What is Te Whāriki

Te Whāriki is the Ministry of Education's early childhood curriculum policy statement. Te Whāriki is a framework for providing tamariki/children's early learning and development within a sociocultural context. It emphasises the learning partnership between kaiako/teachers, parents, and whanau/families. Kaiako/teachers weave an holistic curriculum in response to tamariki/children's learning and development in the early childhood setting and the wider context of the child's world.

It comprises of four broad principles at the centre of the early childhood curriculum. The strands and goals arise from the four principles. The whāriki is woven from these four principles and from the following five strands, or essential areas of learning and development. The principles and strands together form the framework for the curriculum. Each strand has several goals. Learning outcomes have been developed for each goal in each of the strands, so that the whàriki becomes an integrated foundation for every child's development.