Year 9 and 10 classes have seen a frustrating and stressful start to the new school year due to non-delivery of promised new maths and English resources, says Post Primary Teachers’ Association Te Wehengarua (PPTA) president Chris Abercrombie.
“Great resources that are well developed and implemented smoothly are so crucial, especially with the amount of new content the Minister has introduced,” Mr Abercrombie said.
Teachers were promised that resources for the new English and maths curricula, being implemented this year, would be available by mid-January at the latest. For Years 9 and 10 maths, the provided resource is an online tool. Mr Abercrombie said some schools have expressed concern about a digital-only approach.
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“Students spending more time sitting in front of screens is not necessarily going to be helpful for them in the long run.
“We are hearing that teachers – let alone all their students – haven’t even been given log-in details yet. Given that this is the only resource being provided, its rollout – or non-rollout – is totally unacceptable.
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Chris Abercrombie said resources for the new English curriculum seemed to be repeats of online professional development sessions for literacy, which is only one part of the wide-ranging curriculum.
Teachers were promised rubrics for the new English curriculum, but these have not been delivered.
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“Rather than being able to hit the ground running, teachers are being forced to scramble resources together. Of course they will do their best to make it work for students. But it seems like the whole process has been rushed and poorly thought through. The failure to deliver what was promised is totally unacceptable.
“Ākonga (students) deserve much better, especially Year 9 students who will potentially be facing a brand new qualification system in two years’ time. Failing to resource the new English and maths curricula does not create the firm foundation they need. We urge the government to do better.”
The Ministry of Education has not yet directly responded to PPTA concerns, but in an August 2025 update urged secondary schools to enact the revised curriculum as quickly as possible for Year 9, stating: “As students in Year 9 will be the first cohort using new qualification assessments aligned to the new curriculum, we encourage schools and kura to prioritise the implementation of the new Year 9 curriculum in 2026.”
