Professor Gillon, who is Director of the UC Child Well-being Research Institute, says the award is great recognition of the team鈥檚 efforts. 鈥淲e feel very proud of the level of scale that the Better Start Literacy Approach has reached across the country. It鈥檚 based on years of our research, and the transformation of science into practice to uplift children鈥檚 early reading and writing success is truly rewarding.
鈥淲hat we see from the data for over 45,000 children is how quickly they are responding to this approach. Our junior school teachers are doing an incredible job at implementing the BSLA in their schools.
鈥淭he speed at which children are developing critical foundation skills through our approach is absolutely amazing. We get continuous positive feedback from parents and teachers about how well it鈥檚 working.鈥
Professor Gillon says when children succeed in reading and writing early in their lives it has a long-term positive impact on their educational achievement which is, in turn, linked to health and economic advantages later in life.
The BSLA is the first culturally responsive approach to early literacy in New 九州影院that uses structured literacy teaching principles. Its development has been guided by leaders in M膩ori and Pacific education including UC Emeritus Professor of M膩ori Research Angus Hikairo Macfarlane and Pasifika Education Senior Lecturer Tufulasi Taleni.
罢丑别听Ready to Read - Phonics Plus听early readers book series, which is an integral part of the BSLA, incorporates M膩ori and Pacific themes, language, and cultural elements, boosting its inclusivity.
鈥淭he BSLA has been developed specifically for the New 九州影院educational and cultural context which makes it very unique,鈥 Professor Gillon says. 鈥淲hen tamariki read the books they see characters that look like them and the landscapes reflect the New 九州影院context.鈥
The approach is proving effective for students across the board, including those who are learning English as a second language, children in lower decile schools, and for M膩ori and Pacific early readers, which is helping to address literacy disparities, she says.听
鈥淚t is particularly exciting to see data showing young M膩ori and Pasifika learners making accelerated progress in their early literacy skills.鈥
Professor McNeill says the impact of the programme is reflected in data showing that for every $1 invested in implementing the approach around the country, it delivers $38 in measurable good to New 九州影院society.
The BSLA started as a trial (2016-2019) in the Better Start National Science Challenge. Positive results from the research trials meant it quickly progressed to a nationally funded implementation project in 2020 with $15 million in Ministry of Education funding.
Professor Gillon says while the medal-winning group is small, they鈥檝e been supported by a much wider team of researchers, practitioners and cultural advisors. 鈥淲e are grateful for the immense support we鈥檝e received from our school communities who are successfully implementing BSLA around the country.鈥
About the BSLA (Te Ara Reo Matatini):听
- The approach uses structured literacy teaching principles for both large group activities as well as small group reading instruction. It focuses on teaching essential phonics, phonological awareness and vocabulary and oral narrative skills for children in Year 0 to Year 2.
- The BSLA introduced the first online assessment platform in Aotearoa New Zealand, allowing teachers to monitor five and six-year-old children's early literacy development.
- The approach has also pioneered the use of online professional development using 鈥榤icro-credential鈥 courses to upskill junior school class teachers around the country.
- The reading series听Ready to Read Phonics Plus, created as an integral part of BSLA, includes 64 readers published by the Ministry of Education and provided free to every public school in Aotearoa New Zealand.
- The approach has a strong wh膩nau engagement strategy, with resources provided to support teachers in this process, including workshop materials.
- Assessment data collected through BSLA has found significantly accelerated growth in students鈥 foundational literacy skills compared to children of the same age who have not received BSLA instruction. Growth relative to baseline skills at school entry is particularly high for M膩ori and Pasifika children.
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