Voice of tamariki 2025

Key findings

Voice of tamariki shows how children (aged 8 to 13) feel about being active in Aotearoa.

These are the key findings from the tamariki who took part in the 2025 survey.

Who took part

38,321 primary school students.

From 459 schools and kura across 16 Regional Sports Trust regions.

What we heard

Tamariki are active in many ways at school, and play is central to their experience.

Being active at play time is the most common way tamariki are active at school (82%).
Tamariki like connecting and spending time with friends and playing games and sports.
Enjoyment is high for tamariki (65% enjoy being active at school overall, and 82% enjoy being active during play time).
Boys report enjoying being active with their class more than girls.
Feeling confident supports tamariki to enjoy being active. Feeling included, learning about their culture through movement, and being encouraged to be active helps tamariki build confidence in physical activity.
Tamariki want activities that feel fair and friendly. Their biggest dislike about being active is when people cheat or are mean.

Overall enjoyment and satisfaction

Tamariki are more likely to enjoy being active when they’re:

	having fun
	connecting with others
	feeling confident to try new things
	interested in their learning
	feeling included during activities
	getting opportunities to do activities they enjoy.

"I like PE at school because I get to learn new sports and because it helps me be more active." – Year 5 student.

"Playing games with my friends because the game is based off something we're all into. Like playing a game where 2 of us are dragons and one's a human and the dragons are trying to catch it." – Year 6 student.

The top 5 things tamariki don't like about being physically active at school

65% people cheating or being mean.
48% bad weather.
43% getting hurt.
41% not getting a turn.
41% having no one to play with / being left out.

Barriers and inequities

Not all tamariki have the same experiences at school. Girls, disabled young people, Asian young people and students in higher Equity Index (EQI) schools report lower confidence, lower enjoyment and feeling less encouraged to be active:

Gender gaps show up early. At play time, 86% of boys and 78% of girls report being active.
Girls dislike more things about being active than boys.
Girls are more likely than boys to report feeling uncomfortable being watched, being left out or getting hurt while being active.
Tamariki who say it’s harder for them to do things than their peers (eg, seeing, hearing, moving, learning, reading, writing or managing their feelings) also reported more things they disliked about being active.

Tamariki enjoyment levels across contexts by gender

Percentage reporting 'quite a lot' or 'heaps'

Boys

Girls

71%

60%

73%

62%

86%

78%

68%

66%

77%

75%

Overall, at school/kura

With my class

During playtime

In a sports team or active club

In the weekend

What to focus on for tamariki

Safe, friendly and fair play

Create environments where all tamariki feel safe.

More inclusion

Especially for girls and tamariki with impairments.

More choice and control

Let tamariki decide what they do.

Less pressure and competition

Focus on fun over winning.

Better access to equipment

More spaces and resources available.

Build confidence

Support that helps tamariki believe in themselves.

More information

See the Student Voice report 2025 , which brings the voice of tamariki and voice of rangatahi surveys together to give a clearer picture of how experiences of physical activity at school and kura change as young people get older.

Voice of tamariki 2025