Introduction
Have your say. Get involved. Be part of the change.
Since 2021, there have been regular opportunities to have your say as we refresh The New Zealand Curriculum together. These opportunities will continue as we continue to refresh The New Zealand Curriculum over the next three years. From fast-testing to sector feedback, to learning area writing groups – we want you to have your say, get involved, and be part of the change.
Feedback open now: have your say
From 17 March – 12 May, we’re seeking your feedback on the draft of Te Mātaiaho | the Curriculum Framework. You will find a recorded webinar, registrations for live webinars and a link to our survey below.
At the end of last year, we asked schools to let us know what they thought of the draft curriculum framework Te Mātaiaho. We have made changes based on what we heard and have also finalised some aspects of Te Mātaiaho that were still in development.
Now, we’re going out for feedback on Te Mātaiaho as a revised whole. Te Mātaiaho now includes:
- Mātaioho: the process by which schools draw on the national curriculum to design their school curriculum
- Mātaiahikā: obligation to learning through local relationships with tangata whenua and local communities
We also want to know how ready your school feels to start responding to Te Mātaiaho, and the usefulness of available supports and resources.
As with last year, we are asking people to attend a webinar before filling out a survey about the draft Te Mātaiaho. If you cannot find a time that works for you and your school, you can watch a recording of a webinar below.
Te Mātaiaho | The Curriculum Framework
Mātai aho tāhūnui, Lay the kaupapa down
Mātai aho tāhūroa And sustain it
Hei takapau wānanga The learning here
E hora nei Laid out before us
Gifted by Dr Wayne Ngata and members of our Rōpū Kaitiaki, "Te Mātaiaho" means “to observe and examine the strands of learning.”
Te Mātaiaho brings to life the shifts required for ākonga to see themselves and their learning in the refreshed curriculum. Grounded in the power of observation, Te Mātaiaho weaves together all elements that will make up the whole of The New Zealand Curriculum. More than a framework, Te Mātaiaho is a tool that navigates the future for our ākonga by honouring our past to enrich our present.
Te Mātaiaho weaves in Understand, Know, Do: our progression-focused model – which develops the big ideas, contexts, and practices across the learning areas, and enables increasingly rigorous and complex learning.
Building on the 2007 Curriculum, Te Mātaiaho sets out a process of ongoing design and review of local curriculum. Together, national and local curriculum provide the basis for ākonga to flourish and thrive. Te Mātaiaho also gives practical effect to the key competencies and values within the 2007 New Zealand Curriculum and how they can be woven throughout the learning areas.
Later in 2023, all schools and kura can start to try out aspects of the refreshed curriculum as part of their classroom programmes.
Attend a Webinar
Click here to register for a live webinar or, alternatively, you can watch the recorded webinar below. We recommend having your copy of the draft Te Mātaiaho | the Curriculum Framework open in front of you.
Complete the survey
Once you have attended a live webinar or watched the recording, please complete the survey. The survey has been designed as a group exercise but we also welcome individual responses where group work is not possible.
We are seeking your feedback on the draft of Te Mātaiaho | the Curriculum Framework. For schools. we also want to know how ready you feel to start responding to Te Mātaiaho, and the usefulness of available supports and resources.
Te Mātaiaho | The Refreshed New Zealand Curriculum - Feedback Survey
Uiuinga Urupare mō Te Mātaiaho | The Refreshed New Zealand Curriculum
Draft English and Mathematics & Statistics learning areas
The Mathematics & Statistics and English learning areas have also been updated following engagement at the end of 2022. These learning areas are now being finalised and will be available for use later this year.
Meanwhile, phase 1 of the Common Practice Model is also available on the website: Common Practice Model – Education in New Zealand.
Draft Science, Technology and The Arts learning areas
The Science, Technology and The Arts learning areas are being refreshed this year and we are looking for schools to ‘fast test’ the drafts between 29 May and 9 June 2023.
Fast testing will involve attending an introductory webinar which will take an hour of your time to walk through the refreshed learning areas, and then another hour of your time for a discussion with your colleagues and to complete the short survey.
If you are interested, please contact NationalCurriculum.Refresh@education.govt.nz and we will send you more information at the time of fast testing.
Your participation in this ‘fast testing’ feedback loop would be immensely valuable to The New Zealand Curriculum refresh. There will be another opportunity for schools to test the complete drafts through our national feedback process later in 2023.
Indicative Timeline
We are currently developing an interactive timeline that will set out the key opportunities for involvement across the entire curriculum change work programme. Keep an eye out for this. Until then - click here for a static timeline of the NZC Refresh.
As each learning area is refreshed, each will go through design, feedback, and implementation phases. We'll provide regular updates here, and through the school bulletin and curriculum newsletter on ways to get involved at each phase.
In the meantime, contact us anytime at NationalCurriculum.Refresh@education.govt.nz to get involved in the refresh of The New Zealand Curriculum.
Te Poutāhū Curriculum Newsletter
Updates from your curriculum team
The Curriculum Newsletter is the best way to stay up to date with the latest information from your curriculum team; and outlines ways to get involved. Check out past editions of the Curriculum Newsletter; and the school bulletin here. To receive these newsletters directly, opt-in by emailing curriculum.newsletter@education.govt.nz
Who we’re working with
Our oversight groups
Te Rōpū Kaitiaki is a leadership group made up of highly respected leaders and academics with expertise in mātauranga Māori, Māori education and culturally responsive inclusive education. The group was established to advise on the integrity and appropriate weaving of mātauranga Māori grounded in te ao Māori and te reo Māori me ōna tikanga through the curriculum.
The group works with Te Ohu Arataki as the Coherence Oversight Group to ensure coherence across the whole of the refreshed curriculum, and that it is true to Tiriti honouring, inclusive, clear and easy to use.
Our Rōpū Kaitiaki members are:
| Graham Hingangaroa Smith |
Distinguished Professor, Massey University |
| Wayne Ngata | Director, Ngā Pakura |
|
Mera Penehira |
Head of School of Indigenous Graduate Studies, Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi |
| Vaughan Bidois | Executive Director Academic, Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi |
| Sonja Macfarlane | Associate Professor, Massey University |
Ohu Arataki role is to guide the learning area writing teams and ensure that each is consistent in the use of the Understand, Know, Do progression model and progress outcomes and that this consistency leads to alignment across all the learning areas.
They work with Rōpū Kaitiaki as the Coherence Oversight Group to ensure the whole refresh, is a joined up document and meets the criteria of honouring Te Tiriti, is inclusive of all, is clear about the learning that matters and is easy to use.
Our Ohu Arataki members are:
| Wally Penetito | Emeritus Professor Education, Victoria University of Wellington |
| Hēmi Dale | Director Māori Medium Education, Te Kura Akoranga me Te Tauwhiro Tangata - Faculty of Education & Social Work, University of Auckland |
|
Barbara Ala’alatoa |
Principal, Sylvia Park School |
| Barbara Cavanaugh | Principal, Huntly College |
| Graeme Aitken | Emeritus Professor, University of Auckland |
The Curriculum Advisory Group (CAG) is helping to strengthen our national curriculum leadership by providing expert advice on the direction for the curriculum and assessment work programme across Te Whāriki, The New Zealand Curriculum, Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and the National Certificates of Achievement.
They don’t do this alone, however, and work with our other advisory and reference groups who are already working hard across a range of pathways and curriculum priorities, including the refresh of The New Zealand Curriculum.
Introducing the Curriculum Advisory Group – Education in New Zealand
The Curriculum Voices Group (CVG) gives voice to a broad range of approximately 65 stakeholders, including peak bodies, educators, the disability community, and community leaders. This group serves as a central ‘touch point’ for guidance on the design, development, and implementation of the refreshed New Zealand curriculum as well as wider initiatives to support teaching and learning.
We are partnering with the Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) to facilitate engagement with ākonga and amplify youth voice throughout the refresh of The New Zealand Curriculum, co-designed by young people, for young people. The Youth Voices Group will bring together young people aged 15-17 from diverse communities and experiences. Within the wider Youth Voices Group, caucuses (smaller groups) will support safe and open discussion between people with shared experiences. This function is being developed in response to community feedback, and our commitment to ensuring genuine and inclusive participation.
The nominations process for Youth Voices Group concluded at the end of November and we expect to convene in Term 1 to select group members. Ongoing and additional opportunities for young people to engage in The New Zealand Curriculum refresh will continue throughout the course of the refresh.
The Disabilities Voices Group ensures equitable opportunities, voice and representation of the disabled community/ sector across and within the Te Poutāhū work programme - including the curriculum refresh. This group is led by and made up of individuals from the disability community and whānau, who will inform the design of our mahi and contribute to how we engage with the wider disabled community. Regular updates with key agencies and organisations will strengthen and sustain relationships throughout the refresh of The New Zealand Curriculum.
Our writing groups
The Ministry leads a writing team for each learning area, which consists of people from the sector with experience and expertise associated with the particular learning area. The group is a mix of primary and secondary teachers and leaders along with providers of PLD and initial teacher education. Some come with strong mātauranga Māori, others strong knowledge of Māori and Pacific students succeeding as Māori and Pacific people. All have been nominated by organisations such as subject associations, unions and representative bodies as people who the sector trusts.
Our working groups
These small groups work with us to design and produce specific content or resources.
The first of these, the Mātaiaho Reference Group, ensures that the refreshed NZC is te Tiriti-honouring and inclusive and that it values the identities, languages and cultures of all ākonga. It works together with content writers to ensure coherence across the entire curriculum.
The second of these is our Local Curriculum Focus Group. We're refreshing the NZC School Curriculum Design and Review section to guide schools and kura to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and be inclusive in the design and review of their local curriculum, giving effect to the national curriculum in ways that respond to the needs, interests and aspirations of ākonga and whānau.
We invited key principals’ leadership organisations to nominate experienced principals to contribute to this work. The group consists of 12 school leaders and educators who are acknowledged for their leadership of local curriculum that actively honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is inclusive of all learners. The local curriculum focus group is facilitated by Therese Ford and Graeme Aitken.
Updates from your Curriculum Writing Groups
- Social sciences will be ready for use late 2022
- English and mathematics and statistics will be ready for use term 2 2023
- Science, technology and the arts will be developed during 2023 and ready for feedback later in the year
- Health and physical education, and learning languages will be developed during 2024 and ready for feedback later in that year
FAQs
The refresh of The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) is the central part of a wider curriculum and assessment change programme. It is being implemented alongside the Literacy & Communication and Maths Strategy released earlier this year.
All elements of the NZC will be refreshed in phases.
In 2022:
- Social Sciences
- the Curriculum Framework
- English
- Mathematics and Statistics
In 2023:
- Science
- The Arts
- Technology
In 2024:
- Health & PE
- Learning languages
It will be a requirement for all schools to use the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum from 2026. Schools who want to implement the refreshed learning earlier than 2026 are welcome to do so.
At every stage of the refresh, there will be capability-building services and curriculum resources available to teachers and leaders to help implement the changes.
All form part of our Curriculum Change Programme.
The Literacy & Communication and Maths Strategy signals a shift to explicitly call out literacy & communication and maths learning across the curriculum.
This shift will support teachers to weave literacy & communication and maths teaching and learning in all learning areas and along the whole learning pathway, recognising that a focus on literacy & communication and maths remains important right up until Year 13.
Across the refreshed NZC, literacy and numeracy learning will be recognised by the literacy & communication and numeracy progressions. These progressions form part of the Common Practice Model.
The new literacy and numeracy co-requisites for NCEA will be signalled in the progressions.
The Aotearoa New Zealand's histories (ANZH) curriculum content will be embedded in the refreshed Te Ao Tangata | Social Sciences learning area.
While all schools are required to make Aotearoa New Zealand's histories part of their local curriculum from 2023, they are not required to include the rest of the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum until 2026. Schools who are wanting to implement the refreshed learning earlier than 2026 are welcome to do so.
More ANZH information and resources are available here.
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Support for Schools, Leaders and Teachers
Ongoing support and resources for local curriculum design and the implementation of the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum
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Why The New Zealand Curriculum is changing
Our Shared Kaupapa for the refresh of The New Zealand Curriculum, and the curriculum change journey
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What's changing?
What's changing with the refresh of The New Zealand Curriculum, and what it means for you
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Get involved
Who we’re working with and ways to get involved in the refresh of The New Zealand Curriculum