Thousands of neurodiverse tamariki are being set up to fail by a rigid new curriculum imposed by the Minister of Education that completely ignores the reality of how they learn, NZEI Te Riu Roa and educators warn.
The government's mandated "what to learn by when approach” – now being codified in the introduction last week of the Education and Training System Reform Bill – removes the inclusivity and flexibility teachers need to ensure every learner thrives, and places unrealistic expectations on children with ADHD, autism, and learning differences.
The Bill will mandate “how the curriculum is to be taught and learnt,” while the draft new curriculum is rigidly based on specific content being taught at specific year levels.
“It will be a challenge to balance this knowledge-rich curriculum and structure-heavy environment with the needs of neurodiverse children,” says Bridget Chilton, a North Canterbury teacher.
“The previous curriculum encouraged learning through inquisitiveness and curiosity, which helped our neurodiverse children thrive.
“In contrast, the amount of content and expectation under the new curriculum – being steamrolled by the Minister of Education – is far too high. This comes at the expense of creative exercises and I suspect that teacher-focussed, directed learning will take away from self-learning skills.”
Karen Wellington, Tumuaki of Te Kura o Hau Karetu (formerly known as Maoribank School) in Upper Hutt and NZEI Te Riu Roa member, says it's a huge mistake to assume children learn the same way or hit the same learning milestones at the same time.
“Having to teach a Year 3 child the Year 3 curriculum sounds logical, but it assumes all kids will get up to speed in their learning at the same time. I have many kids on the learning support register with ADHD or autism who are at different levels and come to school with a diverse range of needs.
“Despite the increased expectations for all students to meet common literacy and numeracy standards, our teachers will continue to make appropriate adjustments to the curriculum. While this may not always align perfectly with the Government’s uniform approach, it is essential that we do what is pedagogically appropriate to ensure our learners continue to see themselves as capable and successful.”
Apart from limiting the creative, self-directed learning environments that neurodiverse learners thrive in, Ms Wellington says the new knowledge-rich approach creates a high-pressure environment where these students are labelled as "failing” simply for learning differently. This risks shattering their confidence and driving them to disengage from education entirely.
“The new testing regime of twice yearly tests in Terms 1 and 3 views children’s learning as binary; they’ll either pass or fail. So making sure a child can see their progress and their goals and next steps rather than a pass or fail, is a more important message to both learners and parents in my opinion.
“This is setting kids up for lifelong confidence issues where they only view themselves as a success or a failure. We’ve gone back to the National Standards model in so far as assessing our ākonga is concerned. As Principal, all I can do is try and soften the blow so they don’t wind up feeling like failures,” says Ms Wellington.
Charles Lewis, alternative education teacher and parent of a non-verbal autistic tamariki in Year 4, worries the new curriculum ignores essential life skills for neurodiverse learners.
“A curriculum that demands neurodiverse kids concentrate for a long period of time isn’t suited to their needs or their uniqueness, and I think they’ll struggle with something so rigid.
“My son transitioned into a mainstream school so he could be included, and under the previous curriculum the school had time to teach him essential life skills – things like following consistent routines, managing transitions calmly, and learning to wait with support – skills that were far more valuable for his development than strictly maths and literacy,” says Mr Lewis.
A 2024 Ministry of Health report acknowledges that while data is limited, 2.9 per cent to 4 per cent of children aged 5 to 14 years have diagnosed ADHD. The report also cites the Neurodiversity in Education Coalition's estimate that one in five young Kiwis – around 320,000 – are neurodiverse.
ENDS