26/11/2025
Karen Thompson
[email address]
CC:
[email address], fyi-request-32687-
[email address], [email address], fyi-request-32759-
[email address], [email address], fyi-request-
[email address], [email address]
Tēnā koe Karen
OIA: GEMS-45382, GEMS-45431, GEMS-45378, GEMS-45573, GEMS-45565, GEMS-45557,
GEMS-45531, GEMS-45730 – various requests relating to the development of the New
Zealand Curriculum
Thank you for your emails, on the dates set out below, to the Ministry of Education (the Ministry)
requesting the following information:
[Reference GEMS-45382 and received 29 October 2025]
Please release the list of experts in Māori history who were consulted in the creation of the social
sciences curriculum released today.
[Reference GEMS-45431 and received 3 November 2025]
I note that you have recently responded requests for information about the curriculum writers for
various subjects, refusing the requests due to section 9(2)a of the act to protect the privacy of natural
persons.
For previous curriculum, the writers were made public. Therefore I would like al communications
about the decision not to disclose the names of the writers, contributors and reviewers of the recently
released curriculum for al subjects as well as Te Mataiaho the NZC framework.
I would like to see any internal communications (meeting notes, emails, aide memoires etc) about
this as well as any communications about this with the writers, contributors and reviewers - feel free
to redact their names to protect their privacy.
[Reference GEMS-45378 and received 5 November 2025]
Please give al feedback provided by the fol owing people who are named as writers, contributors
and reviewers in Tāhurangi, as wel as the Ministry dedicated team’s feedback on the various
iterations of the social sciences curriculum leading up to the curriculum documents that were
released today, 29 October 2025.
Wellington National Office, 1 The Terrace, Levels 5 to 14, Wellington 6011
PO Box 1666, Wel ington 6140, DX SR51201 Phone: +64 4 463 8000
Andrea Thompson, Bronwyn Houliston, Bronwyn Wood, Colin MacLeod, Maria Perreau, Mary
Robinson, Sarah Hopkinson
I want to see any emails, texts, meeting notes, aide memoires, recol ections or other relevant
documents that include the feedback these people gave.
[Reference GEMS-45573 and received 6 November 2025]
In a Post article on 6 November titled “New curriculum wil reduce achievement gap for Māori -
ministry“
Pauline Cleaver stated curriculum writing consideration including looking abroad to “the United
Kingdom, Australia and Singapore to benchmark the curriculum so it was international y
comparable.”
Please provide examples from these curricula at the relevant year levels (acknowledging the year
numbering differences between countries) that shows how the draft social studies curriculum content
is comparable for Phases 1,2 and 3.
Please ensure examples are included from phase 1 geography, Phase 2 and 3 history and Phase 4
history and civics and society. Please also ensure examples are given that show benchmarking of
both knowledge and practices/skil s. You don’t need to include economics.
[Reference GEMS-45565 and received 6 November 2025]
Please provide the recommendations, suggestions and feedback given by the minister of education
and associate minister of education to the Ministry of Education in regards to the creation of the final
curriculum content for English, the draft curriculum content for social sciences, science, and health
and PE; as wel as any suggestions or feedback that address the "strengthened NZC as a whole".
This could be in the form of emails, formal documents, meeting notes, scribbled notes on draft
iterations etc
[Reference GEMS-45557 and received 6 November 2025]
In the OIA 1352862 it is explained that "the Ministry engaged Learning First, an Australian education
consultancy, to contribute to development across the strengthened NZC as a whole. Their insights
are helping us benchmark international y while ensuring that the curriculum remains tailored to the
needs of New Zealand learners."
Please provide the suggestions and feedback given by this company, or representatives of this
company in the creation of the final curriculum content for English, the draft curriculum content for
social sciences, science, and health and PE; as wel as any suggestions or feedback that address
the "strengthened NZC as a whole".
[Reference GEMS-45531 and received 6 November 2025]
Please provide all documents relating to the choice of people in the Curriculum Coherence Group
including the reasons for their selection and their expertise in curriculum design, particularly what
kind of curriculum they have experience in (eg The CDC model, UK curriculum) and what subjects
they have curriculum experience in.
OIA: GEMS-45382, GEMS-45431, GEMS-45378, GEMS-45573, GEMS-45565, GEMS-45557, GEMS-45531 and GEMS-45730
[Reference GEMS-45730 and received 13 November 2025]
I note that the parent portal has recently been updated with information from the draft curriculum for
the Health and PE and technology, even though these curriculums are currently under consultation
and not required to be used until 2027.
Please provide:
1. Any documentation that gives the purpose of including this information which is written as if the
content is currently being taught.
2. Whether other learning areas are going to be added before the curriculum is finalised and required
to be used.
3. How much the creation of this content has cost/ wil cost for each learning area?
4. What is the forecast cost of redoing this information once the curriculums are finalised?
On 5 November 2025, we wrote asking you to clarify two requests (references GEMS-45431 and
GEMS-45378).
You responded providing the following two references for the information requests that GEMS-
45431 relates to:
1352862 and 1346538
You also confirmed you are interested in
‘emails and documents’ for your request with the
reference GEMS-45378. We appreciate you taking the time to reply to our emails seeking
clarification of your requests.
Your requests have been considered under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act).
At the time of writing this letter, the Ministry has eight active requests on hand from you, received
over a period of two weeks, with the first seven made over a period of only seven days. Despite the
Ministry’s efforts to refine some of your requests with you, the number of concurrent and aligned
requests from you is creating an unreasonable administrative burden, both for the central Official
and Parliamentary Information team and the subject matter experts in the Ministry’s Curriculum
Centre.
In accordance with section 18A(2) of the Act, the Ministry may combine multiple requests received
simultaneously, or in short succession, from the same requestor about the same or similar subject
matter, for the purpose of refusing a request on the grounds of substantial collation or research.
The Ministry has concluded that your combined requests would require substantial collation and
research. Attempting to provide a substantive response to your requests, which cover a wide range
of communications and individuals over an extended period, would require extensive searches
across multiple individuals and systems, and a detailed review of a large volume of material to
identify and extract relevant content. It is therefore necessary to refuse your requests with the
references GEMS-45382, GEMS-45431, GEMS-45378, GEMS-45573, GEMS-45565, GEMS-
45557, GEMS-45531 and GEMS-45730 under section 18(f) of the Act, as the information could not
be made available without substantial collation and research such as would interfere with normal
OIA: GEMS-45382, GEMS-45431, GEMS-45378, GEMS-45573, GEMS-45565, GEMS-45557, GEMS-45531 and GEMS-45730
operations. I do not believe that any of the mechanisms provided for in the Act (such as charging,
clarifying or extending the timeframe for response) would remove the administrative barriers to
responding to your combined requests.
It is worth noting that the Ministry has sought to utilise clarifications, but that has not reduced the
burden, especially given the receipt of five new requests within days of clarifying two of your
original requests.
While I am refusing your requests for the purposes of the Act, I can advise regarding your request
with the reference GEMS-45431, the Ministry has determined that we have good reason to
withhold this information to protect the privacy of natural persons. In reaching this decision we had
particular regard to the potential for individuals to receive unsolicited online attention arising from
their involvement in these issues.
Any concerns about a Ministry decision to withhold of icial information can be directed to the
Ombudsman by the original requester, in accordance with section 28 of the Act.
Thank you again for your email. You also have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review my
decision on your requests with the references GEMS-45382, GEMS-45431, GEMS-45378, GEMS-
45573, GEMS-45565, GEMS-45557, GEMS-45531 and GEMS-45730 in accordance with section
28 of the Act.
You can do this by writing to
[email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman, PO
Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā
Claire Eden
General Manager, Business Operations
Te Poutāhū | Curriculum Centre
OIA: GEMS-45382, GEMS-45431, GEMS-45378, GEMS-45573, GEMS-45565, GEMS-45557, GEMS-45531 and GEMS-45730
