When introduced to the acronym STEM (which stood for science, technology, engineering and mathematics) learning in early childhood education (ECE), I was immediately intrigued. Having been a kaiako (teacher) in rural New Zealand and growing up on a dairy farm, natural, hands-on, child-lead, and inquiry-based learning was my passion. It always sat well with me that Te Whāriki: He Whāriki Mātauranga mō ngā Mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early Childhood Curriculum (Te Whāriki) (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2017) backed by decades of research and literature supports a play-based approach to learning in the early years in New Zealand.

I was reading a regional newspaper in Taranaki, New Zealand a few months ago and a question in the article caught my eye. Learning how to communicate our boundaries in a constructive way – is it something we’re taught? (Service,2016, p. 16). The line was not earth-moving or mind-shattering, the kind that may eventually find its way as car stickers, postcards or wall frames later. Rather, it was simple and could even easily be forgotten, however it lingered in my mind hours and even days after.

In 2016, Te Whāriki: He Whāriki Mātauranga mō ngā Mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early Childhood Curriculum (Te Whāriki) (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2017), New Zealand’s early childhood curriculum was updated for the first time in 20 years. Although the gazetted principles, strands and goals of the curriculum were not part of the update, the remainder of the curriculum was revised to meet the changing social and linguistic context, the revised national curriculum and associated documents, reviews of early childhood practice and relevant theory and research. The updated curriculum has reduced learning outcomes (from 118 to 20) and stronger guidance on the need for both informal and formal approaches to assessment to ensure children’s learning in each strand are assessed. This article reflects on the changes between the 1996 and 2017 version of the curriculum in relation to assessment and the rationale for the changes. Approaches to both ‘in the moment’ and planned assessment are explored and the usefulness of approaches which enable teachers to reflect on ‘discrepant data’ and support children’s learning in each strand are examined.

Children under five are the heart of Te Whāriki: He Whāriki Mātauranga mō ngā Mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early Childhood Curriculum ( Te Whāriki )(Ministry of Education [MoE], 2017). When a child is at the heart of the curriculum, they are the life force of that curriculum as it puts the child as being the paramount focus behind forming relationships, planning and activities (MoE, 2017). The original principles of the importance of the child and the need to understand the sociocultural context of their lives is still very much a focus of the updated version of Te Whāriki (MoE, 2017).

Although Te Whāriki: He Whāriki Mātauranga mō ngā Mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early Childhood Curriculum (Te Whāriki) (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2017), the New Zealand early childhood curriculum, dedicates an entire strand to wellbeing, stating that “All children have the right to have their health and wellbeing promoted and to be protected from harm” (MoE, 2017, p. 26), there is considerable concern to what degree this message is enacted in early childhood education. This article aims to explore how the curriculum can support the health and wellbeing of children and the role educators play in co-constructing a curriculum that accommodates and promotes health and wellbeing knowledge and practices with children and their families and whānau.

Like free play, children learn through exploring and experimenting with art media. Terreni (2010) states that art is “often identified as a distinct area of play” (p. 2), and by engaging in and with different arts during early childhood, this will not only influence the achievement of present learning outcomes but also enable behaviours and attitudes that will support future learning in infants, toddlers and young children (Vecchi, 2010; Barton, 2015). Learning and partaking in the arts, whether in dance, music, drama or visual art, fosters a child’s holistic development while cultivating their artistic abilities and knowledge.