News and Media

Learning MATTERS company bio

Learning MATTERS work with teachers and specialist educators to build knowledge and guide practice with evidence-based Structured Literacy. We do this using our iDeaL Approach which is founded on the Science of Reading and provides kaiako with the knowledge and the tools to teach using a systematic and cumulative evidence-based approach to foundational literacy.

We are a passionate team with an overarching goal to tautoko an andragogical and pedagogical shift in literacy practice to ensure literacy outcomes are lifted for ALL students in New Zealand. We believe this can be achieved through clear and consistent direction and with a Structured Literacy approach.

Media contact

Rachael Griffin
Marketing and Communications

Email: marketing@learningmatters.co.nz

Media enquiries
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Carla McNeil bio

Carla McNeil
Bed, Dip T, AMADA Australian Dyslexic Assoc
Managing Director, Consultant, and Speaker at Learning MATTERS

Carla McNeil is the Founder and Managing Director of Learning MATTERS, an organisation that works with teachers and specialist educators to build knowledge and guide practice with evidence-based Structured Literacy.

Before establishing Learning MATTERS, Carla served as a Classroom Teacher, School Principal, Maths Advisor at the University of Waikato, and assisted her son William as he walked his journey with Dyslexia, APD, and ADD. Carla has always had a vested interest in education.

She presents nationally, enjoys regular topical conversations with a variety of professors and specialists within the education sector, and has been an advisor on the MOE Dyslexia kete.

Carla is a structured literacy advocate. A passionate, committed influencer and leader in education looking to share her knowledge with educators across New Zealand to positively impact ALL students and ultimately change the course of literacy achievement in this country.

Learning MATTERS news

8 December 2023Learning MATTERS Intervention Teaching (LMIT) Certification Earns International Dyslexia Association Accreditation PLUS Level

12 September 2022Learning MATTERS selected as a provider on the Professional Learning and Development Provider Panel Expansion

10 June 2022Learning MATTERS selected as Literacy & Communication trial provider

13 December 2021Important changes to Learning MATTERS

Learning MATTERS in the news

17 September 2023Emily Hanford chats to Jack Tame on TVNZ 1 for Q + A with Jack Tame

29 August 2022Carla and Theresa from Willow Park school chat to Matty McLean on TVNZ 1 Breakfast.

19 August 2022Carla chatted with Michael Laws on The Platform about the state of Literacy in New Zealand.

21 March 2022Carla chats with Jenni-May on TVNZ 1 about literacy rates in New Zealand.

18 November 2021Carla a finalist in New Zealand's Influential Women awards.

9 August 2021Carla chats with Andrew Dickens from Newstalk ZB about the need for an increase in the preparation of teachers in the teaching of reading.

8 April 2021 “What we write, we read. What we read, we write. Spelling is the segway to reading and writing.” Carla joins Kathryn Ryan on RNZ to chat about the neuroscience of reading, highlighting that spelling is a fundamental piece in that process.

6 October 2020 Carla chats with Jenni-May on TVNZ breakfast during Dyslexia Awareness week.

27 August 2020 Carla chats with Kathryn Ryan during RNZ's Nine to Noon regarding dyslexia and provides advice for what to do if you suspect your child is dyslexic.

Featured Articles

School News | Term 4, 2023Literacy is a fundamental building block for children's educational achievement, their future employment prospects, and their engagement with society outside of school.

School News | Term 3, 2023Ensuring every child receives the necessary support to develop the foundational literacy skills to access their learning can be a complex endeavour, particularly when addressing diverse needs.

School News | Term 2, 2023Whole school PLD focuses are much more likely to lead to consistent, shared knowledge and practice.

School News | Term 1, 2023Understanding ‘Why’ and knowing 'How' we learn to read is vital to be able to support students with a literacy learning difference such as dyslexia.

School News | Term 4, 2022“When reviewing existing programs, or when surveying alternative options, I strongly encourage schools to research providers that build teacher knowledge.”

School News | Term 3, 2022"We must aim for no exclusion by recognising the diversities and responding with a consistent, evidence-based approach." Read Carla's article on a consistent approach.

Education Gazette | March 2022A structured literacy approach is plugging foundational gaps, with fewer children requiring extra support at Holy Family Catholic School, Wanaka.

School News | Term 1, 2022Understanding ‘why’ and having knowledge and tools that align with 'how' we learn to read is vital to be able to put in place the appropriate evidence-based action, strategies and support.

School News | Term 3, 2021 "Learning takes place when you feel safe to engage and when you feel supported." Read Carla's article on building an inclusive literacy environment.

School News | Term 1, 2021 "Will it be you that your students remember in conversations in the years to come?" Read Carla's article from School News.

Structured Literacy in the news

24th May 2023A short doco from 'Paddy Gower Has Issues' that looks at New Zealand schools falling behind in international literacy rates

17th August 2022NZ Herald education reporter Dubby Henry joins Damien to discuss how New Zealand country can fix a systemic education crisis.

19th July 2022Hear Dr Michael Johnston discuss the results of a pilot of the new literacy and numeracy assessments for NCEA.

13th July 2022Olwyn Johnston talks on Breakfast about why New Zealand needs to look to an "evidence based" approach to improve literacy and numeracy.

15th May 2022Professor James Chapman and Dr Jennifer Buckingham on TVNZ 1 Breakfast.

24th March 2022Dr. Chrissie Braid of Massey University discusses the research, stressing the importance of a systematic explicit way of teaching literacy (structured literacy), and highlighting how it caters for all learners.

22nd March 2022Tracy Karanui-Golf and Regan Orr on TVNZ 1 Breakfast discussing the results they have witnessed with the implementation of Structured Literacy.

21st March 2022Coverage on RNZ Morning Report about literacy rates in New Zealand.

26th November 2021Link to an independent, thorough, and comprehensive report from The New Zealand Initiative which unveils New Zealand’s literacy problem.

12th August 2021 Further coverage on TVNZ1 discussing that Structured Literacy is an approach that benefits ALL and is ESSENTIAL for some.

4th August 2021 Coverage on TVNZ 1. John Campbell discusses Structured Literacy with Lifting Literacy Aotearoa chairperson Alice Wilson and Kaiapoi Primary School principal Jason Miles.