Education Minister Erica Stanford has announced the Government’s first policies starting with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day.

“Education has the power to change lives and enable children to achieve their potential, irrespective of the circumstances they were born into.

“However, declining achievement in the core subjects of maths, reading and writing means that too many students are leaving school without the knowledge and skills that everyone needs to succeed.

“In our first 100 days, we will implement a requirement that one hour every day is dedicated to maths, reading, and writing for students in primary schools.

“While we know a number of schools already do this, we want to make sure every New Zealand child has the opportunity to grasp the basics.

“Not only do students need sufficient class time to master the basics, we need to reduce distractions so that students can make the most of their precious class time.

“Schools here and overseas have seen lifts in achievement and improvements in wellbeing from banning cellphone use at school.

“I have directed officials to look at the most effective mechanisms to implement these policies. I will have more to say about how that will be achieved in the coming weeks.

“Our Government is aiming high for all children, and we refuse to leave essential learning to chance.”