The Minister of Education has reviewed and updated the approach to the refresh of the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC), including making changes to the high-level criteria and planned timelines. As a result of this, previously completed content is being revisited and updated. 

The updated curriculum content will be informed by and build on the work which has been put into the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh over the last three years.

The New Zealand Curriculum will be knowledge-rich, clear and easy to use, underpinned by the science of learning. It will be inclusive of evidence-informed teaching practices, internationally comparable, and will support the development of key competencies.

The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) is being updated and made available in phases. Schools and kura will have until the beginning of 2027 to start using the fully refreshed national curriculum. 

Schools and kura should note the following timelines for implementation:

• Term 1, 2025 – Schools and kura will need to teach the updated English learning area for Years 0 to 6. 
• Term 1, 2026 – Schools and kura will also need to teach the updated English learning area for Years 7 to 13, and mathematics and statistics learning area for Years 0 to 13.
• Term 1, 2027 – The fully updated national curriculum will be required. This includes the other learning areas: science, technology, health and PE, learning languages, the arts, and social sciences.

The Ministry of Education values the feedback and input received from the education sector and the New Zealand community, and will continue to engage widely on the framework and learning area content as they are updated.

Schools and kura will have the opportunity to review and test draft curriculum content before it becomes required. The first opportunity for feedback will be in Term 3, 2024, when the content for English (Years 0-6) will be available for review.

English (Years 7-13), maths (Years 0-13), science (Years 0-13) and technology (Years 0-13) will be available to use in Term 4, 2024, and schools can provide feedback on them in the first half of 2025. 

The remaining content will be available for review before it is finalised for use.

Information about the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh on Tāhūrangi

Changes to the Curriculum Refresh website

The resources previously found on this website were developed for an earlier version of the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum and have been removed while learning areas are being updated.

The earlier versions of three of the learning areas remain on this website for reference, but will be updated in the timeframes described above.

All curriculum content and resources will be available on Tāhūrangi – and this website will be closed – by 1 August 2024.

Please direct questions, comments or feedback to nationalcurriculum.refresh@education.govt.nz.