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CMC
[FYI request #34415 email]
3 July 2026
Tēnā koe CMC
OIA: GEMS-48523 – Follow-up request to GEMS-47587
Thank you for your email of 6 June 2026 to the Ministry of Education (the Ministry)
requesting the following information:
1. Please provide the full text of the "agreed design principles and Ministry
design criteria" against which consultation feedback is assessed when
determining whether it warrants a change to the curriculum documents (as
referenced in the response to question 5).
2. Please confirm whether the final curriculum documents wil be published
before or after the independent reviewer's report is made publicly available.
3. Please provide the name or organisational identity of the independent
reviewer.
Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
In response to
part one of your request,
Education Report: Design for the New
Zealand Curriculum change programme, dated 12 April 2024, sets out the design for
the New Zealand Curriculum change programme. I am releasing this in part as
Appendix A, with some information withheld under the following sections of the Act:
9(2)(a) to protect the privacy of natural persons.
9(2)(g)(i) to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the free
and frank expression of opinions by or between or to Ministers of the
Crown or members of an organisation or officers and employees of
any public service agency or organisation in the course of their duty.
As required under section 9(1) of the Act, I have considered the public interest in
releasing the information withheld. I do not consider that the public interest
considerations favouring the release of this information are sufficient to outweigh the
need to withhold it at this time.
Wellington – National Office, PO Box 1666, Wellington 6140
Phone: +64 4 463 8000
education.govt.nz
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The following documents have also been identified in scope of your request and are
publicly available:
• Cabinet paper,
Establishing a knowledge-rich national curriculum grounded in
the science of learning, which sets out the overarching design principles:
https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3fs-public/2024-08/21-
Establishing-a-knowledge-rich-
curriculum_Redacted.pdf?VersionId=jEbZxxpGmLn9ka23i4exehjJMzzjsu
7o
• Education Report: Timeline and Design for
Te Marautanga o Aotearoa rewrite
(METIS No: 1327587)
: https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3fs-
public/2024-08/ER-
1327587_Redacted.pdf?VersionId=gQpJSenV8d0gAVvNsL3ufgrdvCAqn
wrb
The New Zealand Curriculum is designed to deliver equitable and excellent
outcomes for all New Zealand children (including ākonga Māori, Pacific students and
those with learning support needs), by providing the same high standard curriculum
content to every teacher and student, regardless of where they live. This approach
reduces variability, supporting those who are currently underserved by our education
system.
The National Curriculum is to be a clear statement of what we deem important in
education in New Zealand, reflecting the social, cultural and historical context of
New Zealand and:
1. Underpinned by the Science of Learning
2. Knowledge-rich
3. Inclusive of evidence-informed teaching practices
4. Clear and easy to use
5. Internationally comparable
6. Supportive of the development of key competencies
7. Supportive of kura and Māori-medium settings to deliver on their designated or
special character (Te Marautanga o Aotearoa only).
For Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and New Zealand Curriculum, there are 11 quality
criteria used to support writing and quality assurance of the National Curriculum,
which are listed below:
1. Clear and detailed content that makes it explicit what content is to be taught
and assessed
2. Rigorous with high expectations
3. Prioritises disciplinary knowledge and skil s, embedding ‘know how’ in ‘know
that’
4. Well-sequenced within each learning area and discipline
5. Well-sequenced across learning areas and disciplines
education.govt.nz
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6. Supports long-term memory acquisition and effective, research-based
pedagogy
7. Comprehensive and well-rounded with sufficient focus on each
discipline/subject
8. Equitable and inclusive – representative with different perspectives
9. Teachable
10. Clear reading and writing requirements
11. Consistently implemented for all students within and across schools.
Regarding
part two of your request, the release date for the Independent Reviewer’s
Report is yet to be confirmed.
In response to
part three of your request, I can confirm that Evaluation Associates
are conducting the independent review.
Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review
my decision on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do
this by writing t
o [email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman,
PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā
Antony Harvey
General Manager, Business Operations
Te Poutāhū | Curriculum Centre
education.govt.nz
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