Upskilling teachers a better approach to improve students' math ability

Intermediate schools say a trial of catch-up math lessons is a good start but upskilling teachers is what will really make a difference for students.

On Monday the government announced $2 million for a trial of catch-up maths lessons for children in Years 7-8 next year.

It comes after the government's August announcement it would bring forward introduction of a new maths curriculum by one year to the start of 2025 and concerns about whether students were ready.

Association of Intermediate and Middle Schools president Angela Lowe said the $2m trial was a good start.

But she said the focus needed to be on improving teacher confidence with the new maths curriculum.

"Regardless of all the resources that we through at the school, the new textbooks, the workbooks, those sorts of things to be quite honest pale into comparison to lifting teacher expertise, to improving the practise of all of our teachers."

The intermediate years were crucial for student achievement, Lowe said.

Whangarei Intermediate principal Haley Read told Morning Report she was grateful for any financial support the government can give to students struggling with maths.

Read said she was excited about the new initiative and wanted to see the detail for the help for students who "really do need a boost in maths".

"We're interested in who is going to support it in terms of staffing.

"Every classroom at the moment is struggling to find teachers, let alone extra teachers."

And there were accessibility concerns for some students for the online component, Read said.

"It's going to be interesting, because the most important resource I would suggest is professional development for our teachers."

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