NCEA change

For information on the NCEA Change Programme, please visit the NCEA website:

The new home for resources, guidance, achievement standards, tools and co-requisites for both Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and The New Zealand Curriculum, to support kaiako, teachers and school leaders.

Upcoming events, workshops and their recordings, and NCEA updates can be found on the NIF page: Languages NIF page (padlet.com).

Teacher-only day update

2023 teacher-only days

The second of four teacher-only days (TODs) to support the curriculum and assessment change programme is taking place in Term 4 between Monday 13 November and Friday 24 November 2023.

2024 teacher-only days

Following consultation with the sector advisory groups, the Ministry has confirmed the following date ranges for the 2024 teacher-only days:

Term 2, 27 May – Fri 7 June 2024 (includes the King’s Birthday long weekend on 3 June)
Term 4, 21 Oct – Fri 15 November 2024 (includes Labour Day on 28 October and Canterbury Show Day on 15 November when no NCEA exams are scheduled)

Providing a date range gives schools flexibility to hold their teacher-only day at time that works best for them, however the Ministry is also strongly encouraging schools in neighbouring areas to hold their TOD on the same date. This increases the opportunity for collaboration, maximises the use of in-person supports, and minimises disruption for parents and whānau.

Need more information?

You can find out more about the TODs here Teacher-Only Days 2023 and 2024 | Te Mahau

NCEA Implementation Facilitators and their workshops

NCEA Implementation Facilitators

As part of the NCEA change, the MoE has employed regional facilitators to support schools with implementing the new Languages NCEA achievement standards. We are lucky to have two highly experienced language teaching colleagues take on these support roles in our learning area. Belinda and Annelies are happy to be contacted if your school or region would like support with the new standards. They will be visiting our clusters and available for NCEA change ToDs.

For more information about upcoming workshops, please visit our events calendar.

Read more about Belinda and Annelies in their bios here:

Annelies Mead

Tēnā kotou katoa,

Ko Annelies Mead tōku ingoa.

I have recently joined the Ministry of Education in the Te Mahao Wellington regional office as an NCEA Implementation Facilitator. I have been teaching Spanish for 15 years - starting out in Auckland, overseas and more recently at Onslow College in Wellington. The last 2 years I have been working in learning design and development in the tertiary space with a particular focus on assessment design. I have been involved in the European Languages SEG for the review of Achievement standards and I am excited to be able to work with Kaiako, kura and schools to support the implementation of the changes.

Other than being passionate about languages, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, being in the outdoors with my daughters and finding a quiet space to read a good book.

Contact Annelies

Belinda Sydenham

Kia ora.

My name is Belinda, and I have recently joined the Ministry of Education as a NCEA Change Implementation Facilitator. My background has been in language teaching, and I have taught in a range of schools and countries over the past 30 years, teaching Japanese, French and ESOL. For the past 6 years I have held various roles within PLD providers, with ever-changing names – Team Solutions, ILEP, Future Learning Solutions – then Tui Tuia | Learning Circle. With these organisations I have had the great privilege of working with language teachers across Aotearoa, developing practice and knowledge around the best pedagogy for language teaching. Having been a part of the RAS and the Asian Language SEG for the review of Achievement Standards, I feel I have been well prepared to now ensure a smooth transition for language teachers and the sector more broadly as we move to new standards and a new curriculum over the next few years.

When not working in the languages space, I enjoy being part of a choir, meals with family and friends, walks with the dog and my husband, and holidays by the sea.

Contact Belinda

Term 4 workshops with NCEA Implementation Facilitators

Term 4 online workshops for Level 1 - 20 September to 3 November

Subject support workshops start next week for teachers to get familiar with new Level 1 NCEA materials. These workshops focus on New Zealand Curriculum subjects only.

Online sessions will be facilitated by NCEA Implementation Facilitators with support from other Ministry teams. Each session aims to increase teacher confidence to develop Level 1 teaching and learning programmes. Sessions include:
•   an overview of the NCEA changes
•   a focus on learning matrices
•   an introduction to resources available.

Register for the online workshops here

Learning Languages (General)	Wednesday 20 September \| 3:30 – 4:30pm	Link
Asian Languages	Thursday 2 November \| 1:00 – 2:00pm	Link
Pacific Languages	Tuesday 17 October \| 3:30 – 4:30pm	Link
European Languages	Friday 3 November \| 12:00 – 1:00pm	Link
Te Reo Māori	TBC	Link

Who should attend?

Information is targeted to teachers and curriculum leaders/heads of department who have limited connection with NCEA Change materials. But any teacher or HOD is welcome to attend these workshops.

Check out full background detail in the link above. If you have any questions, please email us: ncea.review@education.govt.nz

Term 3 workshops with NCEA Implementation Facilitators

Term 3 Learning Languages Online workshops

In these workshops we will explore in more depth the different elements of the NCEA changes for Language teaching.

Please register your interest for the sessions below on this form

Tuesday 18 July	12-1 pm	Numeracy
Thursday 20 July	8:30 – 9:30 am	Learning Matrix 1 – Big Ideas and Significant learning
Friday 21 July	12:30 – 1:30 pm	Learning Matrix 2 – linking to the course outline and your planning
Tuesday 15 August	12:15 - 1:15 pm	Universal Design for Learning - overview
Tuesday 15 August	3:30 - 4:30 pm	Literacy
Thursday 17 August	8:30 - 9:30 am	Universal Design for Learning – incorporating this into your planning
Thursday 17 August	12-1pm	Mana ōrite mō te Mātauranga Māori in your classroom
Tuesday 22 August	3:30 – 4:30 pm	Pacific Values Framework.
Thursday 24 August	8.30-9.30 am	Mana ōrite mō te Mātauranga Māori in your planning

Tui Tuia online workshops for each Language area

These workshops aim to support teachers in understanding the NCEA changes and preparing for their implementation in their teaching. See dates and register your interest here.

Wellington Workshops

Annelies Mead (NCEA Implementation Facilitator for Te Tai Runga: Wellington and South Island) is running workshops for Learning Language teachers with a focus on Level 1 course planning.

Learning Language Planning workshops: September 5^th & 12^th. There will be a choice of two workshops held at the Ministry of Education Lower Hutt office . Please complete the form if you are interested.

Pacific Languages talanoa: August 23^rd, Time and location TBC. This will be an opportunity to connect with other Pacific Language teachers and share ideas for Level 1 course planning. Please complete the form or email Annelies if you are interested.

Christchurch Workshops

Annelies Mead (NCEA Implementation Facilitator for Te Tai Runga: Wellington and South Island) is running workshops for Learning Language teachers with a focus on Level 1 course planning. Please complete the form to register your interest for either workshop below.

Learning Languages planning workshop: Wednesday 16^th August, 2-5pm Opihi College, South Canterbury
Learning Languages planning workshop: Thursday 17^thAugust, 1-3:30pm, location TBC (prior to the Christchurch Languages Cluster meeting)
Pacific Languages planning workshop: Friday 18^thAugust, 9.30-12.30pm, at Tagata Moana Level 1, 285 Cashel St, Christchurch

The new implementation update for NCEA Level 1

28 August 2023

Welcome to the new implementation update for NCEA Level 1

This newsletter aims to keep you connected with the implementation of changes to NCEA Level 1 and the NCEA co-requisite. We will be publishing a new issue regularly through to the start of Term 1, 2024.

In each issue we will provide key updates, links to available resources and points of contact, supporting you to stay connected and informed. If you think your colleagues and school network would be interested in the latest updates, you can forward this issue to them.

This issue was sent directly to principals and principal’s nominees. If you have received this update directly, you are already on our distribution list.

If this update has been forwarded to you, you can subscribe here:
Subscribe to our curriculum newsletters

You can unsubscribe from future issues using the link at the bottom of this email.

For support in implementing the changes in your schools and kura:

Contact your local NCEA Implementation Facilitator. Find the nearest Ministry office here:

Local offices – Education in New Zealand

For NZQA, your first point of contact is your Principal’s Nominee. They can work with your NZQA School Relationship Manager on anything they can’t answer.

NCEA Change