Let's talk sex ed

Here is a summary of what’s changed in the draft Years 0-10 curriculum for the Health and Physical Education learning area – what's been added, what’s been removed, and what else has changed.

What’s been added

• Example lesson plans
• Consent is taught from Year 0 – and this is mandatory 

What’s not included

The curriculum:

• Covers puberty in Year 5 and menstruation in Year 6 – after many young people are well into these changes
• Has very little information about sexual orientation or LGBTQIA+ and only in Year 10
• Mentions gender only twice – and not until Year 9
• Has no information about condoms or how to use one
• Contains little information about sexual abuse, coercion, and violence
• Doesn’t cover healthy, unhealthy, and abusive relationships
• Doesn’t cover intimate, sexual, or romantic relationships
• Doesn’t cover contraception until Year 10
• Has limited information about pornography, or drug and alcohol use

What else has changed

The draft curriculum:

• Builds on content learned in previous years
• More rigidly defines what teachers should be teaching
• Doesn’t give teachers much time to teach this content, with sex education one small part of health and physical education
• Is still optional – parents can remove their child – except for consent

If you want to have a say in how these topics are taught in schools across Aotearoa, read on for ways to get involved.  

As we outline in our media release, the draft curriculum doesn’t reflect what young people want and need.

We welcome mandatory teaching on consent from Year 0, and appreciate that the curriculum builds on content learned in previous years. But we believe that the new draft curriculum is regressive and fractured.  

We're concerned about:

• The lack of information on diversity and inclusivity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex variation – and the lack of inclusive language
• The lack of information about relationships, sexual health, drug and alcohol use, and digital safety, sexual abuse, coercion, or violence, body parts
• The lack of clarity on how much flexibility teachers have
• That many topics – such as puberty, menstruation, contraception, and conception – are delivered too late 

There are different ways for you to find out more about and have your say on the draft curriculum for Years 0-10. You can:

• Attend our online panel discussion, "Activating Advocates for Better Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE)" on 30 June
• Share your thoughts on our webform, or on social media
• Share this page with your friends and whānau
• Enter a submission by 24 April – read our guidance on how to do this  

You can have your say on these important topics by entering a public submission by April 2026. Here’s how to do it:

1. Read the draft curriculum. You might also find the summary of the changes on this page or our media release useful
2. Think about what you would like schools to teach young people about relationships, sex, and sexuality, and whether the curriculum covers these areas. You might find our prompts useful.
3. Write down some notes that explains how and where you think the curriculum needs to change.
4. Go to the feedback form for consultation. This is an online form run through SurveyMonkey. 

Here are some questions to help you think about how you think sex ed should be taught in schools.

• What did your school teach you about relationships, sex, sexuality, puberty, and your body? How do you think this should have been different?
• How does this differ from the draft curriculum?
• What do you think is important for young people to learn about in this area of health and wellbeing?
• Are there contemporary issues (e.g. navigating social media) that you feel should be covered?
• What do you think is valuable in teaching young people about healthy romantic, intimate, or sexual relationships?  

Make a note of areas you feel need to be changed, added, or moved to a different year level.

Sex ed, RSE, sex education – really, they mean the same thing. Different countries and different people call it by different names. But what we’re talking about is “teaching and learning about a broad variety of topics related to sex and sexuality.”

“Sex ed” (short for sex education, or sexuality education) is the word often used in the United States – and in Aotearoa when people are talking casually.

But officially, in Aotearoa, until now we’ve used the name “Relationships and sexuality education (RSE)”. This name showed that this topic covered more than just sex – and talked about relationships and sexuality. The current draft curriculum doesn’t use the term RSE. Instead, it includes RSE topics (like bodies, relationships, sexuality, and sexual health) within the Health Education curriculum. It includes these under the elements Bodies | Minds, Relationships, and Sex Education.

In 2025, the Ministry of Education created a draft framework for RSE and gathered feedback on it. They then developed draft curriculum content for the Health and Physical Education learning area for Years 0-10, which includes sex education (formerly known as RSE), and are asking for public feedback. Consultation is open until 24 April 2026.

You can have your say on these important topics by entering a public submission by 24 April 2026. Read our guidance on how to do this.

A draft curriculum for Years 11-13 will be released later. 

Find out more about the Ministry of Education process 

• Draft curriculum
• Submission website
• Government fact sheet
• Our media release on the draft curriculum
• Our open letter on RSE
• A summary of our RSE survey findings
• Comprehensive sexuality education – information from the World Health Organization