Janice Belgrave holds a PhD in education specialising in literacy acquisition and has 40 years of experience as an educator. Yet at 63, she is staring at the very real prospect of unemployment this September.
For the last 10 years, Janice worked as a Resource Teacher Literacy (RTLit), providing frontline expertise that enabled teachers and teacher aides to support around 100 neurodiverse learners across 15 schools in Christchurch. Her current 30-week contract – a temporary lifeline following the Minister of Education’s decision last year to defund and disestablish Resource Teacher Māori (Māori) and RTLit roles – is coming to an end.
For Janice, the timing couldn’t be worse. With a mortgage to pay and a retired partner, the weight of cost-of-living pressures makes every night a sleepless one.
“I have a PhD, but it’s hard to find a job when you’re 63,” says Janice. “I’m not old enough to get a pension and we still have a mortgage. We don’t know what will happen when this contract finishes. Every day is stressful.”
Janice is one of a number of literacy specialists facing this precarious situation. A former colleague who lives alone with a mortgage is facing the same September deadline with no job prospects in sight.
As RTLits have been forced out of their former positions, the literacy support once guaranteed to every child is becoming a service only wealthy families can afford. Jenny Martin, a former RTLit and national executive member, said some former colleagues now work as private tutors – a move she says highlights a growing divide in the education system.
“This has created inequity,” Jenny says. “Parents who can afford it may access this literacy expertise via private tutoring, but many Māori, Pasifika, and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds are being left behind.”
The loss of these specialist roles follows the Government’s decision to defund the service in Budget 2025. NZEI Te Riu Roa challenged the decision via judicial review but after the High Court dismissed the claim last October, the education union filed an appeal. The Court of Appeal has set a hearing for 12 May.
Former RTLit Tracy Olorenshaw says she sees the impact of the cuts every time she enters a classroom.
“I see so many schools with students whose needs are not being met, and teachers who have no one to turn to for support. The long-term implications of this are huge,” says Tracy, who is currently working as a reliever. “What’s happening isn’t in the best interest of kids or their learning, and the teachers are struggling just as much.”
“I am not using my specialist skills at all,” says Tracy. “I have a bachelor’s degree in social science, a diploma in teaching, a postgraduate diploma in literacy education, a Master’s degree in literacy education, and I’m currently completing a second Master’s in education leadership. I feel totally hung out to dry with expertise that could be making a difference.”
To qualify as an RTLit, educators required at least a postgraduate literacy qualification and extensive professional development and experience.
“This workforce of specialists is now facing the daunting reality of starting over in a job market with few prospects,” says Jenny.
“Many former RTLits can no longer use their literacy expertise to support students and teachers. Some are forced into part-time work, others have left education or are siloed in single schools, whereas they previously supported clusters of up to 40 schools.”
Despite assurances from the Minister last year that there would be plenty of employment opportunities, Jenny says the reality on the ground is different.
“The Minister told us there would be many roles we could transition into, but there are very few specialist roles available. This means all this expertise has either left the sector or is being used neither efficiently nor equitably.”
While the Ministry of Education has approved 20 providers to deliver professional development in structured literacy, purportedly to replace RTLit expertise, reports suggest the quality of support is varied and inconsistent.
“These are all issues we predicted last year, and we met with Minister Stanford and her team to share our concerns. Sadly, we were ignored and now many schools and students are paying the price,” Jenny says.
Ministry of Education data show that 121 RT Lit and 53 RT Māori full-time positions existed across the country before the cuts.