Te Poutāhū Curriculum Centre School Update
Issue 1
Te Poutāhū Curriculum Centre School Update
Mānawa maiea te putanga o Matariki
Mānawa maiea te ariki o te rangi
Mānawa maiea te Mātahi o te tau
Ko te tau hou tēnei te haramai nei
Ko te karere a Te Poutāhū tēnei te haramai nei
Ki te Whai Ao, ki Te Ao Mārama
Tīhei Mauriora
Celebrate the rising of Matariki
Celebrate the high chief of the sky
Celebrate the new year
The new year emerges
The message from Te Poutāhū emerges
Bursting through the twilight into the day
It breathes, it lives!
Welcome to the Te Poutāhū | Curriculum Centre update
This is the first edition of a monthly update for teachers and kaiako in response to sector feedback to have dedicated curriculum channels.
We acknowledge the curriculum workload you have managed this term and we thank you for that mahi. We don’t usually send out communications in the last week of school terms. However, we’ve made a decision to do so following sector feedback. And, to put your mind to rest, there are no actions required over the term break.
Produced by Te Poutāhū | Curriculum Centre, these updates will cover all curriculum news including what is changing and when and developing a section specifically for upcoming opportunities.
Your feedback is encouraged and welcomed so we can evolve the newsletter into a useful tool for you and your colleagues.
You can email Te Poutāhū | Curriculum Centre at curriculum.newsletter@education.govt.nz
Introduction
Aligning our programmes
Ākonga, whānau, sector and communities have told us that they want learning that realises the intent of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, centres on ākonga and their whānau, and is holistic in its nature.
Importantly, they are looking for assurance that high-stakes qualifications are not leading curriculum but rather that learning comes first and assessment is in support of learning.
To help achieve this, a wide-reaching curriculum and assessment change programme is underway. While the refresh of The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC), redesign of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (TMoA) and the NCEA change programme are at different design and implementation stages, we are focussed on their alignment.
This includes their underlying foundations, change and implementation approaches, and providing coherent communications, guidance, and resources. We will also undertake ongoing engagement with the sector across all three programmes.
New Zealand Curriculum refresh
To ensure coherence between the refresh of The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) and the Review of Achievement Standards (RAS), we are ensuring explicit alignment of learning areas with NCEA subjects at Year 11 to 13:
- all subjects associated with a learning area will be identified in the essence statement
- all three aspects of a learning area’s 'Understand, Know, Do' framework will be described in a similar manner for all progress outcomes across Year 1 to 13
- we will continue to explore options to include more content about the significant learning at Year 11 to 13
- review each set of NCEA subjects’ learning matrices and associated resources and supports to ensure they are aligned as each learning area is developed.
Following feedback, we will be further aligning our communications, guidance, and resources across the full pathway.
We will continue to check in with the NCEA Professional Advisory Group and Curriculum Voices Group to ensure the resources, supports, communications and terminology provide clear and coherent expectations.
Te Marautanga o Aotearoa
The alignment between the RAS and the redesign of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (TMoA) will be strengthened through the following activities.
We will:
- bring together the RAS writers, the redesign team, and external experts on a regular basis to discuss the redesign, gain a shared understanding, and determine how the aspirations reflected through Te Tamaiti Hei Raukura will align to the relevant achievement standards
- review the communication approaches for the redesign of TMoA and the RAS to ensure we have a shared story about how they align to each other
- use the outcomes collated through the current mini pilots to make adjustments to the Achievement Standards so they reflect the expectations set through the redesign of TMoA and Te Tamaiti Hei Raukura, before piloting them again in 2023
- work with kaiako and tumuaki who are testing redesigned components of TMoA with practitioners who are piloting the TMoA achievement standards and use their feedback to help finalise curriculum content
- develop rangatahi forum that provide opportunities for them to inform the redesign of TMoA and NCEA
- complete the realignment of the Tirewa Ako for Te Reo Matatini and Pāngarau with Te Tamaiti Hei Raukura and ensure progressions from the tirewa through the outcomes in the co-requisites is evident for kaiako and ākonga
- ensure the ongoing review of TMoA aligns with the review of the TMoA NCEA achievement standards and the Te Reo Matatini and Pāngarau co-requistes.
Te Ahu o te Reo Māori
Te Ahu o te Reo Māori aims to support early learning to secondary school leaders, kaiako, support staff and those who assist ākonga learning to grow their capability and confidence in using and integrating te reo Māori into the learning of all ākonga.
Our initiatives are available across the country and cater for all competency levels including those who have little previous experience using the language through to those who use it every day. If you want to strengthen your language capability and learn about your local area using a range of fun activities then this is worth looking at.
Visit the Te Ahu o te Reo Māori website to find out more information about providers delivering in your region and how to register for the next intake starting between July and September 2022.
Te Ahu o te Reo Māori – Kauwhata Reo
For any questions or feedback please email the Te Ahu o te Reo Māori group: TeReo.MāoriGroup@education.govt.nz
Schools and kura using The New Zealand Curriculum
Refreshing The New Zealand Curriculum
“A curriculum that fits everyone that needs it in the way that they need it to be.”
– Ministerial Youth Advisory Group
Te Poutāhū | Curriculum Centre is working with many of you to make changes to The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) in Year 1 to 13 so that schools and communities are better supported to create rich and responsive learning for every learner.
This gives us an opportunity to shape a curriculum that better delivers equity and excellence. Together, we are putting our learners, families and teachers at the centre of the changes – their voice, wellbeing, learning, and aspirations. Find out how we are working together on our website.
Who we’re working with – Ministry of Education
Over the coming months we will unpack some of the key changes to the curriculum and assessment programme so that you feel better informed and better supported.
In this newsletter we’re going to focus on the refresh of the NZC itself and the new ‘Understand, Know, Do’ content model which has already been used for the new Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories content.
In future newsletters we’ll delve into other aspects of the NZC refresh and the support available for 2023.
Next month’s newsletter will include information on the action plans for the Literacy & Communication and Maths Strategy, what you can expect from the new Online Curriculum Hub, and what the refresh means for assessment for learning.
What's changing?
The refresh of the NZC is the central part of a wider curriculum and assessment change programme. It is being implemented alongside the Literacy & Communication and Maths Strategy released earlier this year.
These changes will support you in improving the educational outcomes of all your learners.
Literacy & Communication and Maths Strategy [PDF, 3.01 MB]
"I’ve thought about my programmes at St Mary’s, I’ve thought about what we’re teaching at the moment, and I can see a lot of places where what we’re doing fits with the refresh, and also a lot of places where the refresh is really going to enrich the learning that we’re doing in our classrooms."
– Bronwyn Houliston, Head of Social Sciences, St Mary’s College
We're refreshing the NZC so that it honours our obligations to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, is inclusive, clear about the learning that matters, and easy for you to use.
We are working towards all schools having a refreshed local curriculum in place by 2026. This will underpin secondary schools’ implementation of changes to NCEA qualifications.
All elements of the NZC will be refreshed in phases.
In 2022:
- social sciences
- the curriculum framework
- English
- mathematics and statistics
In 2023:
- science
- the arts
- technology
In 2024:
- health & PE
- learning languages
At every stage of the refresh, there will be capability-building services and curriculum resources available to you to help you implement the changes.
The purpose of the curriculum voices group is to work
alongside the Ministry to ensure we hear the different
perspectives of the range of people that the New Zealand
curriculum impacts on.
Young people themselves, but also their whānau and the
teachers and leaders who are charged every day with creating
rich learning experiences for our young people.
Today our presenters are from our different work programs,
so now you are the first, absolute first outsiders to get a
glimpse of that work but it's more than a glimpse,
it's an opportunity for them to get feedback.
We have this thing, this idea of a bicultural and inclusive
curriculum framework.
A curriculum that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi,
a curriculum that is inclusive that everyone sees
themselves within it.
We have this amazing rōpū of people here in this curriculum
voices group to give voice to this mahi.
So the education conversation told us that we need to have
young people at the centre of this work.
So we have got young people at the centre of this work and
we've started with their voice.
So strong in my identity, culture and language,
feeling connected to those around me.
Now these are aspirational,
this is what do we want it to be like.
The histories curriculum fits within social sciences and so the
whole thing about social sciences is supporting our young
people
to understand how to be active citizens and so the
reason why the histories is in there is that we need to know
about our past so that we can participate
now and in the future.
At the moment we have a curriculum that doesn't specifically
talk to our kids and it really doesn't talk to
the extended whānau.
So a curriculum which has been designed with them in mind,
an inclusive curriculum like that,
I think we're going to bring kids back.
Getting that better, getting that right is the most important
thing that we as a society can do.
As an educator, it's great to be able to have input around the
things that do work for our children and it's all
around cultural identity,
a strong sense of belonging and
feeling confident in who they are.
For the disability community this work will represent an
opportunity to finally be seen in that document
but it also puts some obligations in there around teaching
for all and we feel that that's going to potentially make a
huge difference for any disabled student.
It's going to address a lot of inequities that have existed for a
very long time in the past,
I think it's really important that these conversations take place
and meets the needs of our indigenous, our Pacific,
all of our students.
In Māoridom it's typical that you get to choose who receives
this information and I think we're in a really privileged position
to be able to get this information and then pass it on through
to our tamariki.
The difference this work will make for tamariki and whānau
will be that they will be reflected in the curriculum and in their
learning they'll be visible, it will feel authentic for them.
By really refreshing the curriculum and looking at what is it
that curriculum is about, which is the core of what schools
are about we have a chance to address that
fundamental issue of equity.
One of the realities of having so many people disengaging for education is the lost potential all those amazing young minds that aren't going on to solve our problems of the world.
"This is quite different from the previous curriculum that we’ve had. I think one of the things that it 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
The progression framework of the refreshed NZC has five phases of learning: Year 1 to 3, Year 4 to 6, Year 7 to 8, Year 9 to 10, and Year 11 to 13.
The progression framework sets a clear pathway for students by describing the cumulative learning that matters to support their progress.
Achievement objectives are being replaced by a smaller number of progress outcomes at the end of each phase of learning. Each progress outcome describes the Understand, Know, Do: that is, the big ideas (Understand), contexts (Know), and practices (Do) for the learning that matters at each phase.
The Year 11 to 13 progress outcomes will look different to the other phases. This is because they need to reflect the specialisation that happens at this stage, while also supporting cumulative learning and coherent pathways.
You will be able to use progress outcomes to design a range of learning experiences that weave 'Understand, Know, Do' together to ensure learning builds on prior knowledge more effectively, and remains rich, relevant, and meaningful for your learners.
Assessment support and guidance will be reviewed to ensure they help you to make curriculum design decisions that respond to the individual learning needs of your students.
Watch the video below to learn more about the thinking behind the progressions framework and 'Understand, Know, Do'.
Sylvia Park is located in Mount Wellington in Auckland. We've got about 540 kids at the moment, it's big but it's not that big that you don't get to know every single family and every
learner in the school.
(A title screen appears reading: The New Zealand Curriculum, Understand, Know, Do framing and progressions model)
(Barbara Ala’alatoa, Principal of Sylvia Park school sits in a classroom and speaks to camera)
‘Understand, Know and Do’ is really the framing for the curriculum refresh.
(An infographic appears of the Understand, Know, Do model. Three separate strands, Understand the big ideas, Know rich contexts for exploring the big ideas and Do practices that bring rigour to learning, all plait together with the title ‘the learning that matters’)
It's quite different from the previous curriculum that we've had. I think one of the things though that it lacked was some structure around the things that are most important and
‘Understand, Know and Do’ provide that structure.
(An infographic appears with three boxes, the first reads ‘Understand, the big ideas’)
‘Understand’ is about the big, enduring ideas that connect students to their learning, it’s these big ideas, these concepts that help ensure that learning is not just important but relevant and necessary for our learners, and not just for them but for their whānau, their friends, their community and beyond.
(On the same infographic, the second box reads ‘Know, Rich contexts for exploring the big ideas’)
Knowledge is really important, no enquiry would be valid without our students acquiring knowledge. In a social science context this knowledge might be related to events, stories, people in the local rohe, hapu, iwi, there’ll be local and regional, national stories that are important to learn about and so that learners have an understanding of the things that have shaped the world in which they live.
(On the same infographic the final box reads ‘Do, Practices that bring rigour to learning)
I’m really excited to see the ‘Do’ part. These are processes by which we ensure that students develop multiple perspectives on a controversial perspective, that they’ve sourced valid and reliable information from a whole range of sources. That they’ve sorted and synthesised ideas, actions or events, that they’ve had to compare and contrast knowledge and ideas, and that they’ve taken action as a result of this rigorous learning that they’ve undertaken.
(Much like the first infographic, the three boxes then form three separate strands that plait together under the title ‘the learning that matters)
‘Understand, Know and Do’, they really weave together, they’re all equally important and it’s when we get that balance right, we know our students have the best chance of being engaged and being engaged in the things that really matter and that are relevant for them, but also at the same time are developing a sense of themselves, the communities they live in and what has been important and what has shaped those places and spaces.
(A title screen appears reading: Progressions model, redefining the current curriculum levels)
One of the really exciting things about the curriculum refresh is that we have looked at progression in a much more child-centred way.
(A new infographic appears with the title: Progressions model, redefining the current curriculum levels. Under this are different age brackets reading years 1-3, 4-6, 7-10, 11-13)
So rather than a kind of year-on-year look at progress throughout a curriculum, it's chunked up now so we look at progression in terms of years one to three, four to six, seven-eight, nine-ten and eleven to thirteen. So we’re matching what we do, that matches their development rather than a kind of year-on-year thing. I think what’s really good about the progressions too is that it will provide for teachers, for people who are in the planning and design part of the curriculum, some clarity about what that will look like, we can’t second guess this stuff anymore. We really need to understand what that looks like at those ages and stages and we need to get expert at doing it so that our children in turn are becoming very expert in it. I think the transparency is hugely important and I think the transparency will be fantastic for not just teachers, for planning and design and implementation around the curriculum. But for whānau, I think you know, our whānau need to be able to walk into a school and say “what does the learning journey look like for my children when they come here?”, if you were coming to this school you’re going to spend eight years here. By the time that they leave in year eight we expect to be able to show you a very sophisticated toolkit that these children have developed as a result of being on a journey about an increasingly sophisticated way of learning.
(A title screen appears reading: Understand, Know, Do framing in practice, examples from Sylvia Park School)
Something that we did when we looked at ‘Understand, Know and Do’ as a staff was to look at what we currently did and we made links between what we currently did and what ‘Understand, Know and Do’ and what was really surprising and really helpful for everybody was to say, ‘oh, we're actually doing quite a bit of it already’. So I think it's really important to start with doing, you know, it's kind of a stock take and a review of what you do and then thinking about what is this truly asking us to do and finding those links and then seeing, so what are the opportunities and the bits that may not be quite there. We did an enquiry that was about, we knew that the centenary of World War I was coming up, so we knew it was going to be a big deal in the communities, we knew there was going to be celebrations everywhere and we also knew that if we said to our kids “we’re going to do World War I centenary, it was a hundred years ago” that most of them would go, “that’s got nothing to do with me”. So the big idea was how would we make that relevant to our children knowing that was going to be relevant in our community, relevant to quite a few people in our community actually. So what we did is we came up with a question, so an enquiring question that children could investigate. So it was ‘keep calm and carry on, how do we deal with conflict?’ And then if you think about the ‘do’ part of it, one of the things that we did because it was a social science enquiry was designing how do you get children to engage in and develop their learning in the context of an enquiry around conflict. So, the idea of coming up with things like a human timeline helps them to develop a set of skills to be able to tell the story but also, it brings them into it and they get to dress up and they get to stand in the shoes of those people and tell the story. But it doesn’t begin and end there, it also goes on, it provides them the platform to talk about, so what do I learn from what I’ve learnt about my own response to conflict, about what happened in World War I? What can I do now in terms of the way in which I act differently because of what I’ve learnt. They use the platform to be able to say how I will be, somebody who mitigates or supports people through conflict and so they end up taking action as a result of their learning because they’ve engaged in it, and they’ve been down in the trenches.
(Visuals of Sylvia Park School’s values are shown, each value is written on a mural with photos of the students. The values include Ignite, Explore, Sort/Synthesis, Create and Celebrate)
That ‘Understand, Know, Do’, when you put it all together when you make it as big and as exciting as it can possibly be, it will shape your existence, it will create the culture of your school and it will create a culture that is about children, about a community and about what they can do and will do in the future. If we get the ‘Understand, Know and Do’ part right I really think that our kids will be able to, not just survive in the world but to be able to thrive because they're wise, because they're knowledgeable, because they know how to act on the things that are important to them.
(The video ends with a title screen reading: Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga, Ministry of Education)
What's happening now?
We are currently in the design phase for the curriculum framework, as well as the draft English and mathematics and statistics learning areas.
These are being tested with around 40 schools now to make sure that we are on the right track.
We recently sought your feedback on the social sciences content and the Vision for Young People. A big thank you to those who contributed to the development of this content – your feedback was instrumental.
Over 170 schools took part in webinars for the draft social sciences content, and over 1700 young people had their say on the draft Vision for Young People.
The social sciences writers will refine the content based on the feedback received. The final draft social sciences content will be released later in the year and the Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories content within it.
Supports available now
We encourage you to visit our website for a range of resources on how the refreshed curriculum will look in practice, within an Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories context.
Curriculum content, guidance, and resources – Aotearoa NZ's Histories
Sign up to one of our webinars, check out the popular ANZH Radio New Zealand podcasts and find resources specific to your teaching here.
Webinars – Aotearoa NZ's Histories
What's happening next?
The action plans for the Literacy & Communication and Maths Strategy will be available to you soon. Our first focus is to collaborate with you and other experts to build the common practice model.
Register your interest in being on the working groups for this via email: Literacy.Communication.Maths@education.govt.nz
In September we’ll be releasing the draft curriculum framework alongside the English and mathematics and statistics learning areas for your feedback. This is an opportunity for you to get involved, have your say, and be part of the change.
If you would like to be involved, please email us: NationalCurriculum.Refresh@education.govt.nz
We will also approach peak bodies and subject associations for expressions of interest in being part of the writers’ groups. The next opportunity will be in September as we seek expressions of interest for science, technology and the arts.
In the next newsletter, we will share with you the social sciences and Vision for Young People feedback report, ahead of the final draft social sciences release later in the year.
We’re also aiming to have the refined Vision for Young People out for wide-scale feedback later in the year as part of the draft curriculum framework.
We want to make this change with you. To do that we need to hear from you.
Across the motu from Kaitaia to Bluff – we want your voice, experience, and knowledge reflected in the refreshed curriculum. We need your expertise to make it truly Treaty-honouring, inclusive, clear, and easy to use.
Keep an eye on this newsletter to get involved, have your say, and be part of the change as we refresh The New Zealand Curriculum together.
Engagement opportunities
The purpose of the following calendar is to help you plan how you can get involved.
Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories webinars
August 2022:
- Tuesday 2 August – 3:30pm
- Thursday 4 August – 3:45pm
- Tuesday 9 August – 4:00pm
- Wednesday 10 August – 4:30pm
- Wednesday 17 August – 3:30pm
- Thursday 18 August – 3:45pm
- Tuesday 23 August – 4:00pm
- Wednesday 24 August – 4:30pm
Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories Term 3 implementation support sent to all schools.
23 August – 22 September
- Launch of Te Takanga o te Wā at Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum
New Zealand Curriculum refresh opportunities
- 5-7 September
- Associated Integrated Schools NZ Wellington –Pauline Cleaver, Associate Deputy Secretary, Te Poutāhū | Curriculum Centre speaking
- 22-23 September
- Counties Manukau Secondary Schools Principals Association Conference – NZC refresh speaker
Expressions of interest
We will be approaching peak bodies and subject associations for expressions of interest for writers in the science, technology and the arts learning areas (refreshed in 2023).
- 15 September
- Survey for feedback open for 8-10 weeks for the draft Curriculum Framework and English and Mathematics and Statistics draft content
- 23 August – 22 September
- Launch of Te Takanga o te Wā at Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum
New Zealand Curriculum refresh engagements
October 2022
- 5-7 October
- SoCon Conference – Keynote speaker
- 7-8 October
- NZSTA Conference – NZC refresh workshop
Further opportunities to collaborate on the Literacy & Communication and Maths strategy will be coming soon, see our next update. In our September newsletter we will outline the 2023 supports for the NZC refresh.
For more information on opportunities in your area please contact your local curriculum leads who are based in our regional offices.
Schools and kura using Te Marautanga o Aotearoa
What's changing?
As you may have heard, Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (TMoA) is being redesigned over the next five years.
The redesign will be based on the conceptual framework ‘Te Tamaiti Hei Raukura’ and through this framework, will reflect a more indigenous curriculum that is grounded in te ao Māori.
What's happening now?
We are in the ‘early engagement phase’, in which, facilitators will be contacting kura and kura hapori shortly to discuss the future of TMoA.
They’ll be asking you to help us to answer some of the ‘big questions’ of the redesign, as well as getting your thoughts on Te Tamaiti Hei Raukura and a proposed curriculum framework, te tīrewa.
To support this, we are sending some resources to kura to encourage wānanga around the redesign of TMoA.
The resources include:
- the ‘big questions’ for consideration
- a history of the marautanga
- the position paper ‘Te Tamaiti Hei Raukura’.
We hope you will find these resources useful and clear.
We are sending resource packs to any kura or rumaki unit that we know of that may use TMoA. You should receive your pack in early Term 3.
If you believe your school has missed out, email whakahou.marautanga@education.govt.nz
What's happening next?
Over the remainder of 2022 we will seek to complete our early engagements with kura, peak bodies, ākonga, whānau, hapū and iwi.
We're seeking to work with kura to evaluate your capacity and identify supports needed to implement the redesigned TMoA. This will include supports needed to develop marau-ā-kura, respond to the intent of the redesign, and shift teaching and learning practice.
We will also be hosting multiple national design hui to support the redesign of TMoA, in various rohe later in the year.
For more information surrounding the redesign of TMoA visit Kauwhata Reo.
Te Whakahou i Te Marautanga o Aotearoa – Kauwhata Reo
For any questions or feedback email whakahou.marautanga@education.govt.nz.
Qualification
What's changing?
Over the next few years, we are transforming NCEA into a more robust and inclusive qualification.
The NCEA Change Programme will deliver seven key changes and represents the most significant reform of NCEA since the qualification was introduced in 2002. The changes are scheduled to be phased in over three years, with new Achievement Standards for Levels 1, 2 and 3 in place by January 2026.
We want to ensure everything we develop to support the NCEA changes will work in practice and meet the five principles of a strong NCEA qualification - coherence, credibility, equity and inclusion, pathways, and well-being.
To do this, we are working in partnership with schools, kura, kaiako, teachers, young people, whānau/families, communities, and other key stakeholders to deliver the NCEA changes through a range of initiatives. These include the Review of Achievement Standards, new Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau | Literacy and Numeracy standards, initiatives to support vocational pathways including the development of a Vocational Entrance Award (name provisional), and initiatives to ensure equal status for mātauranga Māori in NCEA.
What's happening now?
A critical part of the programme is piloting the new standards in schools and kura.
Around 400 schools and kura are taking part in the four pilots that we are conducting this school year: Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau | Literacy and Numeracy, Te Ao Haka, Te Marautanga o Aotearoa NCEA Level 1 wāhanga ako, and New Zealand Curriculum NCEA Level 1 subjects.
Pilot programmes
Full pilots
Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau | Literacy and Numeracy
One of the NCEA changes is to create new corequisite standards that will directly assess foundational Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau |Literacy and Numeracy (approximately Curriculum Level 4/5).
Two assessment events are being conducted as part of this year’s pilot – one at the end of Term 2 and another at the end of Term 3.
Te Ao Haka
The new Te Ao Haka is a performance-based art form grounded in knowledge of Māori culture, language and identity. It is being piloted across all three NCEA levels and included for University Entrance.
An initial set of internal assessments have been moderated so far this year and students participated in their first external assessments on 21 June 2022.
Pilot schools have been supported through regular professional development workshops and engagements provided by subject experts for Te Ao Haka.
Mini pilots
All Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (TMoA) NCEA Level 1 | wāhanga ako
These include Te Reo Rangatira, Pāngarau, Hauora, Tikanga-ā-iwi, Ngā Toi (Toi Puoro, Ngā Mahi a te Rēhia, Toi Ataata), Pūtaiao and Hangarau.
All New Zealand Curriculum NCEA Level 1 subjects
Including the four subjects that were part of the 2021 mini-pilot (English, science, religious studies and visual arts).
More than 90 secondary schools are taking part in the 2022 mini-pilot of all NZC NCEA Level 1 subjects. The video below gives us a glimpse of how the fewer, larger standards and fewer assessments required by the new NCEA Level 1 subjects are working for teachers and students at Avondale College and Tangaroa College.
At Nelson College for Girls (Te Kura Tamawāhine o Whakatū) and Bay of Islands College, we looked at how the new Achievement Standards for NCEA Level 1 have allowed teachers to develop innovative ways of teaching and assessing students, and have enabled students to adopt creative ways to demonstrate their learning.
NCEA Level 1 2022 mini pilot — YouTube
Teachers from Central Hawke's Bay College and Botany Downs Secondary College explain how their teaching of new NCEA Level 1 subjects demonstrates mana ōrite mō te mātauranga Māori.
Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau | Literacy and Numeracy
One of the NCEA changes is to create new corequisite standards that will directly assess foundational Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau | Literacy and Numeracy.
The standards were the subject of a mini-pilot in 2021 and are currently being piloted by more than 200 secondary schools, kura and tertiary providers.
Associate Education Minister Jan Tinetti announced recently that the new literacy and numeracy standards would be piloted for one more year before they become mandatory corequisites to NCEA in 2024.
This means learners, schools and kura have an extra year to transition to the new standards. We encourage schools and kura to use the transitional year to continue supporting their learners and help them prepare for the changes in 2024.
The new NCEA literacy and numeracy standards will still be available from 2023 so that schools and kura that wish to prepare for the changes by using the new standards are able to do so. In 2023, students will be able to meet the literacy and numeracy qualification requirements either through the new standards or through existing avenues.
Learning, teaching, and assessment resources for literacy, numeracy, te reo matatini and pāngarau are also available on our website to support you in preparing for the changes.
Te reo matatini – NCEA Education
Later this year, we will be releasing information on how schools and kura can use the new standards in 2023 as well as the transition arrangements for 2024.
Review of Achievement Standards
As part of the Review of Achievement Standards (RAS), new achievement standards are being developed to replace existing standards.
This is to ensure the NCEA qualification credentials the most significant learning in a wāhanga ako (subject), while incorporating critical perspectives that support inclusion and success.
The development of NCEA Level 2 materials for Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (TMoA) wāhanga ako and New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) subjects is underway.
A total of 67 subjects are being developed – 11 subjects from TMoA and 56 from NZC.
NCEA Level 2 subjects in development [PDF, 588 KB]
The subjects will support increased specialisation at NCEA Levels 2 and 3 and mana ōrite mō te mātauranga Māori (parity for Māori knowledge), and provide clearer pathways to further education, training or employment.
The Level 2 TMoA subjects are being developed throughout 2022 whereas the Level 2 NZC subjects are being developed in three groups during 2022 and 2023. The first group of NZC Level 2 subjects has undergone its initial phases of development, and the second group is currently underway. The first group will be available for the August Teacher Only Days. We have also started work on Level 1 NZ Sign Language and will commence development of Level 1 Vagahau Niue and Gagana Tokelau shortly.
As we develop subject materials, we will be working with the sector, industry, tertiary, ākonga/learners, whānau and community groups to make sure learning is relevant and clear for ākonga and the people around them.
Mini-pilots of all TMoA NCEA Level 2 wāhanga ako and NCEA Level 2 Te Reo Māori will be conducted in 2023.
Full pilots of all TMoA NCEA Level 2 wāhanga ako and all NZC NCEA Level 2 subjects will be conducted in 2024 ahead of the implementation of new NCEA Level 2 achievement standards in 2025.
Making NCEA more accessible
As part of the NCEA Change Programme, we are working to ensure the teaching, learning and assessment which underpins NCEA is inclusive and accessible to all learners.
What is the NCEA Change Programme? – NCEA Education
Part of this work is to strengthen the inclusive design of achievement standards, assessments and teaching and learning resources. This work is being co-developed with teams of kaiako from the sector, NZQA and supported by a number of advisory panels, including one with a disability and learning support focus.
We are also working closely with NZQA to review and refine processes associated with special assessment conditions to minimise access and implementation barriers and increase usability.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is being used as a guiding framework across all development processes. We are also exploring how UDL can be of value in kaupapa Māori contexts within the sector.
New content for the UDL guide on our TKI website with a specific focus on NCEA will be available from September.
There will also be new content focussed on supporting ākonga with dyslexia in Literacy and Numeracy on our website
Literacy and numeracy – NCEA Education
The emphasis in both resources will be on recognising and minimising barriers to learning and embedding supports so that they are available to all. These two resources may be of particular interest to teachers and kaiako working with ākonga with additional learning needs and those working with learning support.
Vocational Entrance Award (name provisional)
Thank you to those who contributed to the targeted sector engagements on the high-level design of a Vocational Entrance Award (name provisional) during March-May. We are analysing the feedback and this will inform our advice on the high-level design of a Vocational Entrance Award.
The award is being developed as part of Change 6 of the NCEA Change Package: "Clearer pathways to further education or work".
Achieving the award will demonstrate that a learner has undertaken initial learning valued by industry, employers and tertiary education organisations, and is ready to transition into higher-level vocational education including apprenticeships.
Vocational programmes in schools
Vocational education and training pathways are supported through NCEA. We have highlighted how a few schools and kura are preparing students for work, further training or study. Click on the links to watch the videos of these various vocational programmes:
Te Wharekura o Ruatoki – YouTube
Palmerston North Boy's High School – YouTube
Change hubs
To help us test some of the NCEA changes, we have developed a special relationship with a number of schools and kura through our change hubs.
We regularly connect with teachers, whānau and ākonga to seek their insights and feedback as we continue to implement the NCEA Change Programme.
We have established 10 more change hubs in Term 2, in addition to those that have already been established in eight schools and two kura across the country. The new change hubs have doubled our capacity for engagements with schools and kura and represent a diverse range of schools and kura in terms of decile, demographic profile and geographic region.
Support package for parents and whānau
The Whānau Toolkit is a suite of resources to support ākonga and their whānau at every stage of their NCEA journey and ensure they are informed, included and engaged in the changes that we are implementing to strengthen NCEA.
Digital versions of the Whānau Toolkit can be downloaded from our website and printed resources are being distributed through our Te Mahau regional offices. Translations in Pacific languages will be made available in coming weeks.
Whānau Toolkit – Ministry of Education
The Whānau Toolkit resources include:
- pocket guides for whānau and ākonga
- practical resources such as a wall planner, photo frame and tools to map NCEA learning
- videos featuring ākonga and whānau sharing their experiences of NCEA.
Resources
We have resources that schools and kura can use during their NCEA information evenings with parents, whānau and ākonga, including fact sheets.
Changes to strengthen NCEA – NCEA Education (available in English and 19 other languages)
The NCEA literacy and numeracy corequisite [PDF, 540 KB]
Visit our website to access additional resources.
What's happening next?
Full-scale pilots of all TMoA NCEA Level 1 wāhanga ako and NZC NCEA Level 1 subjects will occur in 2023.
Over the next few weeks, we will be confirming schools and kura that will be involved in the full-scale pilot of NZC NCEA Level 1 subjects in 2023. We intend to have all pilot schools and kura confirmed by 31 August 2022.
Like the pilot schools for the 2022 mini-pilot, we will ensure the pilot schools and kura for the 2023 full pilot are diverse in terms of geographic region, demographic profile and decile and represent a mix of state and state-integrated schools.
Accord teacher-only days
The next Accord teacher-only days for secondary schools and wharekura will be held from 15 to 26 August 2022.
Schools can select the date when they will hold their teacher-only day within this two week window.
A Q&A session will be provided online each day during this period.
Accord teacher-only days – NCEA Education
Schools can also choose the focus/topics to suit their local circumstances. Resources for the day will be made available on our Learning Management System and the NCEA Education website.
For queries email ncea.review@education.govt.nz.