The Ministry is two years into a six-year programme to refresh The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) – both the overall framework and the eight existing learning areas.

The proposed name for the refreshed New Zealand curriculum is Te Mātaiaho, which means “to observe and examine the strands of learning.” This name was gifted by Dr Wayne Ngata and members of our Rōpū Kaitiaki.

Te Mātaiaho | the Curriculum Framework is currently draft and the final version will be released in Term 3, 2023. You can download it here:

Te Mātaiaho will continue the same eight learning areas as in the existing 2007 Curriculum.

These are being developed and released in phases, and schools will have until the beginning of 2027 to start using the fully refreshed curriculum.

The final draft of Te Mātaiaho will be released in Term 3, 2023.

• Te ao tangata | social sciences was released in November 2022, and the new Aotearoa New Zealand's Histories must now be taught in all schools.
• English is now available to be explored and used in schools and kura
• Mathematics and statistics is now available to be explored and used in schools and kura
• Science is in development for release in 2024
• Technology is in development for release in 2024
• The Arts is in development for release in 2024
• Health and physical education is in development for release in 2025
• Learning languages is in development for release in 2025.

At every stage of the refresh, the Ministry will support kaiako and leaders with curriculum resources to help implement the change and build capability.  

Te Mātaiaho | the refreshed NZ curriculum includes:

• the whakapapa of Te Mātaiaho
• a Vision for Young People – written by young people for young people
• a purpose statement to ensure equity and inclusion for all ākonga.

Mātauranga Māori will sit at the heart of the learning areas, with key competencies, literacy, and numeracy explicitly woven into each learning area.

This will help ākonga understand a dynamic and evolving knowledge system unique to Aotearoa.

The refreshed curriculum will be progression-focused, rather than outcomes-focused.

Curriculum levels and achievement objectives will be replaced with five phases of learning: Y1-3, Y4-6, Y7-8, Y9-10 and Y11-13.

Each of the five phases of learning contains progress outcomes that describe what ākonga should understand, know, and do by the end of each phase.

Students deepen their understanding of the big ideas (understand), as they explore the context (know), using critical practices (do).

Each phase is cumulative, building on the last and increasingly complex as ākonga progress.

The model is designed to make it easier for teachers to create rich and responsive learning, and puts ākonga – their voice, wellbeing, and aspirations – at the centre of learning.

When using progressions, assessment for learning is an ongoing process integral to teaching and learning.

“One of the really exciting things about the curriculum refresh is that we have looked at progression in a much more child-centred way. I think one of the things the previous curriculum lacked was some structure around the things that are most important, and ‘Understand, Know and Do’ provides that structure.”

- Barbara Ala’alatoa, Principal, Sylvia Park School

In this module you will learn about the progressions model that sits within Te Mātaiaho and the ways you can begin to use Mātairea (the progressions model) and Mātaiaho (the learning strands) to strengthen how you notice, recognise, and respond to ākonga learning in your programmes.

It is expected to take 60 minutes to complete.

After completing this module, you will be able to:

• explain why there is a shift to a progression-focused curriculum
• understand Mātairea (the progressions model) and Mātaiaho (the learning strands) and how they are interwoven
• recognise ways you might weave the progressions model and Understand, Know, Do (UKD) elements into your teaching and learning
• focus your school's learning programmes in a consistent way.

Start the module on the progressions model