Our Submission on the Health and Physical Education Curriculum Refresh

We care about tamariki and rangatahi a lot, and that's why we've made our submission about the Health and Physical Education curriculum refresh to the Ministry of Education.

Let's break down what we support in the proposed curriculum, and what we don't.

What we support:

We support retaining Health and Physical Education within the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum. Within the refreshed curriculum, we support the addition of new material around Online Safety, Prevention and Intervention, and Targeted Approaches for individuals, groups, and whole schools for better education outcomes.

Our Concerns:

1. Mental Health is a part of Health

Skylight is concerned that the draft curriculum contains almost no explicit reference to mental health, emotional capability, or psychological development, despite these areas previously being foundational within Health and Physical Education in Aotearoa New Zealand.

While the curriculum refers broadly to students thriving and developing resilience, it does not clearly articulate expectations for learning related to emotional regulation, stress management, help‑seeking, or the impact of school environments on student behaviour and engagement. These capabilities are foundational to learning, attendance, and positive participation in school life

Recommendation

Greater clarity is needed on how the curriculum supports mental health and students to develop self‑management, emotional regulation, and coping skills necessary for managing challenge and change, maintaining engagement in learning, and participating positively in school life. The learning is implied, but not clearly named, structured, or supported at a system level.

2. Holistic frameworks

Skylight notes that the draft Health and Physical Education curriculum no longer explicitly references Te Whare Tapa Whā or comparable holistic frameworks that have previously underpinned health learning in Aotearoa New Zealand.

In Skylight’s experience delivering programmes and clinical services, holistic models are essential for helping children and young people understand how emotional, relational, physical, and environmental factors interact. These models support early intervention, shared responsibility across systems, and culturally responsive practice consistent with Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Recommendations

Reinstating an explicit holistic framework or frameworks, such as Te Whare Tapa Whā, would strengthen curriculum coherence and system alignment and recognise the role of school environments, relationships, and wider contexts in the health of ākonga.

The curriculum should recognise the interconnectedness of physical and mental health.

3. Keep – and make explicit – what is working well

The current guidelines (Mental health education guide) are very good at protecting, preventing and intervening in the health (particularly mental health) challenges of our ākonga – our young people.

We think these guidelines are essential for schools to create a supportive environment that promotes the mental health and wellbeing of all students and we ask that the curriculum reflects more of their content and principles.

Recommendation

Ensure the curriculum reflects the current guidance

4. Responding to grief, loss, and change

Skylight notes that the draft curriculum does not explicitly acknowledge grief, loss, and significant change as common experiences for many children and young people. Through our work in over 300 schools, we see that bereavement, family disruption, illness, displacement, and cumulative stress are routine realities for tamariki and rangatahi and have a direct impact on learning, behaviour, and engagement.

Recommendations

Include responding to grief, loss and change explicitly in the curriculum.

Discuss with Skylight how Te Korowai could be embedded in the

education system for Years 6-8 (building on what we have learnt for Travellers and Year 9 students).

Explore with Skylight how programmes such as Matika (for 6-12 year olds who have been recently bereaved) can support ākonga mental health and educational achievement.

5. Teacher capability and confidence

When curriculum expectations around mental and emotional learning are implicit rather than explicit, implementation becomes highly variable. Teachers may feel uncertain about scope, boundaries, and their role in supporting students experiencing challenges or distress.

Clear curriculum signals support teacher confidence, professional judgement, and consistency across schools. This is particularly important given increasing pressure on teachers to respond to complex emotional and behavioural needs without clear guidance or adequate support.

Recommendation

Make expectations for mental and emotional learning explicit within the curriculum and signal the role of trusted community providers, such as Skylight, in supporting teacher capability, confidence, and consistent implementation across schools.

6. Supporting students through transitions

Many of the challenges faced by tamariki and rangatahi arise during periods of transition – starting school, moving classes or schools, entering adolescence, exam pressure, or family change.

A curriculum that more clearly supports emotional regulation, coping, and help-seeking during transitions would better reflect the realities of school life and reduce the risk of disengagement during key developmental stages. We have got programmes that would help support schools to deliver the curriculum if this was included specifically.

Recommendation

Clearly support emotional regulation, coping, and help-seeking during transitions within the revised curriculum.

7. Cultural diversity and inclusion in health education

Skylight notes that references to diverse cultural perspectives on health, including Pasifika and Asian worldviews, are largely absent from the draft Health and Physical Education curriculum. This does not reflect the cultural diversity of the student population in Aotearoa New Zealand or the realities of the school communities we work alongside.

In our experience, delivering programmes and counselling in schools, culturally grounded understandings of health, identity, relationships, and whānau/family play a significant role in how young people experience distress, seek support, and engage with learning. Explicit recognition that health is understood and expressed differently across cultures supports inclusion, strengthens engagement, and helps schools respond more effectively to the needs of all learners.

As a Te Tiriti-based organisation, we think there is an opportunity to better reflect our foundational document in the curriculum in a way that enhances the mana of both tangata-tiriti and tangata whenua and embraces the cultures of Aotearoa New Zealand.

8. Information about identity, diversity, and relationships

Skylight is also concerned that the draft curriculum contains very limited reference to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender diversity, or intersex variation. As a result, many young people may miss out on age‑appropriate, evidence‑based learning that supports understanding of themselves and others, and that reflects the world they live in.

Clear, factual curriculum content in this area supports all students. It provides those exploring their identity with reassurance and understanding, while also building empathy, respect, and healthy relationships across peer groups. When such learning is absent or unclear, schools can be left without guidance, and young people may turn to less reliable sources of information. Inclusive curriculum signals support positive identity development, reduce stigma, and align classroom learning with the realities faced by many young people.

Recommendation

Ensure the Health and Physical Education curriculum includes age‑appropriate, evidence‑based learning that reflects the cultural diversity of students in Aotearoa New Zealand and provides clear guidance on identity, relationships, and diversity.

9. Leveraging community expertise

Skylight welcomes the opportunity for the refreshed curriculum to explicitly recognise the role of trusted community providers in supporting curriculum delivery, professional learning, and student support.

Partnerships between schools and specialist organisations support evidence-based, developmentally appropriate practice that is responsive to local need, and reduce pressure on schools to hold all expertise internally. Such partnerships strengthen implementation, build confidence, and support more consistent outcomes for students.

We’ve been particularly encouraged by support offered by Regional Ministry of Education staff for collaboration between Skylight and a cluster of schools (in Rotorua) to deliver the Travellers programme and we are extremely happy to be delivering counselling in schools in partnership with the Ministry and schools in Wellington, the Waikato and South Canterbury. We would like to partner further with the Ministry and schools to deliver improved health and education outcomes for ākonga.

Recommendation

That the Ministry supports, including financially, partnerships between schools and community mental health organisations for improved curriculum outcomes.

Conclusion

Skylight supports the intent to simplify and clarify the Health and Physical Education curriculum. We believe this can be achieved while still making explicit the mental and emotional capabilities that underpin learning, behaviour, and long-term outcomes for children and young people. Clear guidance, coherent frameworks, and alignment with practice across education and health systems will help ensure the curriculum delivers on its aims for all learners.

Our views align with the submission from the Mental Health Foundation. If you would like to read their submission, you can do so here.