For many years now, children have been
entering the school system in New Zealand at
age five. They do so, one at a time, as they
become 5 years of age (rather than in groups
at a specific time).
Most parents (80%), preschool teachers, and
new-entry teachers felt that age 5 was the most
appropriate age for entrance into school,
although various individuals thought that there
should be some flexibility in the age of entrance.
Schooling
Early Childhood
2-4 years
Early Childhood is for children aged up to five years old
and includes playgroups, play centres, home-based care,
and kindergartens.
Primary School
5-10 years
Primary schools provide children aged five to ten years
old with a strong foundation in literacy and numeracy.
They learn seven core subjects, English, mathematics and
statistics, science, technology, social studies, arts, and
health and physical education. In the final two years
children learn an additional language.
In New Zealand, it is
compulsory for children to
be at school from ages 6 to
16, although the majority of
children attend from age 5.
There were 2,581 schools
with 760,859 children
attending, as at 1 July 2009.
Curriculum?
At primary school, what pupils study is
guided by the ‘National Curriculum’.
New Zealand’s National Curriculum for primary
schools set out a plan of study that is ‘broad and
balanced’ while also providing a strong foundation
in literacy and numeracy.
Pupils are regularly assessed against
expectations for their age level as set out by the
National Standards.
From the OECD
report, New Zealand
are ranked 23 out of
65 with a mean
score of 500 in their
performance in
Mathematics.
New Zealand were
also ranked 13th out
of 65 in reading with
a mean score of 512.