Intervention guidelines

Oral Language, Literacy, and Numeracy Readiness Through ECE Partnerships

As Junior School kaiako, we understand that successful transitions to school aren’t just about knowing letters or numbers—they’re about being able to talk about them, think critically, and engage with confidence. That’s why I've built a strong, ongoing relationship with local early childhood centres and kindergartens to support tamariki turning four between September and December.

Together, we’re working to ensure every child has a strong start in oral language, literacy, and numeracy, laying the foundations for learning success.

Why Does This Matter?

Oral language is now a core focus in the New Zealand Curriculum refresh, and for good reason. The ability to communicate thoughts, ask questions, and use topic-specific vocabulary is directly linked to later achievement in reading, writing, and mathematics.

When tamariki can confidently use words like grapheme, phoneme, most, least, and estimate, they are not just participating—they are thinking, reasoning, and learning deeply.

A shared focus on oral language, early literacy, and numeracy helps us to:

• Prepare tamariki to thrive in structured learning environments
• Bridge the vocabulary and communication gap before school starts
• Ensure equity by giving every learner the language and tools to succeed

What Our Intervention Looks Like

Together with the ECEs and kindergartens, we’ve co-designed a targeted(that fits their space) intervention for our transitioning learners. It includes a readiness checklist that looks closely at development in three key areas:
1. Oral Language

• Engaging in back-and-forth conversations
• Retelling simple events or stories
• Using new and topic-specific vocabulary
• Asking questions and responding to others
• Using positional and comparative language (e.g., beside, fewer, longer)

2. Literacy Readiness

• Recognising and naming letters
• Identifying letter sounds (phonemes)
• Understanding the concept of graphemes and phonemes
• Showing interest in print and books
• Using oral language to describe characters, settings, or predict outcomes

3. Numeracy Readiness

• Counting with 1:1 correspondence
• Using number words in order
• Understanding basic concepts like more, less, most, and least
• Beginning to estimate or compare amounts
• Recognising shapes, patterns, and size differences

Kaiako will use the checklist with their target group of tamariki once a term. Observations are recorded in a way that is natural and embedded in everyday play and learning—not as an assessment task, but as a way of noticing and responding to growth.

Tracking Progress Meaningfully
To track learning, we’ll use:

• Checklist reviews each term to measure growth
• Anecdotal notes and work samples (e.g., drawings, name writing, counting or oral descriptions)
• Vocabulary snapshots—what words are tamariki using correctly in play or kōrero?
• Student voice—"What do you know about that story?" or "How many do you think there are?"
• Collaborative planning hui to reflect and adjust based on data

This information will help us understand how tamariki are progressing, not just if they are ready.

What the Data Will Tell Us
The data we gather will:

• Show individual and group progress in oral language, literacy, and numeracy
• Reveal vocabulary usage trends and gaps
• Inform how to shape new entrant class programmes
• Support early intervention if needed
• Strengthen alignment between what is taught and what tamariki are ready for

It will also help us build a shared language across ECE and school—ensuring tamariki hear, see, and use the same words, ideas, and strategies in both settings.

What’s In It for Our Tamariki?

• Confidence with classroom language. Tamariki will be able to understand and use the words their kaiako are teaching.
• Familiar routines and vocabulary. This reduces anxiety and helps them participate earlier.
• A stronger sense of belonging. When tamariki recognise books, materials, and language from ECE, they settle faster and feel at home.
• Better learning outcomes. Strong oral language is linked to future success in reading, writing, and maths.

Looking Forward

This is about setting our tamariki up for long-term success. By working together and aligning our focus on oral language, literacy, and numeracy, we’re ensuring our learners step into school not just “ready”—but eager, capable, and excited to learn.

As our intervention continues, we’ll refine the checklist, share findings with whānau, and keep building a bridge between ECE and school that’s based on collaboration, care, and a deep commitment to equity.

Are We Missing the Plot?

 

A Reflection on Play, Policy, and School Readiness
What We Count, Counts. Why the Debate is About Ideology, Not Curriculum. Sarah Aiono Jun 28


Kia ora whānau,

This week I came across a thought-provoking presentation by Dr. Sarah Aiono, shared at the IPA Asia Pacific Conference in Melbourne, and it honestly stopped me in my tracks. It spoke directly to the heart of something many of us working in ECE, New Entrants, and Kāhui Ako spaces have been feeling for a while:

Are we so focused on curriculum and data that we’re forgetting our tamariki aren’t always ready to learn when they walk through the school gate?

Dr. Aiono’s presentation—titled “What We Count Counts: Why the Play Debate is About Ideology, Not Just Curriculum”—really pushed me to think about how our systems are shaped not just by what we teach, but by what we value.

You can read the full transcript here on Dr. Aiono’s LinkedIn.
What Stood Out to Me
The main message?
 It’s not just the curriculum that needs changing—it’s the thinking behind it.

She challenges us to ask:

• Who do we believe children are?
• What is learning actually for?
• Are we measuring what matters?

Too often, systems are built on the belief that education exists to create future workers. That’s where the pressure for data, benchmarks, phonics checklists, and early numeracy kicks in. And while none of those things are bad, they can become harmful if they’re prioritised before children are developmentally ready.

Dr. Aiono calls this the “future worker” lens—where play is seen as a distraction, not a foundation. But what if we saw children as citizens now? Whole, capable, curious little people already participating in the world?

In that light, play becomes the pedagogy, not the break from it.
Why This Matters for Us in Aotearoa – Especially in Lower Decile Communities

Working in a Kāhui Ako and in a school where equity is central, I see the tension daily. We’re working hard to lift achievement, track progress, and respond to data—but some of our 5-year-olds are arriving without the oral language, social readiness, or emotional regulation they need to thrive in a structured classroom.

Here’s what I believe (and what this reading confirmed):

• We need to prioritise oral language. Rich vocab, conversation, storytelling, singing. Words like more/less, estimate, describe, explain need to be embedded in context.
• We need to develop executive function—through play. Planning, sharing, waiting, leading, coping when things don’t go to plan.
• We need to make time for social-emotional learning. Not just as a behaviour management tool, but as a learning goal in itself.
• We need to slow down when they first start school. Not rush straight into the curriculum before they’re developmentally ready.

What We Could Be Doing Differently

As a Kāhui Ako Across School Lead, this reading really challenged me to think about how I can support our ECEs, kindergartens, and new entrant teams better.
Some ideas I’d love to kōrero more about:

• Co-developing a play-based transition framework across ECE and NE, especially for tamariki turning 4–5.(Have implemented this with 4 ECEs and Kindergartens now)
• Using tools like the P-BLOT to help teachers observe and respond to deep-level learning in play. https://www.longwortheducation.com/p-blot/       https://eyrl.nz/play-based-learning-pic/
• Joint PLD sessions between ECEs and schools about oral language, play, and developmental readiness.
• Reframing what we mean by 'readiness'—because it’s not just about recognising letters or numbers. It’s about being settled, confident, and curious.

Final Thought

The provocation I’m sitting with now is:
What is education for?
Is it to produce outputs—or to grow humans?

Because if we really believe that tamariki are taonga, and that learning is a process of becoming, then play is not a luxury—it’s a necessity. And we need to protect and prioritise it, especially for our most vulnerable learners.

Big mihi to Dr. Sarah Aiono and Play Australia for starting these important conversations.