Te Mātaiaho

The refreshed NZ curriculum

Te Mātaiaho | the refreshed NZ curriculum is designed to give practical effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and be inclusive, clear, and easy to use.

It has been developed over the last two years in collaboration with the education sector, students, whānau, communities, and a wide range of interested organisations and communities.

The updated draft of Te Mātaiaho is expected to be released in Term 4, 2023, and will include the three refreshed learning areas which have been released so far: te ao tangata | social sciences, English, and mathematics and statistics.

The other five learning areas are being refreshed, and will be released in 2024 and 2025. Schools and kura have until 2027 to begin using the complete refreshed curriculum, although mathematics and statistics and English must be used from 2025.

Te Mātaiaho whakapapa

Te Mātaiaho | the refreshed NZ curriculum is framed within a whakapapa that connects all its components. Each learning area draws on the components of the whakapapa and uses the same structure, so that the curriculum is coherent as a whole and easy to use.

‘Mātai’ means to study deliberately, examine, and observe, and ‘aho’ describes the many strands and threads of learning.

This whakapapa was conceived by Dr Wayne Ngata (Ngāti Ira, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Ngāti Porou), and further developed by Rōpū Kaitiaki, a group of eminent experts in mātauranga Māori.

Refreshed learning areas

Find out more about the refreshed learning areas below.