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.
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
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)
- 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
- 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:
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
What the Data Will Tell Us
The data we gather will:
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
What’s In It for Our Tamariki?
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.
- 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.
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.
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