Primary principals and teachers’ groups ask Government to pause the fast-tracking of curriculum change in schools

Primary principals and teachers are asking the Minister of Education to pause the fast-track implementation of new structured math and English curricula by 2025, saying the rate of change means implementation will be ineffective and not lead to the successful outcomes for children that everyone wants.

NZEI Te Riu Roa and the NZ Principals' Federation say schools and school leaders are struggling with a huge gap in the learning support resourcing they need for students with learning needs. Adding implementation of two new major curriculum areas simultaneously would burn out already stressed teachers and move their focus from meeting the immediate needs of the children in front of them.

For example, the draft math curriculum, which sets in some cases more than a hundred new 'learning objectives' at each year level, represents a significant departure from the 2023 draft, which had undergone deep involvement with the teaching profession. 

The Government should either delay the math curriculum until 2026, as it had originally signalled, or leave it to school leaders’ professional judgement about which one of either English or math was implemented in their school in 2025.

Public statements from a large number of principal associations and a survey of the sector show overwhelming support for the pause.

Underpinning this is the need for Government to listen to teachers and to commit to more effective engagement with the teaching profession and their representative bodies on curriculum development and its implementation, the groups say. They are also calling for a moratorium on further system change until there is agreement with the sector on more reasonable timelines and processes for consultation.