Oxford Mathematics and Statistics for Aotearoa New Zealand
Case study: Steve’s story
We were just sort of blown away by Oxford, how much content there was.
Steve Ramdhanie
Takapuna Normal Intermediate School
Meet Steve
Steve teaches a composite Year 7–8 class at Takapuna Normal Intermediate School.
Takapuna Normal Intermediate is on Auckland’s North Shore and has just over 700 students.
Steve is a joint ‘Within School Lead’ for mathematics and has supported his school staff as they introduced Oxford Mathematics and Statistics for Aotearoa New Zealand (Oxford Maths) in 2025.
Why Oxford?
Steve was part of the decision-making team who chose Oxford Maths. When the team looked at the range of Oxford resources, they concluded that this was the best choice for their school.
The decision-making team noted the logical nature of the resources and the workbooks. The interactive dashboard and content were also appealing and they liked the idea of the pre- and post-tests.
Oxford Maths was introduced to the staff through regular internal professional learning sessions. Steve described how he and others supported staff to use the dashboard and interactives, how to access year-level content, how to assign and mark pre- and post-tests, and how to use resources effectively in composite classes.
Although Steve is not the direct contact for Oxford at his school, he commented on how responsive they have been with any issues they have encountered.
“Oxford are receptive to hearing about issues and proactive at sorting them out.“
A one-stop resource
Steve explained the ease of using the Oxford Maths resources – how you are going to introduce, deliver, and what resources you need is done for you. Steve says his job as a teacher is to read up and be prepared so he is 100% confident with the content.
The lesson plans support his explicit teaching. He can quickly select the interactives, games, and resources to reinforce the concept he is teaching for half of his lesson. As Steve candidly puts it, he then ‘unleashes’ his learners into the workbooks for the other half of the lesson, which allows him to support individuals or groups of learners who may need additional support.
Steve thinks using Oxford Maths is streamlining the way maths is being taught throughout the school. The resources are supporting consistency in what is being taught and how.
The strong emphasis on mathematical language throughout the resources was noted by Steve as another strength of the programme. He can see it threaded through the interactives and workbooks, supporting consistent use across the school.
Confidence in my programme
Only halfway into the year Steve tells us he is feeling confident that Oxford Maths is aligned and supporting his delivery of the curriculum.
He knows he is covering the required content and can communicate this with confidence to parents and carers.
“We have to cover a lot of maths content and it is a good way of getting it across.”
Steve said that working with Oxford Maths has been different to the way he has taught maths historically. He likes the whole-class approach where all students are getting exposure to see what kind of maths they should be doing.
“I like the way that the programme has slowed it all down, and I feel like I am doing a better job in terms of depth. I just think it's a better approach.”
Steve said he is really enjoying the 1:1 time he can give students and that parents are being engaged to support learners at home too.
“I think it’s made life easier, because you don’t have to run around trying to think, what will we do next. All the decisions have gone away and now it’s just a lot easier.”
[Oxford Maths] has improved their selfconfidence and just the way they feel about themselves. I think they feel great and they are doing what everyone else in the class is doing.”
Testing that supports teaching
At Takapuna Normal Intermediate all the learners use the pre- and post-test functionality of the programme.
Steve said the pre-tests help him know where his learners are at and identify those who will need additional support and those who can work with greater independence.
Steve does all the pre-test himself too, as it gives him a sense of what his learners are being exposed to and helps him dig into the resources in terms of how to map the programme out moving forwards.
Steve tells us the students have now got the hang of the post-tests. They seem excited and want to do well with these.
The way the post-tests are designed allows Steve to identify which students are working above level too.
Confident learners
Stevereportsthat theway Oxford Maths exposeslearnerstocontent ishaving a positiveimpact. All learnerswork on the sameconcept which buildstheir confidence.
When a learner getsstuck, Stevecan take histimetoteach them, either individually or in small groups.
Thestudentsreally enjoy theworkbooks and find them motivating. Stevesaid that thestudentsareoften itching toget into them. Not only arethey engaging, but studentsareproud of their work.
Another reason Stevegavefor student enjoyment of theworkbookswasthe instant feedback they get when they mark their own work. Thestudentscan then ask for support when they need it.
Stevelikeshow thequestionsin the workbooksareposed. Hethinksthey are well considered, engaging and provide sufficient challenge.
“[Students] were literally showing [parents] stuff in the workbook and then challenging them to solve problems and speaking about [their learning].”