How a Nelson school is multiplying maths success

At Nelson Christian Academy, teachers are building new confidence in explicit, connected maths teaching, with stronger student engagement and a clearer understanding of how to bring the refreshed curriculum to life.

Since the launch of the Ministry of Education’s funded Maths PLD in 2023, hundreds of schools across Aotearoa have taken up the opportunity to strengthen their maths teaching practice.

The four-day PLD, which is available for primary school teachers (Y0–8), is designed to build teacher confidence, develop conceptual understanding and support explicit teaching of maths through the Understand-Know-Do structure of Te Mātaiaho.

By mid-June this year, more than 1,200 schools and 20,000 teachers have participated in Maths PLD, with many more now taking part or preparing to do so.

One of those schools is Nelson Christian Academy, which has now completed all four days of the PLD. Principal Jenny Laidlaw says the experience was a valuable opportunity to both deepen teaching practice and build a more cohesive schoolwide approach to maths.

“We were reminded of how essential it is to give students time to talk, reason and justify their thinking,” says Jenny.

“The idea that rich mathematical discussions deepen understanding really stood out, along with the realisation that explicitly teaching and using mathematical vocabulary is crucial for student comprehension.”

Connecting concepts

For Nelson Christian Academy, one key shift has been a more intentional approach to explicit teaching, particularly by integrating strand concepts alongside number-focused lessons.

“The PLD has significantly influenced our approach to explicit teaching in maths,” says Jenny.

“Teachers are now more mindful of making meaningful connections across the curriculum, recognising that we need to teach strand content (like measurement, geometry, or statistics) in ways that reinforce number concepts.

“For example, instead of teaching decimals in isolation, teachers are now embedding them within real-life measurement contexts – such as using decimal place value when exploring distances in athletics, weights in baking, or volumes in science experiments.

“This approach not only builds number knowledge but also strengthens students’ understanding of how maths connects to the world around them.” of relying on remediation ... we’ve embraced an acceleration approach, exposing all students to age-appropriate content regardless of their starting point.”

The school has also adopted a fresh approach to differentiation.

“Instead of relying on remediation and keeping students working only at their current level, we’ve embraced an acceleration approach, exposing all students to age-appropriate content regardless of their starting point,” says Jenny.

“We’ve learned that students don’t need to master every previous step before engaging with more complex ideas. Our team is still wrapping their heads around this idea, and we’re working together to build clarity.

“What they do need is carefully scaffolded support – bitesized chunks, visual tools and opportunities to discuss and explore concepts in meaningful ways.

“This shift requires more deliberate planning and differentiation from teachers, but it has resulted in increased engagement and confidence, especially for those who previously felt ‘stuck’ or left behind in maths.”

Bringing maths to life

Jenny says the team is already noticing a difference in the way students talk about and approach maths.

“As part of gathering student voice, we conducted a maths survey and found that many students feel their teachers now explain mathematical concepts more clearly.

“Overall, students expressed that they mostly enjoy maths. Many also shared that they would like to engage more with maths through games and real-world, relevant contexts.

“This feedback is helping guide our next steps, as we continue to make maths both meaningful and enjoyable, while maintaining strong conceptual understanding.”

Looking ahead, the team is keen to connect maths learning more strongly across the wider curriculum.

“This is an area we are keen to strengthen further,” says Jenny.

“While the PLD has provided a solid foundation for improving maths teaching practice, our next step is to more intentionally connect and align maths with other curriculum areas and whole-school priorities.

“We recognise that by integrating maths into other learning areas – such as using measurement in science, statistics in inquiry projects, or number in financial literacy – we can provide more opportunities for students to see the relevance of maths in real-world contexts.”

Strong pathway

Jenny strongly encourages other schools to take part in the PLD.

“It has been incredibly valuable in helping our team unpack Te Mātaiaho, which is so clear and explicit in its design.

“The curriculum provides a strong pathway for teaching mathematics, and the PLD has helped us understand how to follow the learning threads across phases and integrate them meaningfully through different strands.”

She adds that the practical, classroom-ready focus of the PLD has made a big difference.

“The PLD offers practical, classroom-ready examples that show how to break down concepts clearly, scaffold learning effectively, and ensure all students are exposed to rich, relevant mathematics.

“It’s not just about improving teacher confidence – it’s about building a shared, cohesive approach to teaching maths that aligns with the new curriculum and meets the needs of diverse learners.”

The extra resources provided through the PLD have also been highly valued by staff.

“It’s been especially helpful for us to have been provided with a number of resources to support the teaching in each phase, as part of the Maths PLD handbook,” says Jenny.

“These are invaluable to our teacher kete, and have sparked some great conversations and springboarded thinking into how to make our maths teaching richer.”

Find out more

To learn more about the funded Maths PLD, visit pld.education.govt.nz