THE  KEY  COMPETENCIES

Helping your child develop key competencies

Your child is learning a range of skills and abilities (key competencies) to help them to do well in life. There are lots of things you can do to help your child develop and use these.

The world your child lives in is very different to what it was like when you were growing up and is continuing to change. It is no longer enough to just learn “facts”.

No-one knows exactly what life will be like for today’s children when they become adults, but we do know that they will need to develop a range of key competencies, so that they can adapt and function well in the world.

These key competencies are an important part of your child's learning at school. They are included in the New Zealand Curriculum and are woven into all the teaching that takes place.

Key competencies are not just for school, but for life. Your child uses these key competencies in many different situations at home, at sport, at church, at cultural occasions, and eventually at work.

How can I help at home?

The key competencies are a really useful way to think about and get involved in your child’s learning. There are lots of ways to do this:

• Understand what’s happening at school - ask your teacher how they are teaching your child about key competencies, why, and what you can do to help at home.

• Be enthusiastic and interested in what your child is doing at school – ask your child what they learned today, talk about the skills that they are developing, and how useful they are in life.

• Do things together that uses one or more key competencies - this shows your child that what they learn at school is connected to the things they do in everyday life, for example: 

  • Planning a meal – thinking; using language, symbols and texts, managing self.

  • Taking part in a pōwhiri at your marae – relating to others; participating and contributing, using language, symbols and texts.

  • Being in a sports team – participating and contributing; relating to others, managing self.

  • Mastering the rules of an online game – thinking; using language, symbols and texts.

Further Information

Talk to the teacher about how they are developing your child's key competencies. Ask what you can do at home to build on what they are doing at school.

Visit the Key Competencies area of the Te Kete Ipurangi (TKI) website. This is a website developed for teachers and educators but anyone is welcome to visit it. It provides a more detailed look into the key competencies and some good videos of children themselves talking about their learning.

Find out more about the New Zealand Curriculum (the curriculum framework that schools use to plan their teaching) on TKI.  This includes more in depth information about the vision, principles, values, key competencies and learning areas.