Information for parents

Digital Technologies are transforming our homes and workplaces, changing the way that we interact with each other and live our everyday lives. Our education system needs to grow and adapt to this technology. We're changing how we equip our children and young people to participate, create, and thrive in a fast-evolving digital world.

What is Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko (DT and HM)?

The Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko curriculum is about teaching our tamariki and children how technology works, and how they can use that knowledge to solve problems.

Once this new curriculum is introduced, our kids won’t just be using devices like computers and smart phones. The changed curriculum will mean that schools will be teaching our young people the computer science principles that all digital technologies are built on.

Your child will benefit from having these future thinking skills.

What does this mean for your child?

All students from Year 1-13 (ages 5-18 roughly) will have the opportunity to learn DT and HM. Students will be able to specialise from Year 11-13.

NCEA Level 1, 2, 3 achievement standards are now fully available for use.

Many teachers, schools, kura and Kāhui Ako are already making digital technologies learning part of their teaching programmes. This change ensures that all students get these experiences, to prepare them for a world where digital skills are increasingly valuable to the economy and wider society.

Introducing progress outcomes to Technology

To ensure that our learners have rich learning experiences in Digital Technologies, The New Zealand Curriculum must provide clear, accessible expectations for what students will learn.

Progress outcomes clearly describe the significant steps learners take as they progress in Digital Technologies from school entry to the end of Year 13.

For example, when looking at programming (in the Digital Technologies), progress outcomes identify that students start by learning to program simple instructions in-person (such as stepping out a set of actions on the floor). Later progress outcomes describe how this learning progresses over time, for example students can develop software or program robots.

How you can get involved

You can support your child to learn all that they can about Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko.

You can help your children understand that technology gives them the tools — but they still need to know how to work together, communicate, lead, and plan in order to succeed.

We encourage you to speak with your school or kura, or Board of Trustees about their plans for integrating the Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko curriculum into their teaching and learning programmes.

Find out more about what we heard during our public consultation on these changes.

Digital Technology and Hangarau Matihiko consultation(external link)

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