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Senior Secondary Curriculum and Qualification Changes
Updated 9th July, 2026
This page includes a summary from our recent Curriculum update newsletter and also our webinar on June 3rd, focused on the changes in senior secondary schools.
- Key Points for Phase 5 Curriculum feedback (Group 1 and 2 subjects)
- Overview of Phase 5 curriculum consultation released from May - July
- Updated timeframes for changes
- Qualification changes and implications for EfS
Watch the webinar recording here
Key Points for Phase 5 Curriculum Feedback
To help guide your feedback on the Yr 11 - 13 subject drafts, please watch the recorded webinar above, read the full overview about the process in the section below and use the key points in this section to help you get started.
Feedback is currently open for the Group 3 subjects and closes on August 3rd.
Click here to visit the Phase 5 Consultation page.
This is the smallest group and includes some subjects from The Arts, the new Pacific Studies course (in Social Sciences), Languages and more of the subjects from Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. Note that a few remaining subjects, such as History, will be released in August.
*Group 1 subject consultation has now closed (on June 15th)
*Group 2 subject consultation has now closed (on July 8th)
You can access the Phase 5 curriculum drafts and feedback survey here.
NZAEE's review of Group 1 and 2 subject drafts has included keyword searches and further analysis of content, practices, and contexts / examples, to help assess whether these subjects have meaningfully included Education for Sustainability.
Keyword Analysis
Download PDF summary of Group 2 subjects analysis (consultation is now closed). Note: We included Physical Education, all of the Technology subjects and only some of The Arts subjects (limited timeframe).
Download PDF summary of Group 1 subjects analysis
Key themes across the Phase 5 drafts:
- Te Tiriti o Waitangi, mātauranga Māori, te ao Māori and connections with iwi, hapū, mana whenua are strongest in the shared Social Sciences subjects. However, we are very concerned by the lack of inclusion of te ao Māori within the Science subjects, Health Education, and some Technology subjects. Te ao Māori incorporates many key aspects of Education for Sustainability, including the interconnectedness of people and te taiao, along with reciprocal and respectful relationships. Mātauranga Māori provides vital solutions to the environmental and social issues we currently face.
- Action competence is completely missing or very weak in most drafts. This is a key aspect of Education for Sustainability, including opportunities for students to plan, carry out and evaluate real actions in their school and community. We did not find meaningful opportunities for action or participation in any of the Group 1 subject drafts, apart from Yr 12 Business Studies | Te Mātai Pakihi. In our Group 2 subject analysis there are also some good opportunities within some Technology subjects. A key point to note in your feedback is that most drafts are very content-heavy and/or theoretical, with less focus on students taking action and learning future-focused skills in real and engaging contexts.
- Sustainability and links to the environment are only included meaningfully in some subjects. There are some positive contexts and case studies in Geography | Matawhenua, Business Studies | Te Mātai Pakihi, Economics | Te Mātai Ōhanga, Agricultural & Horticultural Science | Mātai Whenua me te Ahumara and some of the Technology subjects (Resistant Materials, Textiles, Food). However, sustainability concepts and practices are not integrated within most of the Science subjects, or within Civics, Sociology or Health Education. Sustainability is also weak in some Technology and Arts subjects.
- Climate change education is not integrated meaningfully across all subjects and mostly includes learning about the science, causes and impacts, without opportunities for students to apply and take action to mitigate and adapt to a climate-changed future. Both our Group 1 and Group 2 keyword analyses have picked up huge gaps in climate change education. This is not a future-focused approach and does not acknowledge the reality that climate change, and other key issues such as biodiversity loss, will have an impact across all aspects of society and should therefore be included in all senior subjects.
Tips for Feedback
- Just start with one subject draft and don't get overwhelmed by the number of subjects and short timeframe. Remember there are two more groups coming out in June and July (see the section below), so you can also give feedback on those.
- Your feedback can be submitted through the form using the questions or by uploading your own document, if you want to use a different format.
- Make your feedback personalised, clear and based on specific information. Use page numbers and refer to specific knowledge, practices or aspects of the introduction, where possible. Factual statements and keywords will be picked up by the analysis (likely AI).
- Secondary teachers: if you think these drafts will not allow you to continue with some of the courses or learning opportunities you currently offer students, then make this really clear in your feedback. Explain how these rich learning contexts, projects, inquiries, case studies, projects, field trips etc. are engaging and relevant for your students, and the impact the changes will have on you and your students.
- Environmental education providers: if you're not currently teaching in a secondary school, we recommend choosing the subjects that have been identified as most problematic using our keyword analysis. Think about the learning and projects you support schools with and reflect on whether these are still possible when you look at the drafts.
You can access the Phase 5 curriculum drafts and feedback survey here.
Overview of Phase 5 Curriculum Consultation Yr 11 - 13
The Phase 5 (Yr 11 - 13) curriculum drafts are being released in three groups between May - July, with each open for feedback for four weeks. They are roughly grouped by subject area. Below we have included the subjects we think are most relevant to Education for Sustainability (EfS) / environmental education.
A reminder that EfS was not included as a subject, so we need to give feedback across multiple subjects to assess whether or not the content, skills and opportunities for student action are incorporated.
Group Three subjects are now open, but Groups One and Two have closed.
Click here for Health & Physical Education subject consultation page
Click here for Technology subjects consultation page
Click here for The Arts subjects consultation page
Click here for Learning Languages subject consultation page
Group One subjects below *consultation has now closed*
Click here for the Science subjects consultation page.
Click here for Social Sciences subjects consultation page.
If you work in one of these subject areas and have time to review the content and provide feedback, then we encourage you to do so. The consultation feedback survey is one big survey for all subjects, and you can also just attach a copy of your written feedback at the end of the form. Link to Phase 5 Survey.
Updated Timeframes
2026: Phase 5 (Yr 11 - 13) consultation from May - August (4 weeks for each group), with final documents available by October.
Final Phase 1 - 4 curriculum documents will be published on these dates:
August 12th: Science and Social Science
Sept 9th: All other learning areas
2027: Yr 9 - 10 must use the new curriculum for all learning areas.
Yr 11 - 13 continue to use NZC and NCEA (including EfS standards).
Consultation on the new Industry-led subjects (drafts released for feedback).
2028: Yr 11 must use new curriculum for all learning areas.
New Foundational Certificate (English and maths) replaces NCEA.
Yr 12 - 13 NCEA standards can still be used.
2029: Yr 12 must use new curriculum and new qualification: NZCE
2030: Yr 13 must use new curriculum and new qualification: NZACE
Qualification Changes
Read the latest MoE update with the full details on Tāhūrangi here: New senior secondary qualifications.
Implications for Education for Sustainability and environmental education integration across senior secondary:
- Everything will be subject based, requiring students to complete the full subject curriculum and assessments within one school year. This includes the new Industry-led subjects (details still to come about these, with consultation next year).
- Schools and providers will not be able to create integrated or 'short' courses using a range of standards from different subjects. There won't be standards anymore, just complete subjects. This is why the current consultation on the Phase 5 drafts is so important, because these will be the subjects that are mandated from 2028 onwards.
- All senior subjects for Yr 12 and 13 will include at least one exam, along with internal assessments. This includes the Arts subjects, Industry-led subjects and other areas that currently use portfolios for external assessments.
