What Happened?
- The final Science and Social Sciences learning areas (Years 0-10) were released on 12 August 2026. Climate change had appeared in the drafts but was missing from the final versions.
The response
- Minister Erica Stanford directed the Ministry to reinstate “climate change” in the Years 0-10 curriculums. A revised Social Sciences document followed with clearer climate references embedded from Year 4, but educators say the content is still fragmented. The Science curriculum appears unchanged.
- Social Science Curriculum 'final' is reissued on 15th September
- A document 'Climate Change in Years 0-10 New Zealand Curriculum' is added to general information sheets on Tahurangi
See doc here:
Changes and Considerations for Phases 1 - 4
Science Curriculum 2027
Bay Science
T4
2025
MAY 27
Afterschool Special: Draft P5 Science
Working Group Hui I
MARCH 26
Working Group Hui II
JUNE 02
T1
2026
T2
2026
T3
2026
T4
2026
DECEMBER 09
Sifting through the Draft Science Curriculum (AEC)
Consultation Ends
Phase 1-4
APRIL 24
Consultation Ends
P5 Science
JUN 15
Afterschool Special:
Finalised P1-4
AUGUST 27
SEPTEMBER 17
Climate Change
Guidance
MAY 15
Draft P5 Science
Draft Phase 1-4
OCTOBER 28
AUGUST 12
Finalised Phase 1-4
Science Curriculum Timeline
Term Four 2024 – Present
T2
2027
T3
2027
T4
2027
T1
2027
Afterschool Special:
Changes and Considerations
NOVEMBER 04
Kanohi ki te kanohi hui
Webinars
Webinars and Workshops
Climate Change Education Guidelines
ACEC
PISA 2025 Results
OECD
Media Release
Te Akatea NZ Maori Principals’ Association
JUNE 15
Science Curriculum Timeline
Term Four 2024 – Present
Sector Pushback
Climate change absent from science curriculum
MAY 15
Draft P5 Science
2028
2029
2030
NCEA Level 1 Removed
Foundation Award (Y11) introduced.
Year 11 Science compulsory
NCEA Level 2 Removed
NZCE Introduced (Y12)
Year 12 Curriculum implemented
NCEA Level 3 Removed
NZACE Introduced (Y13)
Year 13 Curriculum implemented
Running a new Year 12 programme and qualification
Running a Year 13 programme and qualification
Running a new
Year 11 programme and qualification
…and preparing for Year 12
…and preparing for Year 13
OECD Learning Compass 2030
OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030 aims to build a common understanding of essential underlying concepts that are crucial for students to thrive and share a better future. Key concepts include: e.g. student agency, student well-being and competencies (including knowledge, skills, attitudes and values).
www.oecd.org/en/about/projects/future-of-education-and-skills-2030.html
PISA Climate Literacy, and Media and AI Literacy frameworks
Climate Change Education Guidelines
ACEC
PISA 2025 Results
OECD
Science Curriculum Timeline
Term Four 2024 – Present
JUNE 15
MAY 15
Draft P5 Science
Sector Pushback
Climate change absent from science curriculum
What can we do
now?
Remember this?
Released 17 September 2026
Look Inside
What do you notice?
Effects of climate change appear in every bullet point.
Climate change terms do not appear in these bullet points.
Look Inside
What do you notice?
- Maintenance of health
- Accidents
- Nutrition
- Vaccination
- Personal consumption of materials, types of food and energy
- Consuming locally produced food
- Choosing non-dairy and vegetarian diets
- Sustainable practices of recycling and reduction of resource use
- Risk assessments of lifestyle choices
- Scientific aspects of the use of new technologies, e.g. gene editing, virtual reality
- Control of disease
- Social transmission
- Food choices
- Obesity
- Community health
- Maintenance of human populations
- Quality of life
- Security, production, and distribution of food
- Energy supply
- Environmental impact of mining and resource extraction
- Production of renewable energy
- Population distribution
- Waste management
- Environmental impact
- Use of regeneration agriculture
- Rapid changes (e.g. earthquakes, severe weather)
- Slow and progressive changes (e.g. coastal erosion, sedimentation)
- Risk assessment
- Facial recognition
- New materials
- Devices and processes
- Genetic modifications
- Health technology
- Transport
- Use of artificial intelligence
- Control of disease
- Social transmission
- Food choices
- Obesity
- Community health
- Maintenance of human populations
- Quality of life
- Security, production, and distribution of food
- Energy supply
- Environmental impact of mining and resource extraction
- Production of renewable energy
- Population distribution
- Waste management
- Environmental impact
- Use of regeneration agriculture
- Rapid changes (e.g. earthquakes, severe weather)
- Slow and progressive changes (e.g. coastal erosion, sedimentation)
- Risk assessment
- Facial recognition
- New materials
- Devices and processes
- Genetic modifications
- Health technology
- Transport
- Use of artificial intelligence
Personal
Local & National
Global
PISA 2025 Science Framework Contexts
Look Inside
What do you notice?
- Maintenance of health
- Accidents
- Nutrition
- Vaccination
- Personal consumption of materials, types of food and energy
- Consuming locally produced food
- Choosing non-dairy and vegetarian diets
- Sustainable practices of recycling and reduction of resource use
- Risk assessments of lifestyle choices
- Scientific aspects of the use of new technologies, e.g. gene editing, virtual reality
- Control of disease
- Social transmission
- Food choices
- Obesity
- Community health
- Maintenance of human populations
- Quality of life
- Security, production, and distribution of food
- Energy supply
- Environmental impact of mining and resource extraction
- Production of renewable energy
- Population distribution
- Waste management
- Environmental impact
- Use of regeneration agriculture
- Rapid changes (e.g. earthquakes, severe weather)
- Slow and progressive changes (e.g. coastal erosion, sedimentation)
- Risk assessment
- Facial recognition
- New materials
- Devices and processes
- Genetic modifications
- Health technology
- Transport
- Use of artificial intelligence
- Control of disease
- Social transmission
- Food choices
- Obesity
- Community health
- Maintenance of human populations
- Quality of life
- Security, production, and distribution of food
- Energy supply
- Environmental impact of mining and resource extraction
- Production of renewable energy
- Population distribution
- Waste management
- Environmental impact
- Use of regeneration agriculture
- Rapid changes (e.g. earthquakes, severe weather)
- Slow and progressive changes (e.g. coastal erosion, sedimentation)
- Risk assessment
- Facial recognition
- New materials
- Devices and processes
- Genetic modifications
- Health technology
- Transport
- Use of artificial intelligence
Personal
Local & National
Global
PISA 2025 Science Framework Contexts
Look Inside
What do you notice?
There were some links there
but
you really need
to be actively looking and
trying really hard
to make those links.
What happens if we dig deeper?
What happens if we dig deeper?
Curriculum
Info Sheet
The parts in red sound like contexts…
Curriculum
Info Sheet
…are they really?
- Maintenance of health
- Accidents
- Nutrition
- Vaccination
- Personal consumption of materials, types of food and energy
- Consuming locally produced food
- Choosing non-dairy and vegetarian diets
- Sustainable practices of recycling and reduction of resource use
- Risk assessments of lifestyle choices
- Scientific aspects of the use of new technologies, e.g. gene editing, virtual reality
- Control of disease
- Social transmission
- Food choices
- Obesity
- Community health
- Maintenance of human populations
- Quality of life
- Security, production, and distribution of food
- Energy supply
- Environmental impact of mining and resource extraction
- Production of renewable energy
- Population distribution
- Waste management
- Environmental impact
- Use of regeneration agriculture
- Rapid changes (e.g. earthquakes, severe weather)
- Slow and progressive changes (e.g. coastal erosion, sedimentation)
- Risk assessment
- Facial recognition
- New materials
- Devices and processes
- Genetic modifications
- Health technology
- Transport
- Use of artificial intelligence
- Control of disease
- Social transmission
- Food choices
- Obesity
- Community health
- Maintenance of human populations
- Quality of life
- Security, production, and distribution of food
- Energy supply
- Environmental impact of mining and resource extraction
- Production of renewable energy
- Population distribution
- Waste management
- Environmental impact
- Use of regeneration agriculture
- Rapid changes (e.g. earthquakes, severe weather)
- Slow and progressive changes (e.g. coastal erosion, sedimentation)
- Risk assessment
- Facial recognition
- New materials
- Devices and processes
- Genetic modifications
- Health technology
- Transport
- Use of artificial intelligence
Personal
Local & National
Global
PISA 2025 Science Framework Contexts
OK. Too ambitious, perhaps the littlies aren’t ready for the big Anthropocene contexts.
Let’s ramp it up to Year 10 and try again.
Let’s give it a go.
- Maintenance of health
- Accidents
- Nutrition
- Vaccination
- Personal consumption of materials, types of food and energy
- Consuming locally produced food
- Choosing non-dairy and vegetarian diets
- Sustainable practices of recycling and reduction of resource use
- Risk assessments of lifestyle choices
- Scientific aspects of the use of new technologies, e.g. gene editing, virtual reality
- Control of disease
- Social transmission
- Food choices
- Obesity
- Community health
- Maintenance of human populations
- Quality of life
- Security, production, and distribution of food
- Energy supply
- Environmental impact of mining and resource extraction
- Production of renewable energy
- Population distribution
- Waste management
- Environmental impact
- Use of regeneration agriculture
- Rapid changes (e.g. earthquakes, severe weather)
- Slow and progressive changes (e.g. coastal erosion, sedimentation)
- Risk assessment
- Facial recognition
- New materials
- Devices and processes
- Genetic modifications
- Health technology
- Transport
- Use of artificial intelligence
- Control of disease
- Social transmission
- Food choices
- Obesity
- Community health
- Maintenance of human populations
- Quality of life
- Security, production, and distribution of food
- Energy supply
- Environmental impact of mining and resource extraction
- Production of renewable energy
- Population distribution
- Waste management
- Environmental impact
- Use of regeneration agriculture
- Rapid changes (e.g. earthquakes, severe weather)
- Slow and progressive changes (e.g. coastal erosion, sedimentation)
- Risk assessment
- Facial recognition
- New materials
- Devices and processes
- Genetic modifications
- Health technology
- Transport
- Use of artificial intelligence
Personal
Local & National
Global
PISA 2025 Science Framework Contexts
the task requires a lot of mental gymnastics to force a link
That was better, but
What's the future for science
in the New Zealand Curriculum?
aecnz.substack.com
Bay Science
bayscience.nz
Media licensed via Adobe Stock unless otherwise indicated
Changes to the "Final" Science Phase 1-4 NZC
Dr Claire Coleman and Lian Soh