Kia ora Ken

 

Thank you for the information request below.  The Ministry will consider
and respond to your request in accordance with the Official Information
Act 1982 the Act).

 

Under section 15(1) of the Act, we are required to make and inform you of
our decision on your request as soon as reasonably practicable and in any
case not later than 20 working days after the day on which your request is
received. You can therefore expect to receive our decision on your request
on or before 10 July 2025. If more than 20 working days are needed due to
the potential workload and/or consultations involved in answering your
request, we will notify you accordingly.

 

The Ministry may publicly release on our website the response to your
request five days after you have received it. Any personal information
will be removed.

 

In the interim, if you have any questions about your request, please email
[1][email address]

 

Ngā mihi

 

Enquiries National Team | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of
Education | TW

[2]education.govt.nz

We shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent
outcomes
He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai
ōna huanga
[3]Te TD huhu o te MD tauranga

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Ken Robertson <[4][FOI #31279 email]>

Sent: Wednesday, 11 June 2025 6:41 pm

To: Enquiries National <[5][email address]>

Subject: Official Information request - Curriculum contributing groups
take 2

 

[You don't often get email from
[6][FOI #31279 email]. Learn why this is
important at [7]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]

 

To the Ministry of Education,

 

Request for Information:

 

A) This request is to clarify my previous request, which is copied below.
You made the following statement in your reply: "In respect of questions
2d, 2e, 3a and 3b, this information is withheld under section 9(2)(a) of
the Act, to protect the privacy of natural persons. "

 

A1) I would like to highlight this section in my request:

"I understand that naming individuals may not be appropriate. If
necessary, I am happy to receive descriptions of individuals’
qualifications or backgrounds in place of names (e.g., ‘a Māori academic
with expertise in history’, or ‘a Pacific primary teacher with curriculum
review experience’)"

 

A2) As explained in the quote above (from my initial request), I am not
seeking identifying information so there is no risk to the privacy of
natural persons. 2d is simply asking for the numbers of people approached
to participate in the contributing group from each of those backgrounds,
eg 5 primary experts. 2e is simply seeking general information to
understand the expertise or background of the people approached. 3 a and b
is asking why they did not end up being part of the group. The reasons can
likewise be generalised, for example, declined with no reason, conflict of
interest, not available in the time frames etc.

 

B) In your response, you stated "Regarding questions 1a – d, 2a and 2b,
membership of the contributing groups was decided by evaluating proposed
members that were nominated by subject associations and other experts.

The Ministry evaluated the nominees based on the following criteria:

• Relevant curriculum knowledge.

• Relevant content knowledge.

• Understanding of best practice pedagogy and the science of learning.

• Experience working in or with the NZ school sector.

• Expertise in designing inclusive curriculum, including progressions.

• Understanding of how to integrate key competencies, and literacy and
numeracy, into teaching and learning design.

• Experience and expertise of NZ contexts, including the use of te reo
Māori, tikanga Māori and contexts specific to Pacific learners."

 

B2) Given that there are no Māori, Pacific, or primary people in the
contributing group that is currently published on Tahurangi, I would like
to know - how many of each group (Māori, Pacific, primary sector) were
nominated by subject associations and other experts, and what were the
reasons for them not being selected for the contributing group.

 

C) given that the subject associations are overwhelmingly secondary
specific, how did you ensure that the nominations reflected the primary
sector, which is the majority of the sector for which this curriculum is
written and therefore should be a major focus in your first criterion
"relevant curriculum knowledge"

 

D) How did you decide which "other experts" to ask for nominations for the
contributing group? Which groups or general categories were these "other
experts" from? What social studies curriculum experience do these "other
experts" have?

 

My original request follows:

In April, the Ministry released on Tāhurangi a list of individuals
identified as ‘writers, contributors and reviewers’ for the updated
curriculum areas. Among those listed, only two had previously been
involved in the development of the history and/or social sciences
curriculum. The remainder were not part of the original teams. Notably,
the current group does not include anyone who is Māori, Pacific, or from
the primary education sector.

 

Under the Official Information Act, I would like to request the following
details regarding the rewrite of the social sciences learning area:

 

1. Involvement of Previous Curriculum Contributors:

 

1A) What process was followed to determine which members of the original
writing group would take part in the rewrite?

 

1B) How were the two returning individuals selected?

 

1C) Were others invited but chose not to participate? If so, what reasons
were provided for declining?

 

1D) Were some members of the initial team not invited to take part in the
rewrite? If so, please explain why.

 

2. Selection Process for Current Team Members:

Please outline how the current group (as listed on Tāhurangi) was
assembled, including:

 

2A) Who was consulted or asked to nominate individuals for roles as
writers, contributors, or reviewers?

 

2B) What were the selection criteria for the writers, contributors or
reviewers?

 

2C) How many individuals were approached in total for these positions?

 

2D) Of those approached, how many identified as Māori, Pacific, or came
from the primary sector?

 

2E) Could you provide a description of who was approached from each of
these three groups - Māori, Pacific and primary people (e.g., 'a Pacific
historian', 'a primary teacher with curriculum development experience')?

 

3. Absence of Māori, Pacific, and Primary Representatives:

Given the lack of representation from Māori, Pacific, and primary sector
voices on the current team, please explain:

 

3A) If individuals from these groups were recommended but not approached,
why that was the case.

 

3B) If individuals were approached but are not part of the group, the
reasons for this (e.g., did they decline, and if so, why; or was the
decision reversed by the Ministry, and if so, why).

 

3C) How the Ministry is addressing and justifying the absence of these
perspectives in the writing group.

 

I understand that naming individuals may not be appropriate. If necessary,
I am happy to receive descriptions of individuals’ qualifications or
backgrounds in place of names (e.g., ‘a Māori academic with expertise in
history’, or ‘a Pacific primary teacher with curriculum review
experience’).

 

If any part of my request is unclear, please do not hesitate to contact
me. If any of the information that I have requested is unavailable or
would be difficult to retrieve, but similar information might be readily
available, I would be happy to discuss altering or refining my request.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Ken Robertson

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

 

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[8][FOI #31279 email]

 

Is [9][Ministry of Education request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to Ministry of Education? If so, please contact us
using this form:

[10]https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

 

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[11]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

 

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

DISCLAIMER:
This email and any attachments may contain information that is
confidential and subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution or duplication of this
email and attachments is prohibited. If you have received this email in
error please notify the author immediately and erase all copies of the
email and attachments. The Ministry of Education accepts no
responsibility for changes made to this message or attachments after
transmission from the Ministry.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.education.govt.nz/
3. https://www.education.govt.nz/
4. mailto:[FOI #31279 email]
5. mailto:[email address]
6. mailto:[FOI #31279 email]
7. https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific...
8. mailto:[FOI #31279 email]
9. mailto:[Ministry of Education request email]
10. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
11. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

hide quoted sections