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New Zealand Curriculum (Te Mātaiaho)

Also called NZ curriculum, Te Mātaiaho, refreshed curriculum, structured literacy NZ, Year 0, NCEA, new entrant.

Ages Years 0 or 1 to 13, from a fifth birthday to about 18Grades K–12Planning A plan you adaptScreens Some screen timeShelf School curricula around the English-speaking worldUpdated November 2026

New Zealand children start school on or soon after their fifth birthday, in Year 1 (or Year 0 if they start late in the year), and the curriculum runs to Year 13. It is being refreshed as Te Mātaiaho. Since the start of 2025 every state school has had to teach reading with structured literacy, using a refreshed English curriculum for Years 0 to 6 and refreshed maths and statistics for Years 0 to 8, with the older years following. This page explains the changes, the years and how to support a child.

1 Where it came from

The New Zealand Curriculum of 2007 set broad learning areas and levels. The Ministry of Education's refresh, Te Mātaiaho, replaces broad levels with clearer, year-by-year content in the core learning areas. Schools had to teach the updated English for Years 0 to 6 and maths and statistics for Years 0 to 8 from Term 1, 2025. Content for Years 0 to 10 has since been finalised, and the Ministry's pages give the start of 2026 or 2027 for the remaining years; the timeline has moved more than once.

2 The big ideas

  • Structured literacy. Reading is taught explicitly and systematically: sounds, letters and the code of written English, in a planned order, with decodable texts for beginners.
  • Year-by-year content. The refreshed English and maths say what to teach in each year, rather than broad levels spanning two or three years.
  • Te reo Māori and the bicultural foundation. The curriculum has an English-medium version and a Māori-medium one, Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, with matching refreshed English and maths (Te Reo Rangatira and Pāngarau).
  • Checks to guide teaching. A phonics check for new entrants and regular assessment of reading, writing and maths help teachers spot who needs more.

3 What a lesson looks like

A Year 2 class, as an illustration. The structured literacy block begins with a fast review of sound cards, then the teacher introduces a new spelling of a vowel sound, models blending words with it, and children write words and a dictated sentence. They then read a decodable book with the new pattern. Maths follows: a short fluency game with number bonds to 20, then a lesson on measuring length with non-standard units, then centimetres. In the afternoon, a science topic on local birds brings in new vocabulary and a short piece of writing.

4 Reading and math

Reading in the early years follows a structured literacy order; most schools use one of a small number of approved programmes. A phonics check for new entrants is part of English from 2026, according to government reporting. The refreshed maths and statistics curriculum sets content year by year, with fluency in number facts and clear progressions through place value, fractions and measurement.

5 The adult's job

Teachers plan from the refreshed curriculum and the Ministry's teaching resources. Parents can ask which structured literacy programme the school uses and how their child is doing on the phonics check. At home, practising the week's sounds, reading decodable books aloud and playing number games all match what school is doing.

6 How progress is checked

Teachers assess reading, writing and maths through the year and report to parents. New entrants take a phonics check. In the senior secondary years, young people work toward NCEA, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement. The Education Review Office found that nearly all schools (98 percent) had started the refreshed English for Years 0 to 6 and maths for Years 0 to 8.

7 Strengths and criticisms

Strengths

  • A clear early-reading approach. Structured literacy in every state school means a consistent, explicit start to reading.
  • Year-by-year content. Parents can see what each year expects in English and maths.
  • Early checks. A new-entrant phonics check spots children who need more help with the code early.

Criticisms and watch-outs

  • The timeline keeps moving. Dates for the older years have changed; check the Ministry's Tāhūrangi site for what applies this year.
  • Some pushback. Critics, including some educators, dispute the pace and direction of the changes and the government's reported early gains.
  • Year numbers. A child who starts late in the year may be in Year 0; New Zealand's Year 2 is about US 1st grade.

8 What the research says

This page describes a system rather than testing it. The Ministry's timeline gives Term 1, 2025 for Years 0 to 6 English and Years 0 to 8 maths, and the Education Review Office reported that 98 percent of schools had started both. Government reporting in October 2025 said new-entrant phonics results had improved after structured literacy came in, figures critics dispute. Evidence on structured literacy itself is on the structured literacy page.

9 How to try it

  1. Ask about the programme. Find out which structured literacy programme your child's school uses and which sounds they are on.
  2. Read decodable books at home. Books that use only the sounds taught so far build confidence.
  3. Practise number facts in games. Bonds to 10 and 20, then times tables, a few minutes a day.
  4. Line up the years. NZ's Year 1 is the year a child turns 5; our curriculum finder puts it beside other countries.

10 Using Peabody with it

Peabody is free and has no ads. Pages on peabody.kids are for children; pages here are for the adults teaching them.

11 Programs that follow it

Programs and materials often named with this approach: Te Mātaiaho: the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum, Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, NCEA.

Questions people ask

What is structured literacy in New Zealand schools?
An explicit, systematic way of teaching reading and spelling: sounds and letters in a planned order, blending and spelling, and decodable books. Every state school has had to teach reading this way since the start of 2025.
What year is a 5-year-old in New Zealand?
Year 1, starting on or soon after their fifth birthday; a child who starts late in the year may be in Year 0 until the next year begins.
When does the refreshed curriculum apply?
Years 0 to 6 English and Years 0 to 8 maths from Term 1, 2025. The older years follow; the Ministry's timeline has given 2026 and 2027, so check its site.

Sources

  • Australian Curriculum: Australia's curriculum from Foundation to Year 10: Version 9.0, eight learning areas, NAPLAN in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, and how NSW and Victoria differ.
  • Structured literacy and Orton-Gillingham: Explicit, step-by-step teaching of English sounds, spellings, syllables and word parts, each step building on the last; the root of most dyslexia programs.
  • The science of reading: A name for the research on how children learn to read: sounds and letters taught in order, plus the language and knowledge that make words mean something.
  • National Curriculum in England: England's year groups, key stages and national checks, with what each year expects in reading and maths and how it lines up with US grades.
  • Every approach in the curriculum guide

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