The New Zealand Curriculum takes as its starting point a vision of our young people as lifelong learners who are confident and creative, connected, and actively involved. It defines five key competencies that are critical to sustained learning and effective participation in society and that underline the emphasis on lifelong learning.
We use these competencies to live, learn, work, and contribute as active members of our communities. More complex than skills, the competencies draw also on knowledge, attitudes, and values in ways that lead to action. They are not separate or stand-alone. They are the key to learning in every learning area.

The development of the competencies is both an end in itself (a goal) and the means by which other ends are achieved. Successful learners make use of the competencies in combination with all the other resources available to them. As they develop the competencies, successful learners are also motivated to use them, recognising when and how to do so and why.

Opportunities to develop the competencies occur in social contexts. People adopt and adapt practices that they see used and valued by those closest to them, and they make these practices part of their own identity and expertise. In the social context of the our classrooms we particularily focus on the four key competencies that relate to how our children manage individually, and with others, their involvement within their learning pathway.