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Ministry of Education New Zealand
School update
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Achievement and curriculum

Primary schools

Primary schools are:

  • required to implement structured approaches to teaching reading and writing, pānui and tuhituhi in Years 0-3
  • required to use the updated English and Te Reo Rangatira (Years 0-6), and the updated mathematics and statistics and Pāngarau (Years 0-8) curriculum content
  • encouraged to adjust their assessment, aromatawai and reporting to reflect how students and ākonga are progressing against the new Years 0 to 6 English and Te Reo Rangatira and Years 0 to 8 maths and Pāngarau curricula
  • encouraged to implement 20- and 40-week phonics checks or Hihira Weteoro for Year 1 students.

Secondary schools

Secondary schools:

  • are encouraged to engage with the draft English (Years 7-13) and Mathematics and statistics (Years 9-13) and provide feedback. Consultation will open from 27 January 2025 to 11 April 2025
  • are required to use the updated Achievement Standards and support materials for NCEA assessments
  • no longer need to use submitted reports as a method of external assessment for NCEA Level 1.

Resources

Checklists to help schools and kura to prepare and implement curriculum and assessment changes for Years 0-8.

New Zealand Curriculum – Tāhūrangi

Te Marautanga o Aotearoa – Tāhūrangi

NCEA Education

Attendance

  • Schools must use the revised attendance codes to record daily student attendance data from Term 1 2025. 
  • Daily attendance must be reported every day schools are open for instruction, from Term 1 2025. Specified kura will be required to report daily attendance data from mid-2025. 
  • Schools are encouraged to respond to every absence and address barriers to attendance and learning. Schools can explore the draft STAR (stepped attendance response) framework available on our website and consider how they might adapt this for their own context. The STAR framework will be finalised by Term 1 2025.

Refreshed attendance codes from Term 1 2025

Daily attendance reporting

Stepped attendance response – STAR

Classroom release time – final phase of implementation

As part of collective bargaining, schools and kura will:

  • Implement the third and final increase to classroom release time from 20 to 25 hours per Term.
  • Implement the new classroom release time for permanent salary unit holders.

Changes to the Primary Teachers' Collective Agreement 2023-2025

Ka Ora Ka Ako | Healthy School Lunches

Secondary schools, intermediates, full primary, composite schools, alternative education providers and activity centres participating in the Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme will move to the new model.

New model from 2025 – Ka Ora, Ka Ako - Healthy School Lunches Programme

Charter schools

The first charter schools will open.

Charter schools | kura hourua

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