Community Development and Safety Committee

02 December 2015

Council's Support for literacy outcomes

File No.: CP2015/25181

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Purpose
1.

To receive an update on council activity that supports literacy outcomes.

Executive Summary
2.

The council's work with a broad range of partners influences literacy outcomes in Auckland.
The Southern Initiative, COMET and Libraries are active in literacy and reader development,
digital literacy and financial literacy.

3.

Auckland's rates of participation in early childhood education are increasing steadily but
there are disparities. There is inconsistent support for families in understanding and
developing children's early oral language.

4.

School achievement is undermined by factors such as transience, uneven school

attendance and the intergenerational nature of low literacy.

5.

A large percentage of Auckland's adult population has low literacy and/or numeracy skills.

6.

Nga Reo 0 Tamaki Makaurau, The Auckland Languages Strategy will support and foster all
the languages of Auckland's communities.

7.

An early years project will assess the effectiveness of the council's existing activity and
identify opportunities to improve outcomes for Maori under the age of five years.

Recommendation/s
That the Community Development and Safety Committee:
a)

receive the report on council's support for literacy outcomes

b)

note the intergenerational and multi-sector aspects of literacy development

c)

note that the implementation of Nga Reo 0 Tarnaki Makaurau, The Auckland
Languages Strategy will support and foster all languages used in Tarnakl Makaurau

d)

note the project to undertake an analysis of the council's effectiveness in delivering

benefits to tamariki Maori,

Comments
8.

The Auckland Plan Priority 2 is Improve the education, health & safety of Aucklanders, with
a focus on those most in need. Over 40% of adults in Auckland have low literacy and just
over 50% have low numeracy skills. Directive 1.3 is Improve the learning and educational
opportunities for all Aucklanders, particularly our children and young people. Directive 1.4 is
Raise levels of literacy and numeracy and provide opportunities for life-long and workplace
learning.

9.

The Auckland Plan states that 'Improving adult education and skill levels will improve income
levels and reduce socio-economic disadvantage. Assisting parents into education and
employment is a route out of poverty for families. In addition, the parents' educational level is
linked to children's participation in early childhood learning and achievement at school.'

10.

The council's People Research Plan 2015 notes these research questions of interest to the
council:

How can the barriers to participation in early childhood education be overcome?

How effective are programmes designed to increase the effective engagement of

parents and the participation of Maori and Pacific children?

The council will liaise with partners to promote research in these areas and to identify
opportunities for future research and collaboration in the area of adult literacy and numeracy.
Council's Support for literacy outcomes

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02 December 2015
11.

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The council works with a range of partners across multiple sectors to influence
outcomes in Auckland.

literacy

COMET
12.

COMET Auckland is both a Council Controlled Organisation and an independent Charitable

Trust. Its role is to support education and skills across Auckland, contributing to social and
economic goals in the Auckland Plan. COMET provides research and snapshots on a range of
literacy-related areas. COMET uses face to face networking, project leadership and social media
(@COMETAuckland)
to raise awareness about literacy gaps and potential solutions.

13.

COMET identifies a 'family learning challenge.' It estimates there are 410,000 adults in Auckland
with low literacy and emphasises that the intergenerational nature of low literacy requires parent
and family engagement in order to build effective family literacy programmes.

14.

COMET has been active in family literacy for many years. COMET
of family literacy approaches:

literacy levels of both children and parents are raised

parents extend their skills in developing

learning

children's

identifies these benefits

literacy and learning

is an explicit and positive part cif family life.

Learning Auckland Leadership Table

15.

COMET facilitates a collective impact initiative called the Learning Auckland Leadership
Table. Its purpose is to bring about a long-term shift in cradle to grave educational
achievement across Auckland. This aligns to the Auckland Plan priority, Put children and
young people first. The Leadership Table includes staff from the council group.

16.

In August 2015 the Learning Auckland Leadership Table hosted a presentation on the cradle
to career pathway by the Deputy Secretary for Evidence, Data and Knowledge at the
Ministry of Education. This research shows that participation in early childhood education
(ECE) has been steadily increasing in Auckland. Maori and Pasifika rates have increased by
7.8 and 6.9% respectively since June 2010. Overall Auckland is 2.8% short of the Better
Public Services target of 98% participation in ECE by 2016.

17.

There are higher levels of student transience in Auckland than nationally. In 2014,1,318
students experienced two or more movements between schools. Transience rates in
Auckland are highest among Maori (18.7 students per 1,000 enrolled) and Pasifika (6.4
students per 1,000 enrolled).

18.

Ministry records for 2014 show that 2,770 students in Auckland left school before the age of
17. Students who had been absent from school for 15 days and late for school for another
15 days in a single term back in year eight were less than half as likely to pass their NCEA
literacy and numeracy credits three years later than those who attended on time most days.

19.

The Ministry's modelling on 2014 figures suggests that about 7,000 of the cohort of 21 ,000
children aged 12 who are at the highest risk of not achieving NCEA level two and 200 are at
'high risk' of not achievinq NCEA level two. These children at high risk are hardest to reach.
Of the 7,000 children at risk of not gaining NCEA level two, 87% (6,082) have a primary
caregiver with less than NCEA level one.

The Southern Initiative (TSI)

20.

The Southern Initiative (TSI) is designed to achieve transformational

social, economic,
physical change. Auckland's Economic Development Strategy promotes cross-sector
collaboration to support education, skills, transition and employment outcomes in TSI.

21.

COMET's 2015 community snapshot for TSI indicates that 6,918 families are headed by
families with no educational qualifications.
In TSI areas 33% of households do not have
internet access (15% for Auckland as a whole) and 88.9% of children starting school in
March 2014 had attended ECE (94.6% for Auckland generally).

Council's Support for literacy outcomes

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Early oral language, school readiness and the importance of whanau

22.

In 2014 The Growing up in New Zealand longitudinal study of 7,000 children and their
families in Auckland and Waikato released Now we are two: Describing our first 1000 days
(see http://www.growingup.co.nz). The research showed that 14% of mothers and 23% of
partners recorded reading books to their child once a week or less. Mothers told stories
(excluding reading books) once a week or less for 57% of children, and partners told stories
once a week or less for 64% of children. The research indicates that supporting digital
access for parents in low decile areas increases parents' engagement in their child's
education.

23.

COMET facilitates Talking Matters, a network which engages over 40 Auckland stakeholder
organisations on issues relating to early oral language development/use and school
readiness. The organisations involved in Talking Matters represent teacher education, early
learning, health, family services, council including libraries, central government, child
development researchers, family literacy and parenting. Talking Matters partners see a need
to raise community awareness about the importance of early oral language and to develop
strategies and resources that support families and whanau to promote talking in the home.

24.

COMET used international literacy day on 8 September 2015 to promote the importance of
talking, singing, story telling and reading to children in order to build oracy skills. COMET's
Manager for Literacy and Family Learning drew attention to the gender cap in reading
confidence and competence. In primary school, 81% of Auckland's girls and 72.6% of boys
are reading at or above the national standard for reading. Figures for TSI communities are
69.6% of girls and 58.9% of boys reading at or above the national standard.

25.

Council interacts with local and national initiatives that have a positive impact on literacy
outcomes in Auckland, including HIPPY (Home Interaction Programme for Parents &
Youngsters) and the Parents as First Teachers programme.

26.

COMET currently owns the Whanau Ara Mua (WAM) intergenerationallearning and literacy
programme (at the end of 2016 locally owned qualifications will be replaced by national
qualifications). WAM is delivered by the Solomon Group. In 2014,150 adults enrolled in
WAM and of those 122 graduated with a level two Certificate in Family Learning and Child
Development. The Tertiary Education Commission increased funding for WAM, which now
offers 250 student places across 14 locations.

27.

Libraries' strategic plan Future Directions sets a course for Auckland Libraries to work
holistically with parents, whanau, carers and schools to strengthen family literacy and
advocate for library membership as one indicator of school readiness. Libraries has an
important role to play in supporting literacy, numeracy and reading for a lifetime. Public
libraries are not bound by a teaching curriculum and can engage children in meaningful play
and the enjoyment of books and reading.

28.

Libraries provides a wide range of informal learning opportunities for children and families.
These include Wriggle and Rhyme, story time, rhymetime and school holiday programmes.
Libraries use interactive events to grow children's confidence, language skills and love of
reading. Wriggle and Rhyme is focused on young children aged 0-2 years, using active
movement, sound, language and parentlcarer-child bonding to support children's pre-literacy
development. Storytime and rhymetime help children 3-5 years to be comfortable with books
and to consolidate their recognition of letters and numbers.

29.

Libraries offer school age children a variety of homework and study skill programmes.
Information skills programmes attended by adults include computer skill classes, book clubs
subject-focused research workshops and tailored book-a-librarian sessions.

30.

In 2014/2015, 176,559 people participated in library information skills programmes. Each

week approximately 2,700 children and parents take part in Wriggle and Rhyme.

Council's Support for literacy outcomes

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31.

Libraries has partnered with the Storytime Foundation since its inception almost 20 years
ago. Storytime Foundation (formerly Books for Babes) has distributed over 112,000 books
and helped parents and caregivers develop confidence in reading with their young child
each day. A strength of this programme is that a trusted health professional encourages
parent-child attachment through reading and then makes it possible for the family to
transition to the library through a personalised handover. The programme provides early
readers in several languages and starts a young child on the path to a positive experience
around books.

32.

In August 2015 Libraries began making it easier for parents to select reading material for
their children. An illustrated label on the front cover of all children's readers and fiction books
indicates where the book sits in terms of reading progression; there are three steps for
readers and three steps for fiction that help parents select a book suited to their child's
reading development. This initiative invokes the principle of Tino Rangatiratanga: inviting
customers to explore library collections on their own terms.

33.

In the last financial year Libraries ran a project to test new ways of reaching families who do
not use a local library. Prototypes were developed and delivered in non-library settings to
engage families with pre-school children. Phase 2 of the project in February will implement
the approach in libraries that will focus more of their programming on outreach to families
who do not visit physical libraries.

34.

Dare to Explore - Kia Maia te Whai is the summer reading adventure delivered across the
library network to encourage children to keep reading and learning over December and
January. Some children participate in the programme independently, some with their
families. Top level results of 2014/15 programme evaluation are:

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9,673 children registered, a 16.1 per cent increase from the previous year

56% girls, 45% boys

most participants were aged six to eight years

at 51%, the largest percentage of registrants identified themselves as having at least

some New Zealand European/Pakeha ethnicity; 9% had some Indian ethnicity; 10%
Chinese; 10% Maori; 9% Samoan; 4% Tongan; and 3% cent Cook Island Maorl

1,283 (13%) of participants were not library members before joining the programme

of the 624 parents/caregivers who provided feedback on the programme, 61% felt that
through the programme their children's reading ability had improved a little or a lot;
31% reported an increase in their child's reading confidence; 68% agreed or strongly
agreed that the programme had increased their child's enjoyment of reading; 87%
reported that the programme encouraged their child to discover and learn new things

children themselves reported that Dare to Explore had helped them to improve their
reading 'a little bit' (44%) or 'a lot' (39%).

Last year Dare to Explore reached 7.2% of eligible children in Auckland aged five to 10
years, and 5.5% of eligible children aged five to 13 years.
35.

Library events often feature story telling in support of children learning the power of oracy. In
May, during Finauga a Aoga maualuluga i le gagana Fa'a-Sarnoa/Samoan Language Week
2015, local school students undertook a lively debate in Samoan. During Matariki, the
collective Te Reo Wainene 6 Tua (The Sweet Story of Yesteryear) delivered sessions in
libraries to connect young people with the beauty of spoken te reo.

Adult literacy
36.

Council partners or networks with organisations that deliver adult literacy courses, for
example Adult Literacy Tarnaki Inc., Hub West (supported by the Henderson-Massey Local
Board) and the Waiheke Learning Centre (supported by the Waiheke Local Board). The
Waiheke Learning Centre opened its new, wi-fi enabled premises in September 2015.

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37.

In 2014 Auckland Libraries partnered with Workbase. Library staff visited work locations to
personalise the transition from a workplace literacy programme to using a local library. The
collaboration profiled libraries as welcoming and non-judgmental, and over 50 people joined
the library for the first time.

38.

Each September local libraries run displays and learning activities during Adult Learners'
Week/He Tangata Matauranga.

39.

Library collections include materials to support adult literacy students and teachers, as well
as people who are learning English as a second language. Items in these collections were
borrowed over 38,000 times in 2014/2015. The collection of readers supports adults and
teens wanting to improve their skills in reading English. This collection consists primarily of
graded literacy readers at a basic level. These readers are often adaptations of classic and
other well-known standard titles with an accompanying CD. The library frequently purchases
multiple copies to enable tutors to use group sets.

40.

Other works for self-directed learning areas such as digital literacy and financial literacy are
purchased for the non-fiction collection.

Community languages
41.

In March 2015 the council accepted COMET's proposal to work with council, central
government and community partners on the development of Nga Reo 0 Tarnaki Makaurau,
The Auckland Languages Strategy. Launched in November, this strategy will promote and
foster all the languages spoken in Auckland Tarnaki Makaurau. It supports te reo Maori
revitalisation and the wider use of te reo, bilingualism, language learning in formal education,
action to help Pacific languages flourish, opportunities for newcomers to learn English, adult
English literacy programmes, and the promotion and celebration all languages used in
Auckland.

42.

Many of the council's libraries provide activities to enable people to improve their functional
literacy in English. Examples are multi-lingual storytimes and conversation sessions where
volunteers support people to practise their English in a safe environment. One example is
the Anju Chinese Club at the Onehunga Library. Held twice a month, this group supports
mainly older Chinese people to consolidate their basic English and learn about aspects of
everyday life that require functional English.

43.

The Libraries' community languages collection comprises items in 36 languages in addition

to materials in Maort, New Zealand Sign Language and English. The 36 community
languages represented include Maori KOki 'Airani/Cook Island Maori, Na Vosa Vakaviti/
Fijian, Ko e vagahau Niue/Niuean, Gagana fa'a Samoa/Samoan, Tau gaganaTokelau/
Tokelauan and Lea faka-TongalTongan.

Financial literacy
44.

COMET partners with the Commission for Financial Capability to maintain the Auckland
Financial Literacy Practitioners and Providers Network as a platform for promoting financial
literacy and sharing information and expertise.

45.

COMET is the fund holder for two financial literacy projects. Growing Financial
Independence in Tarnaki is a partnership with Te Waipuna Puawai Mercy Oasis. COMET
has partnered with Te Awa Ora Trust in Manurewa to enable local partners to develop and
deliver a financial literacy training programme, Money Story.

46.

Money Week ran from 31 August to 6 September 2015. As in previous years, workshops
were held across a range of Auckland venues including schools, community centres and
libraries.

47.

In October 2016 the Commission for Financial Capability will host the OECD International
Network of Financial Educators Summit in Auckland.

Council's Support for literacy outcomes

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Digital literacy
48.

COMET, ATEED, TSI and other council teams are active in initiatives that promote digital
literacy. In 2013 the council and the Manaiakalani Education Trust signed a Memorandum of
Understanding covering the sharing of information, championing the Manaiakalani schools
programme in Pt. England, Glen Innes and Panmure, and the provision of resource support
such as staff expertise.

49.

People who need to interact with central government agencies come to libraries for
computer access and assistance from staff. Libraries are the means through which many
Aucklanders acquire the skills needed for digital citizenship in relation to Better Public
Services result area 10 ('New Zealanders can complete their transactions with the
Government easily in a digital environment'). Library staff provide group and on-on-one
tutorials on various aspects of computer and internet use, and assist customers directly
when they need help.

50.

Library activities throughout the year help people build digital literacy. One example is Nga
Korero Kotuitui: Stories that connect, a digital story telling wananga offered during Family
History month to upskill students, kaurnatua and rangatahi, teachers, family historians and
whakapapa enthusiasts. TSI and Libraries collaborate with community partners over a
number of digital and makerspace initiatives. Currently Papakura Library is offering block
based programming to teach people the logic and tools of computer programming.

51.

In November 2015 Libraries introduced the Digital Literacy database. Designed for young
people of high school age, this resource offers tips on how to they can protect themselves
from cyberbullying, as well as information on entrepreneurship and careers, communication,
research skills, social networking and gaming.

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Consideration
Local Board views and implications
52.

Local boards support many organisations and initiatives that have a positive influence on
literacy outcomes in their communities. Local boards have not been directly consulted over
this report.

Maori impact statement

53. In 2014/2015 COMET established the Tamaki Makaurau Education Forum (TMEF) to
support collaboration on te reo Maorl revitalisation and iwi education planning. COMET
reports that currently 70% of Maori school students in Auckland receive little or no te reo
Maori. Areas of focus for TMEF are empowering communities, speaking te reo Maori, best
learning and iwi cohesion, and Te Ataarangi (proficiency outside of immersion settings).
54.

Some Maori children and whanau experience gaps in literacy-related support because
council services cannot always operate in an immersion environment. For example, the
Education Counts website lists 51 KOhanga Reo in the Auckland region. The council's
libraries have regular contact with fewer than 10 of these.

55.

The Dare to Explore - Kia Mala te Whai summer reading adventure for 2015-16 has been
redesigned to increase appeal to children who are users of te reo Maori. This includes the
traditional story of Rehua at the heart of the programme, the look of the collateral, the
creation of reading and discovery challenges in Maori, and a powhiri to launch the
programme on 6 December. Libraries aims to lift Maori participation in Kia Maia te Whai
above the current level of 10% of participants overall.

56.

Te Toa Takitini will drive council's commitment to Maorl social well-being. The council
delivers multiple programmes, services, facilities and events to young children but there is
not a clear analysis of that investment and the benefits to tamariki Maori. An early years
project will assess the effectiveness of the council's existing investment and identify
opportunities to improve outcomes for Maori under the age of five years.

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Implementation
57.

COMET is engaging with the Ministry of Education's Early Learning Taskforce and other
stakeholders to progress the issues identified within the Talking Matters network.

58.

A summer intern will work with COMET to communicate data around data on transience,
school attendance and other factors that undermine progress and achievement.

59.

Libraries will measure its progress and engage with communities and partners towards
achieving meaningful library experiences for every pre-school child in Auckland.

Attachments
There are no attachments for this report.

Signatories
Authors

Greg Morgan - Manager Service Development

Authorisers

Graham Bodman - General Manager - Arts, Community and Events

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