The NSW government's proposed school curriculum reform will take in findings from David Gonski's latest education report but the opposition has warned it won't work unless it includes support for teachers.
It's the first review of the state's school curriculum in 29 years with NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes saying the entire curriculum from Kindergarten to Year 12 would be reviewed and will put Mr Gonski's report into practice.
"This is a once in a generation chance to examine, declutter, and improve the NSW curriculum to make it simpler to understand and to teach," Mr Stokes said in a statement on Sunday.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the world had changed "rapidly" since the last comprehensive review in 1989 with these reforms providing greater focus on the basics including English, maths and science.
The April report, commissioned by the federal government and prepared by a panel headed by businessman David Gonski, found Australia's school curriculum failed a generation of children.
It recommended a focus on stretching individual students to improve every year and called for a greater focus on literacy and numeracy in early education and an urgent inquiry into the teaching and assessment of year 11 and 12 students.
Mr Stokes said NSW's curriculum review would examine the role of new technologies and teaching methods and would draw on the expertise of teachers to ensure they were supported.
Australian literature, scientific discoveries and key historical events will also play a part.
NSW opposition spokesman Jihad Dib said it was about time the reforms were introduced as the state was falling behind the Australian average in scientific and reading literacy in the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment.
He said the government had been "starving schools" of the support they needed.
Mr Dib, who is a former high school principal, said the reforms needed to involve teachers and provide support for them to deliver the curriculum.
"What NSW needs now is the kind of education reform Labor has been advocating - fully backed up by support at every level for our schools - and especially the teachers who will manage the reform," Mr Dib said in a statement on Sunday.
The review will be led by Australian Council for Educational Research chief executive Professor Geoff Masters who said it would need to focus on implementation issues and look for ways to declutter and simplify the curriculum.
