Updating The National Curriculum 

Last updated 19th May 2026

The National Curriculum, made up of the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, has not been fully updated in almost 20 years. During that time, our education context and the world around us have changed significantly. Updating the curriculum ensures it reflects these changes and supports schools and kura to prepare children and young people for the realities they face today and in the future. 

The consultation on the draft National Curriculum frameworks and Years 0-10 content has now closed, except for Pūmanawa Tangata, which is available for feedback until Friday 5 June 2026.

Take part in the Pūmanawa Tangata consultation

Years 0-10 English, Mathematics and Statistics, Te Reo Rangatira, and Pāngarau have already been updated and are required to be used in schools and most kura this year.

We strongly encourage schools and kura to engage with the draft frameworks and content, and take this opportunity to provide feedback on them to us.

Implementation

The implementation timeframe for Years 0-8 has been further extended to give schools and kura more time to start using the final National Curriculum.

The final National Curriculum will be released in mid-2026, and implemented over the next five years:

• 2026: Years 0-10 – English, Mathematics and Statistics, Te Reo Rangatira, and Pāngarau.
• 2027: Years 0-8 – Science, Social Sciences, Pūtaiao, and Pūmanawa Tangata. Years 9-10 – all learning areas and wāhanga ako.
• 2028: Year 11 – new curriculum.
• 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 – new curriculum
• 2030: Year 13 – new curriculum.

We will then move into a regular update cycle for the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.

How is The National Curriculum being strengthened?

By developing a knowledge-rich curriculum, grounded in the science of learning, we’re making both the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa clearer and easier to use - supporting teachers and kaiako to raise achievement and reduce the equity gap.

A knowledge-rich curriculum clearly specifies what students are expected to know, and be able to do, for every learning area and year level. It supports mastery over time by providing content that is carefully selected, sequenced, and coherent to make sure students build deep transferable understanding.

By introducing greater clarity and progressions in the national curriculum, our aim is to provide clear guidance on what to teach and when, reducing the need for individual teachers to create sequences themselves.

Teachers will be able to invest their time and passion in creating exciting teaching and learning programmes that build depth of understanding and foster a love of learning.

Our goal is for learners and ākonga – and those supporting them – to be able to clearly see what they’re learning and understand the progress they’re making along their learning pathway. This helps their whānau stay connected to learning, while supporting students to feel confident about their next steps. 

Our approach to implementing change

Over the last few years, teachers, kaiako, subject-matter experts, school and kura leaders, and curriculum designers have contributed to this work. It’s also been shared with sector representative groups for initial feedback and independently reviewed by the Education Review Office (ERO), drawing on school and kura leaders nationwide and international expertise.

Coherence Group

A New Zealand Curriculum Coherence Group was established in July 2024 to oversee the development of the curriculum content. Its members are: 

• Graeme Aitken, Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Auckland
• Nina Hood, Founder of the Education Hub
• Michael Johnston, Senior Fellow, The New Zealand Initiative
• Catherine Law, Principal | Tumuaki Avonside Girls' High School | Te Kura Kohine o Ōtākaro 
• Julia Novak, General Manager at Te Poutāhū | Curriculum Centre, Ministry of Education
• Andrea Scanlan, Principal Konini Primary School Wainuiomata

Assessment and Aromatawai

Students and ākonga should have a clear sense of their progress at every stage, and parents, caregivers and whānau need visibility of that progress too. This helps everyone stay informed and engaged in supporting learning.

That’s why, alongside the new National Curriculum content, we’ll continue to provide teachers with high-quality assessment and aromatawai tools and guidance to support them to use them consistently. Using these tools, they can monitor progress and identify what’s going well, any areas for improvement and opportunities for extension.

Alongside new tools, we’ve introduced regular checks throughout a student’s schooling, so they can be supported with either extension or scaffolding as needed.

Implementation support and guidance

Meaningful and transformational change of this scale doesn’t happen overnight – it takes sustained focus and investment. We’ll support teachers and leaders through every stage – getting ready, getting started, and sustaining change.

At a national level, this includes a range of resources and professional development opportunities. At a regional level, this includes our Curriculum Advisory Service who can provide in-person support.

Our approach involves supporting and extending their capability through:

• Professional learning and development
• Curriculum resources
• Guidance and tools for teachers and leaders
• Frontline support

The Implementation Timeline sets out what teachers and kaiako can expect, and when, from now until 2030:
Implementation Timeline (December 2025)

Find information about these supports on our implementation supports page or by visiting the curriculum page for resources specific to that area.
Implementation Supports (Tāhūrangi)

Our partnership with parents and caregivers

Education is a partnership – not just between the Ministry and the education sector – but also the whānau and communities supporting their children.

In early 2025 we launched the Parent Portal, a new and informative space designed to support every child’s learning journey by strengthening the relationship between families, whānau, schools and kura. It offers tools and resources to make it easier to help with children’s education at home.

Parent Portal (education.govt.nz)

What does success look like?

We’ll be monitoring success across a range of milestones, including the Government’s target of 80% of Year 8 students being at or above the expected curriculum level for their age in Reading, Writing and Maths by 2030.

We will also be looking for improvement across The National Curriculum via the Curriculum Insights and Progress Study and Tīrewa Mātai.

Beyond these important measures, our shared success is also characterised by a number of inextricably linked outcomes:

• a clear, consistent national curriculum that contains knowledge-rich content and is grounded in the science of learning
• teachers and kaiako, at every stage of their learning journey, feeling confident in what they are teaching and when, and how they are teaching it
• teachers and kaiako using excellent teaching materials and resources and best-practice assessment and aromatawai tools to track progress and help them respond to learners and ākonga needing extra support or extension
• schools and kura reporting positive relationships with the Ministry
• schools and kura rating the efficacy of the professional learning and development opportunities and other resources highly
• parents and whānau knowing and understanding how their tamariki are tracking, including strengths and areas for improvement, along with ways they can also help them to thrive.

Stay up to date

We regularly communicate about curriculum updates via the following Ministry channels:

• School Leaders Bulletin
• Curriculum Newsletters
• Education.govt.nz 
• Tāhūrangi news updates

Looking for past updates or factsheets?

Find all our Tāhūrangi news updates and factsheets on our Newsletters and Previous Updates page or by clicking the black tab titled ‘Newsletters and Previous Updates’ at the top of this page.​​​​​​​