Media Release
Parents expect children to be learning the basics at school
MEDIA RELEASE
6 October 2026
Parents expect children to be learning the basics at school
Responding to Chris Hipkin's announcement that Labour will repeal the requirement for primary and intermediate schools to teach a minimum of an average of an hour of reading, writing and maths each day at school, Parents Alliance Chair and Spokesperson Cameron Bagrie said the following,
"Parents expect children to be spending a majority of their time at primary school on the core subjects of reading, writing and maths."
"Schools have a lot of flexibility in how they teach this over the week and what else they focus on alongside these core subjects."
"Removing the requirement for an average of an hour a day on each of the core subjects of reading, writing and maths would mean parents couldn't have confidence their children are having a proper focus on these core subjects."
"New Zealand's education standards have slipped massively in the last twenty years. A fifteen-year-old today is doing maths at the level a thirteen-year-old did 20 years ago."
"The OECD estimates the fall in education outcomes over the last twenty years equates to a 4 percent reduction in productivity."
"In this context, Parents do not support the removal of the hour a day on reading, writing and maths."
ENDS
Media contact: Cameron Bagrie, Chair and Spokesperson, The Parents’ Alliance 027 290 9844
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About the Parents' Alliance: The Parents' Alliance The Parents’ Alliance Te Kotahitanga o ngā Mātua, Le Lotogatasi o Mātua, 家长联盟, पारिवारिक मंच is a national group building a collective voice for parents, grandparents and whānau in education.