Update from The New Zealand Curriculum Refresh Team
The NZ Curriculum refresh – science, technology and the arts learning areas available for feedback from October
Tēnā koutou,
As you will be aware, the Ministry is progressively refreshing The New Zealand Curriculum. The social sciences learning area was the first refreshed learning area to be released in 2022, followed by English, and mathematics and statistics in May this year.
As with the approach we have taken to refreshing other learning areas, earlier this year we released an initial draft of the refreshed science learning area for fast testing, to help us develop the draft for wider testing. Clear concerns were raised about the need for the next draft of the science learning area to be clearer, more comprehensive and provide visibility to the core science disciplines.
We had been intending to release the next draft of the science learning area for feedback later this month. However, we want to make sure the next draft accounts for the concerns raised so far. For this reason, we are now aiming to release the next draft of the science learning area in term 4. We recognise that term 4 is a busy time and so will make sure that the feedback timeline remains open into term 1 next year. We will release the next drafts of the arts and technology learning areas at the same time, recognising that for many schools this will help with feedback timing.
We will be in touch again when the feedback period opens. In the meantime, I want to acknowledge and thank those of you who have provided us with your time and advice. Your ongoing commitment in sharing your thoughts and feedback has been instrumental in the development of our mahi.
Ngā mihi,
The New Zealand Curriculum Refresh Team
What this means is the next drafts of the science, arts and technology learning areas will be available on this website in Term 4. The feedback timeframe will stay open until March 2024, so schools, kura, students, and whānau will have five months to engage with, review, and provide feedback on these learning areas.