Government postpones primary and intermediate curriculum, but teachers left in limbo
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Following widespread opposition to the proposed new national curriculum for Years 0-8, the Ministry of Education has announced that some learning areas, including Health and Physical Education, will not be mandated until 2029.
Principals, teachers, and other industry experts, including Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa, have been expressing their concerns about the proposed new curriculum for Years 0-10 and the implementation timeline since the draft was released for consultation in October 2025.
Different year groups and learning areas will be rolled out at different times.
The Years 0-8 science, social sciences, pūmanawa tangata, and pūtaiao learning areas will be mandated from 2027, but other learning areas such as health and physical education – which includes sexuality education – won’t be required until 2029. The final Years 0-10 curriculum for all learning areas will be published mid-2026.
Meanwhile, the new Years 9-10 curriculum for all learning areas is to be implemented in 2027. The full Year 11 curriculum will be mandated in 2028, Year 12 from 2029, and Year 13 from 2030.
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We appreciate that teachers now have more time to build their knowledge and understanding of the Years 0-10 content before they need to teach it. But we’re concerned that teachers and young people will be left in limbo in the meantime. Since the RSE guidelines were removed last year, teachers that are using the 2007 curriculum won’t have a clear steer of how to teach relationships and sexuality education. This means many young people are missing out on this vital education.”
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Staggering the curriculum rollout will make it less overwhelming for teachers. But it does put students in a difficult situation.
"We’d prefer to see a linear rollout, where students are given the foundations they need for learning in later years,” explained Ms Edmond.