Ministry of Education general manager Antony Harvey said funding from the former RT Lit service had been reinvested to \u201cbuild in-school expertise and scale frontline services\u201d through structured literacy approaches.<\/p>\n
Harvey said staffing for structured literacy interventions had increased nationally to 349 full-time teacher equivalents across 1248 schools for 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a more nationally consistent, efficient, and equitable model of literacy staffing delivery,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Harvey said about 75% of former RT Lit teachers nationwide were still employed by schools in teaching roles.<\/p>\n
He said the ministry was monitoring the effectiveness of the new model through school data and an independent evaluation.<\/p>\n
Former Central Hawke\u2019s Bay RT Lit teacher Hayley Henderson said she was working on a fixed-term contract at a Central Hawke\u2019s Bay school, but was again facing uncertainty with the contract coming to an end.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have not been any permanent opportunities for us,\u201d she told Hawke\u2019s Bay Today.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the schools that I was in as an RT Lit offered me this position, and they could only give me four days doing literacy, because that\u2019s all the funding they\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n
The role, however, differs from the work she previously carried out as an RT Lit specialist.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne day a week, I am a release teacher in a classroom, and the other four days I\u2019m their literacy support person … working with children instead of working with teachers and children like I was before,\u201d Henderson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore, I could work with teachers, upskill them, which of course made a lot of change for all the children in the class.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henderson said the educators were told there would be opportunities available after the cuts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been fixed-term, short-term ones, but before we had a permanent contract. There has not been anything permanent offered,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s still a lot of uncertainty about the future, both for me and for the students.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former RT Lit teacher and former national executive member Jenny Martin, who previously supported 18 schools across the Tararua District, including Dannevirke, said many of the concerns teachers raised before the cuts had since become reality. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe were told by Erica Stanford that there would be lots of job opportunities for us,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it has not been like that at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the options offered after the RT Lit roles were disestablished were mainly redeployment into short\u2011term project roles, rather than permanent positions.<\/p>\n
Martin said many former RT Lit teachers had struggled to find permanent work despite years of specialist training and experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome are working as teacher aides, some are working part-time, some are working as relievers, some are doing private tutoring, and some have just left the education sector altogether,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese jobs and roles we were promised by the minister just did not eventuate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin said RT Lit teachers were highly specialised educators, most holding postgraduate qualifications in literacy, with some also having master\u2019s degrees or doctorates.<\/p>\n
She said much of the training had originally been funded by the Ministry of Education.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is taxpayers\u2019 money that trained us in the first place,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of that training and expertise has just gone to waste.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin said while some schools had successfully implemented the Government\u2019s new structured literacy model, many were still struggling to establish tiered literacy support systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much confusion in schools … And I feel so sorry for these students, they\u2019re really missing out.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said many students who previously received free specialist RT Lit support were now being referred to private tutors, creating \u201cinequity\u201d between families who could afford extra help and those who could not.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more wealthy families can afford private tuition, and then you\u2019ve got the families who are from low socioeconomic groups, particularly M\u0101ori, Pasifika, they can\u2019t afford it,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are falling further and further behind because the schools are struggling to address their learning needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Government\u2019s new Budget 2026 literacy package includes funding for structured literacy programmes, workbooks, digital writing tools, literacy checks and additional maths intervention teachers.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson from Minister of Education Erica Stanford\u2019s office said most former RT Lit teachers continue to be employed by schools in a teaching role.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeachers, including SLA [Structured Literacy Approach] teachers, are employed by school boards,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir specialised literacy expertise remains in the education system and is benefiting students across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n