Phase Out Kāhui Ako and LSC framework

Government Should Go Further – Phase Out Kāhui Ako AND LSC framework – In Favour of Hub Model of Learning Support, Says Advocacy Group Lifting Literacy Aotearoa

At an annual cost of around $118 million, Kāhui Ako was initially designed to foster collaboration between schools and lift student achievement. However, no review has shown this initiative to be consistently effective in improving teaching practice or student outcomes across the system.

While some Kāhui Ako appear to be highly effective, teachers and school leaders across the country have increasingly voiced concern that Kāhui Ako have limited impact on classroom learning.

Lifting Literacy Aotearoa Chairperson Jennie Watts says the funding could be better utilised to address the urgent need for learning support: “We must equip teachers with the tools, training, and support they need to reach every learner, particularly those with learning disabilities and neurodivergence. The absence of adequate support for these areas is the cause of enormous strain in classrooms around the country.”

Similarly, the Learning Support Coordinator (LSC) initiative was poorly designed, was rolled out inequitably, and needs urgent review, says Jennie Watts.

“The lack of standardised training or consistent expectations for the LSC role is another example of blurry policy causing inequitable outcomes. There is currently significant overlap between this role and the SENCO. The whole system of learning support needs reviewing at once, rather than taking a piece-meal approach of reviewing the services in silos”.

There are 623 FTTE LSC working across a number of schools, and we estimate the cost to be approx. $60 million per annum.

Toward a Hub model of coordinated learning support

LLA proposes redirecting the funds from Kāhui Ako and LSCs to a Hub model designed to equitably deliver more targeted, practical, and coordinated support to schools.

These Learning Support Hubs would be built on the existing 40 RTLB (Resource Teachers: Learning and Behaviour) Clusters, and serve as central coordination points for the rollout of professional learning and development (PLD). Each Hub would support a cluster of schools and ECE centres, which would form a natural learning community and support a greater focus on early intervention in preschool years. These schools and ECE centres would have access to shared expertise, targeted intervention services, and coordinated coaching and modelling support.

The Hubs would be staffed with a specialist workforce, including trained RTLB, literacy specialists, and allied professionals such as speech-language therapists, educational psychologists, and occupational therapists. Hubs would become centres of expertise — bringing together specialists, professional development, and hands-on coaching to help teachers meet the diverse needs of their students.

Learning Support Hubs represent a more integrated and future-focused approach to supporting educators, making use of existing capabilities within regions and the wider specialist workforce. The proposed Hubs should operate to serve needs from ECE right up to Year 13.

“This is a practical, community-based model based on re-directed funding from Kahui Ako and LSCs that ensures every school, regardless of size or location, has access to the expert support they need to cater to every learner and lift achievement.” – Jennie Watts

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