Welcome to the September issue of the Te Poutāhū School Update newsletter. In this issue, we share the latest updates on your teacher-only days, the draft learning areas of the refreshed New Zealand curriculum, and some Kaupapa Ako Māori name changes.

To make it easy for you to stay up to date with the implementation of NCEA Level 1 and the co-requisites, we’ve created a new NCEA Update newsletter. We’ll be sending each issue to subscribers regularly until Term 1 next year – you can read the first issue and subscribe to the newsletter below.

You’ll also find a reminder about the Awards for Gifted Learners, instructions for how to order the Tangata Whenua place name maps that are now available, and new supporting resources for the Ata and Oho collection.

I hope you enjoy these last few days of Term 3, and find some time to rest over the holidays.

Your schools and kura will hold their teacher-only days between Monday 13 and Friday 24 November 2023 to help them understand and prepare for the upcoming changes to curriculum and assessment.

A suite of online resources to support these days is available now. You can find all the resources here:

Teacher-Only Days 2023 and 2024 | Te Mahau

Following consultation with our sector advisory group, the date range for the two 2024 teacher-only days have now been confirmed.

• In Term 2, your teacher-only day must be held between Mon 27 May – Fri 7 June 2024.
• In Term 4, your teacher-only day must be held between Mon 21 October – Fri 15 November 2024.

Providing a date range gives schools flexibility to hold their teacher-only day at time that works best for them, however we are strongly encouraging schools in neighbouring areas to hold their TOD on the same date. This increases the opportunity for collaboration, maximises the use of in-person supports, and minimises disruption for parents and whānau.

These days are part of four teacher-only days allocated across 2023 to 2024 to help schools prepare for curriculum and assessment changes. The teacher-only days are available to primary and secondary schools, kura and wharekura. They will not extend the school year. 

For more information, visit:

Teacher-Only Days 2023 and 2024 | Te Mahau

Are you teaching any gifted learners?

You, your ākonga, or their parents, can now apply for the Awards for Gifted Learners to support their learning and enable them to pursue their passion. Gifted learners in early learning up to school leaving age can apply for these awards, which can provide up to $2,500 to a student or up to $5,000 to a group of students. Applications close on 9 October.

You can find out more about the awards here:

Awards for gifted learners » Gifted & Talented Education (tki.org.nz)

We also have Awards for Teachers of Gifted Learners for kaiako currently working in early learning, primary, or secondary schools. Funding of up to $2,500 can be awarded to an individual, or up to $6,000 to a group, to support them in enhancing their skills so they can better support gifted learners. Applications open on 2 October and close on 5 November.

You can find out more about the teacher awards here:

Awards for Teachers » Gifted & Talented Education (tki.org.nz)

If you have any questions about these awards, you can email us at gifted.enquiries@education.govt.nz

The Common Practice Model (CPM) has been designed to help lift educational achievement of students across Aotearoa New Zealand in the foundational areas of literacy, communication, and maths. It has been created by educational experts and is based on what evidence shows are the pedagogies and practices that have the most impact. Alongside the progression model within Te Mātaiaho | the refreshed NZ curriculum, the CPM will provide clear, practical guidance that helps teachers design and deliver lessons in these critical areas.

Together, the progression model and the use of the CPM will be required as core teaching requirements in schools from 2026.

You can read about the CPM here:

Common Practice Model – Education in New Zealand

The full CPM, which includes practical guides and exemplars, is expected to be released in Term 4. Schools are strongly encouraged to engage with the CPM and start making preparations for its use.

You can see the resources the Ministry is providing to support its implementation here:

CPM-Catalogue-of-Resources.pdf (education.govt.nz)

Schools are also encouraged to use their November teacher-only day to prepare for its use. You can find out more about those days here:

Teacher-Only Days 2023 and 2024 | Te Mahau

We’re providing schools and kura with more time to review the next three learning areas being developed as part of the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh. We had some excellent feedback from an initial review round, and are working through it to update the learning area drafts for science, technology, and the arts.

It’s important that you have enough time to engage in the work and share your views with us, so you will have from the end of October 2023 to March 2024 to review and provide feedback on these learning areas. They will then be released in August 2024.

Find out more about the curriculum refresh here:

Refreshing The New Zealand Curriculum | Curriculum Refresh (education.govt.nz)

The refreshed mathematics and statistics and English learning areas will be required for use in schools and kura from the beginning of 2025, as literacy and numeracy are a key priority for the government.

The drafts of these learning areas are already available on The New Zealand Curriculum refresh website, and specific supports and guidance for mathematics and statistics and English are available.

Find the draft mathematics and statistics learning area here:

Mathematics and statistics | Curriculum Refresh (education.govt.nz)

And the draft English learning area here:

English | Curriculum Refresh (education.govt.nz)

Te Mātaiaho | the refreshed NZ curriculum will replace the existing curriculum at the beginning of 2027, although all learning areas will be available to explore and practice with by 2025.

Find out more about the curriculum refresh here:

Refreshing The New Zealand Curriculum | Curriculum Refresh (education.govt.nz)

‘Exploring Ata and Oho’ is a social and emotional learning resource, designed to help you use the Ata and Oho collection in your practice, and support your teaching of social and emotional learning.

This latest interactive support gives you ways to link Ata and Oho to the Understand, Know, Do framework, te ao tangata | social sciences, and Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories. Exploring Ata and Oho guides you through ways to help ākonga realise their potential in mana-enhancing, socially-located, and culturally-sustaining ways, and progress towards the managing self and relating to others key competencies.

You can find the new ‘Exploring Ata and Oho’ resource here:

Exploring Ata and Oho

And the original Ata and Oho collection here:

Social and Emotional Learning – Resource collections | Health & PE · TKI

In July, we let you know about the beautiful poster-style maps of Te Waipounamu and Te Ika-a-Māui that would be available for you to order in Term 3.

We’re pleased to let you know that the new stock is now printed, packaged, and ready for you to order from Down the Back of the Chair. You can find them here by searching for ‘Te Waipounamu and Te Ika-a-Maui set of posters’ or its product code ‘MOEA0021’:

Down the Back of the Chair | Login

Digital versions are also available here:

Tangata whenua place names | Toitū Te Whenua - Land Information New Zealand (linz.govt.nz)

Ko te manu kai i te miro, nōna te ngahere. 

Ko te manu kai i te mātauranga, nōna te ao! 

To meet our commitment to develop subjects that support te ao Māori pathways in NCEA, the wāhanga ako below are being – or have been – developed in The New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.  

• Te Ao Haka, Whaiora and Mau Rākau in The New Zealand Curriculum.  
• Toi Whakairo and Te Reo Pākehā in Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. 

During the development of Whaiora, Mau Rākau, and Toi Whakairo, we recognised the need to change their subject or wāhanga ako names to reflect complexity and nuance more appropriately. 

These name changes and the reasons behind them are described below. They are also reflected in the approved NCEA subject lists for The New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.

You can find the approved subject lists here:

Approved NCEA Subject Lists

1. Whaiora changes to Toiora

Toiora describes the process of ākonga creating their own, unique pathways towards health and well-being based on their knowledge of their own unique needs. Ākonga are on a journey towards a greater awareness of these needs, empowered through the delivery of teaching and learning materials. The name Toiora gives space for the creation of subject materials that are holistic in their approach to well-being. 

2. Mau Rākau changes to Te Ao Tū Taua

Te Ao Tū Taua focuses on and allows scope for investigation and exploration of the rich body of tikanga underpinning this movement. Tū Taua is derived from Tūmatauenga, the Atua of war. The ancient art of Māori weaponry can be traced back to the time when Ranginui and Papatūānuku were separated, and their children were at war with each other. This body of tikanga relates to the wider world of physical fitness, Māori history, Atua Māori, whakapapa, confidence, leadership skills, self-discipline, respect, and all uses of the taiaha. Te Ao Tū Taua looks at the wider world within which Mau Rākau exists, and gives space for the creation of subject materials that are relational, and that reflect the associated complexities and nuances of this mātauranga. 

3. Toi Whakairo changes to Te Ao Whakairo

Te Ao Whakairo focuses on and allows scope for investigation and exploration of the rich body of tikanga underpinning the process of creating art carvings. Te Ao Whakairo looks at the wider world within which Toi Whakairo exists and gives space for the creation of subject materials that are relational, and that reflect the associated complexities and nuances of this mātauranga. 

You can reach out to us with any questions at ncea.maraumaori@education.govt.nz

Last month, we published the first issue of our NCEA Update newsletter. Each issue provides you with key updates to the implementation of NCEA Level 1 and the NCEA co-requisite, links to available resources, and points of contact for questions or support.

The new update will release regularly from now until at least Term 1 next year. The first issue was sent directly to principals, tumuaki, and principals’ nominees, and we encourage you to subscribe to the next issues if you’re interested. You can subscribe here:

Subscribe to our Te Poutāhū Update newsletters

If you’d like to check out the first issue, you can view it here:

NCEA Update: Issue #1