National pledges financial literacy in school curriculum

The National Party has pledged to add financial literacy, the skills needed to manage money, to the school curriculum. The commitment is part of its Plan for Parents policy, RNZ reported on 23 October 2026.

A National Party article says financial education will be introduced in all schools. The party has described the change as one part of a wider plan for children, which it announced on 20 October.

That wider plan includes daily basics teaching, an expanded maths acceleration programme, phone bans and more support for schools. National's education page describes a refresh of the curriculum with an emphasis on literacy, explicit phonics (the direct teaching of letter sounds) and foundational maths skills.

In a Facebook video on Christopher Luxon's page, the party said its plan aims to replace NCEA, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement, with a new system focused on reading, writing and maths. The video does not set out a timetable. [Hmm]

Parents are also covered by a separate proposal. National's paid parental leave page proposes extending paid parental leave to 30 weeks and introducing shared leave, which would let parents divide the leave between them.

The party has not yet set out how any of these proposals would be funded or when they would start.