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:

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:

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.

Curriculum Voices Group members[DOCX, 33 KB]

Curriculum Voices Group terms of reference[PDF, 396 KB]

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. 

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.

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.

Mātaiaho Reference Group members[DOCX, 174 KB]

Local Curriculum Focus Group Members[DOCX, 14 KB]