Our Curriculum

Kaurilands School sits in a unique setting, surrounded by lush bush and with a stream running through it. Teachers will plan authentic and engaging Inquiry units and experiences that provide opportunities for our children to engage with and learn in our local environment and community. They will get to know the interests and strengths of their ākonga and provide rich opportunities to explore and grow these.

Contexts for learning are carefully considered in all areas of our curriculum. Our children and community are at the centre of everything we do. Through rich, engaging experiences and programmes we will develop our Kaurilands Learner Skills and Values ensuring our children leave primary school equipped with the skills to navigate an ever changing world.

Kaurilands Values

The staff at our school are committed to our core values which were formulated by our wider Kaurilands community of children, staff and whānau.

Manaakitanga - Care and respect, respect yourself, others and community;

Ako - Teach and learn together;

Kaitiakitanga - Protecting and caring for the environment;

Whanaungatanga - Building and maintaining positive relationships.

Kaurilands Learner Skills

Our Kaurilands Learner Skills encompass the skills our children need to be successful lifelong learners who are prepared for their futures in an ever changing world. As a school, we are committed to providing learning experiences which help to instil our Learner Skills in our students. These are integrated into all teaching and learning opportunities at Kaurilands School.

Literacy at Kaurilands

At Kaurilands, we use a Structured Literacy Approach, grounded in research-based practices guided by the Science of Reading. This approach includes:

• Explicit, systematic, and sequential teaching across all literacy levels – from phonemes and phonics to vocabulary, sentence structure, and text organisation
• Cumulative practice and regular review
• High student–teacher interaction
• Carefully selected examplars
• Decodable texts
• Prompt, corrective feedback

All Year 1–3 teachers are trained in the Better Start Literacy Approach (BSLA). Students follow the BSLA Scope and Sequence, using decodable texts to build strong phonics knowledge and decoding skills.

As children move through the BSLA levels (Kākano, Tupu, Māhuri, Rakau), they begin reading a wider range of texts such as Ready to Read, colour wheel books, and journals, with growing focus on fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

In the senior years children will focus on developing comprehension and vocabulary strategies to help build a deeper understanding of the texts they read. Reading is taught daily for one hour across the school.

In Years 4–6, we teach spelling through The Code, a systematic programme that builds on earlier BSLA learning. It follows a clear Scope and Sequence to develop students’ understanding of spelling rules, patterns, and morphological awareness.

Writing is taught daily for one hour. Students write for a variety of purposes, learning the conventions and structures that make writing clear and effective. Teachers explicitly model and teach new writing skills, while also nurturing a love for writing.

Handwriting is a key skill that supports effective written communication. It is now a required component of the New Zealand English Curriculum. At Kaurilands, handwriting is taught four to five times a week for 10 minutes. Senior students begin learning cursive.

Maths at Kaurilands

The new New Zealand Maths Curriculum has a clear and well-structured scope and sequence for each year level, which builds progressively as students move through school.

Each year, children will continue to build their knowledge and skills across the six strands of mathematics, ensuring steady progress and a strong foundation in all key areas of the curriculum.

• Number
• Algebra
• Geometry
• Measurement
• Statistics
• Probability

Children take part in 5 one hour sessions of Maths each week. Throughout a typical week of maths learning, children take part in a variety of activities designed to support and extend their understanding. These include maths warm-ups, where they revisit and practise previous content and strategies, whole-class teaching focused on year-specific content, differentiated and targeted workshops tailored to their learning needs, and engaging problem-solving tasks that encourage critical thinking and collaboration. Children will have the opportunity to practice new learning throughout the week using a wide range of materials and resources.

Te Ao Māori

Children hear and see Te Reo everyday, during class lessons, the Daily Tui language clips, our school values and signage in classrooms and around the school.

Te Reo is woven throughout our curriculum. Our School integrates Te Reo Māori in all curriculum areas and fosters strong Tikanga. Ākonga will build their confidence in speaking Te Reo while taking part in weekly sessions, building on their knowledge and skills each year.