Kia ora,

I’m making this Official Information Act request as part of ADHDInquiryNZ, a grassroots, unfunded, and non-partisan volunteer initiative supporting a public petition calling for a Parliamentary inquiry into systemic harm to people with ADHD in Aotearoa. This request focuses on information held by your agency to help identify how ADHD is currently recognised within existing systems. The information gathered from this and related requests will be used to help identify any patterns across agencies and will contribute to the evidence provided to the Petitions Committee when the petition period closes. I appreciate the time involved in OIA responses.

Please treat this as a request for official information under the OIA. I am requesting the specific information listed below. I understand the Council’s obligation to assist under s 13 and that a decision should be made within 20 working days of receipt (and any transfer within 10 working days). If any part of this request requires clarification, please let me know no later than 5 working days from receipt. If an extension under s 15A is needed, please state the reason and duration. I request release in machine-readable format where available. This request is confined to information held by the Teaching Council; please do not transfer for commentary.

1. Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Requirements
Any Teaching Council curriculum requirements, programme approval criteria, standards, or guidance for Initial Teacher Education providers that refer to ADHD or expectations for supporting learners with ADHD.

2. Teaching Standards & Professional Expectations
Any references to ADHD within any of the following:
-Standards for the Teaching Profession
-Graduating Teacher Standards
-Our Code, Our Standards
-teaching, inclusion, or professional responsibility guidance produced by the Council

Please include any internal analysis, advice, or correspondence relating to whether ADHD should or should not be referenced within these frameworks.

3. Council-led PLD or Professional Capability Guidance
Any professional learning or development materials, workshops, resources, or capability-building guidance produced, funded, commissioned, or formally endorsed by the Teaching Council since 2015 that relate to:
ADHD awareness
classroom practice for learners with ADHD
broader neurodiversity content that explicitly includes ADHD.
(Recognising that most PLD sits with the Ministry of Education, this request is limited to material held by or produced by the Teaching Council.)

4. Teacher Preparedness & Competence
Any evaluation reports, research, consultation feedback, or correspondence (2015–present) relating to teachers’ preparedness or capability to support learners with ADHD, including:
-research commissioned or carried out by the Council to support quality teaching
-competence or professional-conduct decisions where ADHD-related misunderstanding, accommodation issues, or unmet learning needs were identified as relevant factors.

(Please redact personal identifiers under s 9(2)(a) where required.)

5. Absence of Information
If ADHD is not referenced in ITE requirements, teaching standards, or Council-led PLD/professional guidance, please confirm this and provide any documents or correspondence that:
-record decisions not to include ADHD-specific content, and/or
-explain how ADHD-related matters are instead categorised (for example, under “learning support needs”, “behaviour”, “neurodiversity”, or “inclusive practice”).

6. Format and non-collection
Where datasets or tables are released, please provide them in machine-readable format (CSV or original spreadsheet file) with accompanying data dictionaries or field definitions.

If your agency does not hold some or all of the information requested, that absence also helps clarify how ADHD is currently tracked and managed across the education workforce. Please confirm if the information is not held.

Ngā mihi,
Elspeth Baker-Vevers

Tēnā koutou,

Thank you for your response of 20 January 2026 to my Official Information Act request regarding how ADHD is recognised within the Teaching Council’s existing systems.

I’m writing to seek brief clarification on a few points, to ensure I’ve correctly understood the information held by the Council in relation to my original questions.

In particular, I would appreciate confirmation on the following:

Initial Teacher Education (ITE) requirements
In relation to my request for any ITE curriculum requirements, standards, or guidance that mention ADHD:
– Can you please confirm whether ADHD is explicitly referenced anywhere within current ITE requirements, programme approval criteria, or associated guidance?
– If ADHD is not explicitly mentioned, I would appreciate confirmation of that.

Professional learning or development (PLD)
I note your statement that the Council is not a provider of PLD and does not have PLD materials relating to ADHD.
– Can you please confirm whether the Council holds any information relating to PLD that has been funded, commissioned, or formally endorsed by the Council since 2015 that includes ADHD awareness or classroom practice?
– If no such information is held, please confirm this.

Teacher preparedness and competence
In relation to my request for any evaluation reports, research, consultation feedback, or correspondence (2015–present) relating to teachers’ preparedness or capability to support learners with ADHD:
– Can you please confirm whether the Council holds any such material?
– If none is held, I would appreciate confirmation of that.

I’m not seeking the creation of new information, only confirmation of whether the above information is held by the Council, in line with my original request.

Thank you again for your time and assistance.

Ngā mihi,
Elspeth Baker-Vevers