Kia ora koutou, 

You might have seen that in April, Minister of Education Jan Tinetti announced an updated timeline for curricula and NCEA changes. In this issue, we cover what those new timelines mean for you, and for your schools and kura. We hope that you find the extended implementation dates helpful.  

You will also find more engagement opportunities, supports, and resources related to the curriculum and NCEA changes. You can use these to have your say on the changes, and to continue building your understanding and confidence in them before implementing them into your practice. 

As always, I’d like to thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to this change programme in pursuit of a better, more equitable education system.  

Ellen MacGregor-Reid 
Hautū | Deputy Secretary 
Te Poutāhū | Curriculum Centre 
(curriculum.newsletter@education.govt.nz)

On 19 April 2023, Minister of Education Jan Tinetti announced the Government is shifting the timeframes of changes to NCEA and the national curriculum. These changes have been made to prioritise the learning of literacy, numeracy, te reo matatini and pāngarau and to give you more time to fully prepare for implementing the changes.  

A summary of the changes includes: 

• Full implementation of The New Zealand Curriculum (the NZC) has been deferred by one year, from 2026 to 2027. The exceptions are the Mathematics & statistics and English learning areas, which are expected to be implemented sooner and will be supported by the Common Practice Model.
• The full implementation of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa has been deferred by one year, from the beginning of 2026 to the beginning of 2027. The exceptions to the timeline are pāngarau and te reo Māori, which will be implemented sooner alongside the Ako Framework which is currently in development to support the teaching and learning with a focus on te reo matatini and pāngarau.  All other Te Marautanga o Aotearoa focus areas will still be available for teaching in 2026, but they won’t become mandatory until 2027.
• The new NCEA Level 1 achievement standards will be fully implemented in 2024 as planned. However, implementation of the new NCEA Level 2 and 3 will be deferred one year, coming in 2026 and 2027 respectively.
• The new NCEA co-requisite for literacy, numeracy, te reo matatini and pāngarau can be implemented in 2024 as planned.
• During 2024 and 2025 learners will be able to meet the co-requisite using either the new literacy, numeracy, te reo matatini and pāngarau standards (the Common Assessment Activities), or an essential list of literacy and numeracy rich assessment standards.

As well as giving you more time to focus on mathematics & statistics, English, te reo Māori and pāngarau, these changes also help align the NZC Refresh with the NCEA changes.   

We are reviewing and updating our work programme to meet these new timeframes and will continue to keep you updated via our Curriculum Leads, NCEA Implementation Facilitators, scheduled hui, website, and this newsletter. If you have any questions, please email:

curriculum.newsletter@education.govt.nz    

For more information about the NCEA changes:

Understanding How NCEA Requirements Are Changing | NCEA (education.govt.nz)  

You can read the Minister’s press release here:

New maths and literacy assessment prioritised as other NCEA changes slowed | Beehive.govt.nz.  

English and Mathematics & statistics will be the second and third learning areas to become available as part of the wider refresh of The New Zealand Curriculum on Monday 15 May. 

You will be able to start exploring and using them in your schools and kura right away, so you’re ready for when they must be used from the start of 2027. 

Both learning areas will be available on our website on Monday 15 May:

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

We are currently developing a range of guidance and resources to support you in implementing the two refreshed learning areas. These will become available on our website later in 2023. 

The supports for the Social sciences learning area (released in 2022) will also be available here on Monday 15 May:

Social sciences | Curriculum Refresh (education.govt.nz)

You can also find an Implementation Support Pack for the overall Te Mātaiaho | refreshed curriculum framework on our website. This provides an outline of the change process, and the supports and resources which will be provided to help you plan and design for change.  

Support for Schools, Leaders and Teachers | Curriculum Refresh (education.govt.nz)

The Arts, Science, and Technology learning areas are being refreshed this year, and we are looking for schools to ‘fast-test’ the drafts between 29 May and 9 June 2023. 

Fast-testing will involve attending an hour-long webinar about the refreshed learning areas, and then another hour to discuss with your colleagues and complete a short survey.  

If you are interested in being involved, please contact:

NationalCurriculum.Refresh@education.govt.nz  

There will be another opportunity for you to test the complete drafts of these learning areas later in 2023. 

This term, all primary schools and kura will receive Painting Stories by Kate Potter.

This is the latest instalment in a wider package of resources being released this year to support the implementation of the recently refreshed Te ao tangata | Social sciences learning area. 

Painting Stories is a colourful, engaging big book for sharing with ākonga in Years 1–3. The book follows the two artists Flox and Trustme as they talk about a community mural they have created in Roxburgh, and explain how details in the mural relate to the people connected to the town and its surrounding region. 

To supplement this resource, teacher support materials have been created and are available for download at: 

Refreshed Social sciences | Exploring Our Place Painting Stories 

Further copies of this resource can be ordered through: 

Down the Back of the Chair

Keep an eye out for a new series of Connected being delivered to schools this term, and a brand-new series called He Kōrero Tātai which is designed specifically for Māori-medium kura.   

The two series are aimed at ākonga in Years 4–8, and support the teaching and learning of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories and Te Takanga o Te Wā for Years 4-8. They encourage the development of learning programmes that prioritise Tikanga ā-Iwi and social studies concepts, wellbeing, and inclusion within integrated literacy programmes. Each book is accompanied by additional resources that support teaching and learning.  

The titles for the first set of Connected books are:  

• Level 2: Ki te hoe! - Let’s get going!   
• Level 3: Ka ora kāinga rua - A new beginning  
• Level 4: He māpihi maurea - A prized possession 

 Find more information on He Kōrero Tātai in the section below for schools and kura using Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.

Our primary focus is supporting your kura and school’s implementation of NCEA Level 1 and the literacy, numeracy, te reo matatini, and pāngarau co-requisite in 2024.  

Regional support 

Contact the NCEA Lead in your local Ministry office. Newly appointed NCEA Implementation Facilitators are also available in most regions. You can find the contact details for your local office here:

Local Ministry offices – Education in New Zealand 

National support  
Please email us with subject-specific questions, and for the latest topics and progress from our hui with pilot schools and NZQA:

ncea.review@education.govt.nz  

Ākonga involved in NCEA Level 1 pilots can be assessed against new NCEA Level 1 Achievement Standards in 2023. 

Draft for pilot 2023 NCEA Level 1 achievement standards and The New Zealand Curriculum related subject materials are being made available in stages. This key resource includes guidance on where to find them online:

Explaining the New NCEA Materials l NCEA (education.govt.nz)  

Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and Te Reo Māori draft pilot materials for Level 1 and 2 were made available in February 2023.  

We started publishing subject materials and achievement standards for The New Zealand Curriculum at the beginning of Term 2. These materials were updated following feedback from schools participating in pilots in 2022. 

Kaiako from non-pilot schools are encouraged to use the draft-for-pilot learning matrices to plan their teaching and learning programmes for 2024.  
 

Related update:

Updated draft-for-pilot NCEA Level 1 subject materials - Ministry of Education

We are focused on making sure you and your ākonga are ready for the new NCEA co-requisite. We’ve acted on what we heard from you and what we learnt from independent evaluations of the 2022 pilot. Read some of our key focus areas with NZQA here:

What We Heard and Actions We Are Taking | NCEA (education.govt.nz)  

Common Assessment Activities in mid-June 2023 are to be held during a one-week period.  In response to feedback, we’re looking into options for an extended period for co-requisite assessments in 2024.  Find more information about the NCEA co-requisite standards here: 

Overview | NCEA (education.govt.nz) 

Start the transition and get involved in assessments in September to November 2023.
Find out more here: 

Get Started with the Standards l NCEA (education.govt.nz) 

Insights and experience from 2022 pilots led to a shift of The New Zealand Curriculum external assessments for the 2023 Level 1 pilot into a single time-period in Term 4. 

Submitted evidence, including portfolios, reports, and performances will be due to NZQA during this time-period. Test-style Common Assessment Activities (CAA) will also move to Term 4. In addition to the two externals due or occurring in Term 4, there will be two internal assessments throughout the year.  

You can read more about these changes here:

Changes to timing of external assessments for Level 1 Pilots 

For Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and Kaupapa Ako Māori subjects in The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC), a combination of CAA and submission-based assessments will be used. There will be two CAA assessment periods throughout the year for these areas.  

You can find the Wātaka Aromatawai for Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and NZC Te Reo Māori pilots here: 

2023 Assessment timetable | NZQA 

You can find the Ngā Tautuhinga Aromatawai (Assessment Specifications) on each of the Wāhanga Ako pages here, under Te Aromatawai: 

NCEA | NCEA (education.govt.nz) 

The External Assessment Specifications for the 2023 pilots will be published around the end of May. 

Two new NCEA-related resources have been released to help support the development of inclusive teaching practice and assessment design:  

• Supporting literacy and numeracy in NCEA - focuses on teaching and learning strategies to support all learners.  

• Design considerations in NCEA assessments - a new section in the Universal Design for Learning guide. 

Both resources will continue to be updated with new tools, resources, or exemplars. 

We are excited to share that the new title and framework for the redesigned national curriculum is Te Tīrewa Marautanga. 

Te Tīrewa Marautanga provides greater structural and functional coherence, and reflects the values, principles, and outcomes that drive indigenous education.  

For more information, check out Te Tīrewa | Kauwhata Reo

This page includes several readings and slides surrounding: Te Takanga o Te Wā, a Tīrewa Marautanga video and a ‘re-envisioning Te Marautanga o Aotearoa’ brochure. 

Mānawatia tō marau ā-kura: we have been inviting kura using Te Marautanga o Aotearoa to be part of a 12-month marau ā-kura project beginning May 2023. The invite period has now closed, and we will be in touch with those kura very soon to confirm the next steps. 

Opportunities to get involved  

Lots of engagement opportunities will be available throughout the next few months. We will keep people informed of these through this newsletter, the leaders’ Bulletin, and Kauwhata Reo for dates, times, and venues. We can’t wait to share more about the development phase we are in. 

In addition to this we are keen to hear what you think about the redesign and what you want to ensure is considered throughout the design phase. We invite you to complete our two minute online survey. The feedback has and will continue to be used to inform the redesign as we progress. You can find the survey here:  

Te Whakahou i Te Marautanga o Aotearoa – Conversation space (education.govt.nz) 

Contact details and further information  

For more information about the redesign of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, visit our web page here: 

 Te Whakahou i Te Marautanga o Aotearoa — Kauwhata Reo

For any pātai or to discuss anything about the redesign, email us at whakahou.marautanga@education.govt.nz 

Thank you for continuing to support our ākonga to achieve educational success as Māori and as global citizens. Poipoia te kākano, kia puāwai! 

We are releasing a brand-new series called He Kōrero Tātai, written by Māori authors from across the motu. It is designed to support the teaching and learning of Te Takanga o Te Wā for Years 4-8. The series encourages the development of learning programmes that prioritise Tīkanga ā-Iwi concepts, wellbeing, and inclusion. Each book is accompanied by additional resources that support teaching and learning.  

The titles for the first set of books are:  

• Nō Ngā Kāwai Whakapapa  
• Tā te Māori tuku   
• Kei te mura o te ahi  

Keep an eye out for copies being delivered to kura this term.