10. Question No. 10—EducationDr VANESSA WEENINK (National—Banks Peninsula) to the Minister of EducationQuestion No. 10—Education10. Dr VANESSA WEENINK (National—Banks Peninsula) to the Minister of Education: What progress is the Government making on its 100-day plan in education?Hon ERICA STANFORD (Minister of Education): Today the Government has announced a suite of changes to ensure we are focused on teaching the basics brilliantly. All primary and intermediate students will be taught an average of an hour a day in each: reading writing and mathematics. A ministerial advisory group has been appointed to urgently review the curriculum and the common practice model and the distraction of cellphones will be removed from our classrooms. These changes in the 100-day plan are just the first steps in the Government's plan to lift student achievement because it is our aspiration to get 80 percent of students to curriculum by the time they leave intermediate so that they can go on to access the curriculum at high school and gain a qualification so that they can go on to live the life they deserve.Dr Vanessa Weenink: Who is the ministerial advisory group made up of? Hon ERICA STANFORD: This group will be made up of a combination of subject matter experts and curriculum experts outstanding principals and leading academics from around New Zealand. The group is going to be chaired by Dr Michael Johnston a senior fellow at the New Zealand Initiative. To his role as chair Dr Johnston will bring the extensive knowledge of the science of learning that is required to improve educational achievement in New Zealand. Members include outstanding principals like Iain Taylor of Manurewa Intermediate distinguished subject matter experts like Dr Elizabeth Rata Professor Gaven Martin Sir James Chapman and Dr Melissa Derby of Ngāti Ranginui all of whom bring the expertise required to ensure our curriculum is world leading and doesn't leave anything to chance. Dr Vanessa Weenink: What has the Minister tasked the group with doing? Hon ERICA STANFORD: This group will be tasked with reviewing the curriculum and the common practice model. The scope of the review will include providing me with advice and feedback on the existing draft as well as additional content to ensure our curriculum is underpinned by the science of learning. I want to ensure that we have clear annualised progression outcomes to better support teachers to design their programmes of learning to better support students to develop mastery of the basic skills and to better support our education system to do what it says on the tin: give every child the opportunity to be numerate to be literate to gain meaningful secondary qualifications and to live the life they choose and deserve.Dr Vanessa Weenink: How is the Government going to get 80 percent of students to curriculum? Hon ERICA STANFORD: Recent national monitoring data shows that only around 40 percent of children are currently at curriculum level for mathematics in year 8 and student achievement in co-requisite assessments at high school revealed that only 56 percent passed the numeracy assessment. The recent changes the Government has made will see our children return to the classroom in 2024 undistracted by cellphones focused on the core skills of reading writing and maths for an hour each a day and we are working at pace to ensure our curriculum and common practice model documents are world leading and backed by the evidence of the science of learning to support our great teachers. Under this Government the perpetual decline of student achievement will stop. We want to see children back at curriculum and we want to see New Zealand back in the top ten of OECD countries for academic achievement. This Government is aspirational for our kids and what we have achieved in the last three weeks is just the start. Can I just finish by saying Mr Speaker if you will indulge me happy sweet 16 to my daughter Holly. SPEAKER: Well that last remark probably saved you because that question rivalled David Seymour for length but we'll just try and keep them a little more concise in the future.