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ERO is undertaking a programme of work to learn the lessons from the lockdown and to support the education system, schools and early childhood centres to respond to the disruption to education caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. As a first stage of this work, ERO surveyed a sample of students and teachers in primary and secondary schools. This report sets out what we found about their wellbeing and experiences of learning and teaching during the lockdown.

ERO has a comprehensive and fast-tracked work programme underway to understand the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on students, services and schools, and on teaching and learning in Aotearoa New Zealand in the English and Māori medium education sectors.

Receiving a quality education, from early childhood education (ECE) through to secondary school, positively affects how well all children and young people do at school and in life – from academic achievement and earning potential to health and wellbeing. Education is even more critical for disabled learners. When disabled learners receive a quality, inclusive education they are more likely to achieve better outcomes, to complete secondary schooling and to go on to further study and employment.

This report looks at how well science is led in services and schools, how well science is woven through the curriculum, and how well kaiako/ teachers include science in a responsive curriculum. Each section of this report provides leaders, kaiako, and teachers with reflective questions to consider, which could support improvements. We also identify opportunities for improvement at both the individual service / school level, and for the system.

Starting school is a major childhood event. It can be an exciting time for children and their families. But it is a big change, and so it can also be an uncertain time. A good start at school sets children up to succeed at school. We looked to see how changing to cohort entry impacts on children, their peers, and whānau, as well as their schools and early childhood education services.

In Aotearoa, children have usually started school on their fifth birthday. These days, that’s not always the case. Since 2018, schools have had the option of cohort entry, where small groups of children start school together, at particular points during the year. This can change how children transition through an early learning service.

This short guide is for parents of children in early childhood education, and of school-aged children. It covers that we learnt from talking to schools and early childhood education services in 2020 about the impact of Covid-19. It also sets out some recommendations for how parents can continue to support their child’s learning this year.

Starting school is a major childhood event. It can be an exciting time for children and their families. But it is a big change and can be an uncertain time. Since 2018, schools have been able to have children start in groups at certain dates during the year. This is called cohort entry. ERO found that cohort entry has a range of benefits for children’s wellbeing and learning, schools’ ability to structure transitions more easily, and for teachers due to fewer disruptions and more time to teach.

This case study report features experiences of three Kāhui Ako and includes the strategies and approaches used to create, build, and strengthen collaboration between schools and early learning services to improve outcomes for learners.