The New Zealand Curriculum is being updated and made available in phases, and schools and kura have until the beginning of 2027 to start using the fully refreshed national curriculum. 

The draft of the refreshed te ao tangata | social sciences learning area on this page is for reference only. It was developed before the 2024 reset of the refresh and further updates will be made during 2025 and 2026. An updated draft will be made available for review during that time.

For now, schools and kura should continue to teach social sciences (including Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories) aligned to the currently required New Zealand Curriculum. Existing requirements for the wider social sciences curriculum are broad and enabling, so the draft refreshed te ao tangata | social sciences learning area can be used to inform how teaching and learning programmes are designed.

Once finalised, schools and kura will need to teach the updated social sciences learning area from Term 1, 2027.