Draft curriculum submission guide

The Ministry of Education is now consulting on the two documents that make up our National Curriculum:

• The New Zealand Curriculum year 0–10 learning areas and curriculum framework (Te Mātaiaho)
• Te Marautanga o Aotearoa year 0–10 wāhanga ako and curriculum framework (Te Anga)

Submissions are open until Friday 24 April 5pm.

Access Ministry of Education feedback forms and supporting documents here.

Note: The English and Mathematics and Statistics year 0–10 learning areas and Te Reo Rangatira and Pāngarau tau 0–10 were gazetted in December 2025 and are required for use from the start of this year, 2026. These are not being consulted on. 

Different kinds of submissions

Submit about what matters to you, in a way that works for you. You don’t need to submit on every learning area, wāhanga ako or framework.

While we encourage you to submit, we have concerns about the questions provided by the Ministry in the feedback forms. They restrict and direct ideas rather than providing a platform for teachers, kaiako, leaders and whānau to provide full and wide-ranging feedback.

The feedback forms provided by the Ministry of Education will take you through a series of questions, but please note you can skip these questions and provide free-form feedback at the end by attaching a document.  

You can also email your submission/s in a document directly to:  

• New Zealand Curriculum: nationalcurriculum.refresh@education.govt.nz
• Te Marautanga o Aotearoa: whakahou.marautanga@education.govt.nz

Submission format and content 

First, tell them who you are:

• Your whakapapa/background/experience
• Are you writing as an individual or a group? If you are writing as a group, who do you represent and how many of you are there?  
• Outline your experience and credentials, your role, and how long you have been involved in education or what your stake in the curriculum is
• Are you a parent or other community group?

You do not need to cover everything or be an expert. Collectively, submissions from the education sector and community will cover both curricula.  

Short submissions focusing on main points or concerns are good.

Illustrate what these draft documents would mean for your tamariki, your ākonga and your practice (if you are a kaiako).  

Consider the following for the learning area/wāhanga ako/framework you are feeding back on:

Structure

• Does it give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi?
• Does the structure work?  
• How is the learning area or wāhanga ako organised? Does it make sense to you?
• Are the divisions between subjects and the domains within them sensible?
• It is flexible and does it enable responsive, localised teaching and learning?

Progression

• Does the progression of content and concepts build logically? Consider how children build understanding over time
• Does the curriculum support holistic learning and support child development broadly?
• Does it support inclusive education environments?

Content

• Is the content itself correct?
• Is it developmentally appropriate?
• How much content is there? It is manageable?
• Does it allow for integration and flexibility? 

A note on Te Mātaiaho framework 

The New Zealand Curriculum framework, Te Mātaiaho document, that is being presented for feedback here is not the same document that was trialled in late 2022 and 2023 or presented in 2024 alongside the draft English learning area.  

The 2023 document privileged Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document for Aotearoa New Zealand and had an inclusive framework that was gifted by Dr Wayne Ngata. The vision from Dr Ngata was that Te Mātaiaho would be an overarching document that would support all the learning areas and subjects to honour Te Tiriti and enable all ākonga to see themselves and succeed in their learning.

You can access Te Mātaiaho 2023 version here to compare with what is being consulted on.  

Supports

You can read the NZEI Te Riu Roa organisation submission here.

Curriculum writer Dr Claire Coleman is running consultation guide webinar sessions. You can watch the recordings and sign up for the remaining sessions here.

Aotearoa Educators Collective have lots of articles and recordings regarding the draft curriculum which you can read and watch here.

Joint statement on curriculum

You can read the Joint Statement on the draft curriculum by NZEI Te Riu Roa and New Zealand Principals' Federation here. If you would like to sign the Joint Statement as an individual or on behalf of your group or organisation, please email nzei@nzei.org.nz by Friday 17 April.