this programme?

We expect school leaders to be supportive of the teachers involved in PfS including ensuring they are given the recommended release time.  There may be opportunities to connect with providers or attend regional hui. We also recommend the school leaders and members of School Boards include the commitment to the programme in their annual plan.  This will enable visible monitoring and support to teachers and kaiako who are being upskilled through Programme for Students.

19. How much release time and support will kaiako and teachers get?

Schools who commit to releasing kaiako and teachers involved in the programme are provided with $4,000 (GST excl) per kaiako/ teacher involved per year for release time to work with their mentor on developing accelerative practices for the school. For this to be effective, it needs to be given a high priority within the school professional development plan. Schools should plan for teachers to have 8-10 release days to complete the programme.

This release time can be used for:

• PLD directly with the provider
• Administering assessment processes
• Continuous learning time – observations, coaching conversations, lesson reflections, etc.

20. What can I apply for if I teach years 0-2 or years 9 & 10 and I have students and ākonga who need help accelerating in reading, writing, pānui and tuhituhi?

There is now a range of accelerated learning supports available for learners from years 0-13. Click here to see what is available.

21. What support is available if I teach years 9 & 10, and I have students and ākonga who need help accelerating in maths?

Literacy, te reo matatini, numeracy, and pāngarau targeted support will be available for selected secondary schools from term 4 2024. This support will focus on Years 9-13 students. Schools will be  chosen based on their co-requisite results and information provided by regional teams.

Click here for more information.

You can also contact your regional Ministry team, including Curriculum Leads, for support and access resources on NCEA | NCEA (education.govt.nz)

22. Can teachers and kaiako apply directly for Programmes for Students?

Yes. To apply, teachers and kaiako need to get approval from their principal to do the programme in 2025 and then complete the Programmes for Students Expression of Interest Survey Monkey form. To complete PfS EOI Form, click Apply now

23. How are the payments made?

There will be two payments made. The first one is paid in April for $2,000, and the second one is paid in October for $2,000.

24.  If a teacher withdraws from the programme, can I replace them with another teacher?

As the programme will have already started, you will not be able to replace another teacher in the school to do the programme.

25. What happens to the funding if a teacher withdraws from the programme?

If you've received funding in the operations grant before April for the first funding round, we'll reclaim the $2K. If you withdraw between July and October, you will not receive the second funding payment. If you withdraw after September, you will need to pay back the second funding payment of $2K only.

26. Can I apply if I teach years 7 or 8 in a Secondary School?

Yes, Programmes for Students is for years 3-8 for ALL and years 0-8 for ALiM.

27. Can teachers apply for both ALL and ALiM?

Yes, but you can only take part in one programme.

28. Can I apply for ALL if I did ALiM last year?

Yes, you can apply for ALL if you did ALiM last year.

29.  I’m in a small school, and I don’t have 12 students needing accelerative support. Can I still apply?

We recognise rural schools may not meet the requirements for the minimum number of students. We still encourage teachers in rural schools to apply. The minimum number of students will not count against small rural schools in the selection process