Release of Years 0-10 curriculum marks education milestone
Education Minister Erica Stanford today released the final two learning areas – Health and Physical Education and the Arts – completing the release of the updated Years 0-10 New Zealand Curriculum.
This follows the release of the Year 0-10 learning areas Technology and Learning Languages, last week.
“This curriculum provides a clear and nationally consistent pathway for learning, helping students develop the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to succeed at school and beyond.”
The updated New Zealand Curriculum provides a detailed and explicit year-by-year approach across all content, giving teachers clarity about the knowledge and practices students should acquire as they progress through school.
“The final New Zealand Curriculum has been informed by almost 3,900 submissions from teachers, school leaders, curriculum experts, subject associations, whānau and communities, and I want to thank everyone who shared their expertise, experience and feedback throughout this process.”
More than 180 New Zealand curriculum experts were involved in the writing.
For the first time, the curriculum will include an explicit focus on online safety. This includes identifying misinformation, privacy risks, extreme content, and impacts on mental health.
There is also now a consistent national approach to the teaching of sexuality education, removing the previous requirement for schools to consult with communities every two years. Parents still retain the right to withhold their child from the teaching of these topics.
This is particularly useful for intermediate schools, which no longer need to rely on outdated guidance from 2007.
“The Ministry has also ensured that learning areas that cover climate change are clearly signposted. Climate change was always in the curriculum, but it’s now more clearly labelled.”
Also released today as part of the New Zealand Curriculum is the New Zealand Curriculum Framework – Te Mātaiaho. This document sets the overarching requirements for teaching and learning programmes. Schools must give effect to it when developing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating these programmes.
“Schools will have until the beginning of 2029 to fully implement these learning areas. This gives schools plenty of time to prepare and engage.”
The Ministry of Education will provide comprehensive support, which includes professional learning and development, learning kits for planning, and teaching resources.
Content for the entire national curriculum will be updated into the online Parent Portal by the start of next year so that parents can easily access and understand the content.
“The National Curriculum has not been fully updated for almost 20 years. We are strengthening the national curriculum, so it is knowledge-rich, internationally comparable, and grounded in the science of learning.”
“Our focus is making sure every young New Zealander leaves school with strong foundations, a deeper understanding of the world, and the knowledge they need to succeed in education and beyond.”
Notes to editors:
- The Ministry of Education is also publishing a report alongside each learning area that summarises the feedback received during public consultation, and how that was incorporated into the final versions.
- The National Curriculum includes Years 0-13 of the New Zealand Curriculum and Tau 0-13 of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.
- Te Marautanga o Aotearoa Tau 0-10 wāhanga ako and Te Anga Framework are set to be available on 25 September.
- Schools and kura are required to start using the curriculum from the following dates:
- 2027: Years 0-8 – Science, Social Sciences, Pūtaiao, and Pūmanawa Tangata. Years 9-10 – all learning areas and wāhanga ako.
- 2028: Year 11 – all updated content.
- 2029: Years 0-8 – all remaining learning areas and wāhanga ako (Health and Physical Education, The Arts, Technology, Learning Languages, Waiora, Toi Ihiihi, Hangarau, Te Reo Pākehā, and Ngā Reo). Year 12 – all updated content.
- 2030: Year 13 – all updated content.
- Years 0-10 English, Mathematics and Statistics, Te Reo Rangatira, and Pāngarau are already required to be used, except for some specified kura which have until 2027.
- The National Curriculum is made up of the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.
- Visit the Ministry of Education’s Tāhūrangi website for more information on the updated Years 0-10 curriculum: tahurangi.education.govt.nz/years-0-10-curriculum.
