5703 (2026). Hon Willow-Jean Prime to the Minister of Education

5703 (2026). Hon Willow-Jean Prime to the Minister of Education: What individuals or organisations, if any, were consulted on the Ministry of Education refreshed curriculum to ensure the curriculum meets the needs of disabled learners and neurodivergent learners; if any, when were they consulted and how?

Hon Erica Stanford: The Ministry of Education (the Ministry) provides support and responds to the needs of disabled learners and neurodivergent learners in education. I am advised that the Ministry worked with the Curriculum Voices Group and Disability Voices Group as part of the curriculum refresh process. These groups included representatives from: • Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ • Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People • Ko Taku Reo Deaf Education New Zealand • Disabled Persons Assembly NZ Special Education Principals Association. The groups also included individuals with lived experience of disability and parents of learners with disability and additional learning needs. Public consultation also provides the sector and wider public with the opportunity to provide feedback. Between 11 September 2025 – 16 September 2025, targeted engagement was undertaken with representatives from specialist’s settings Intellectually Handicapped Children's Society (IHC), Special Education Principals' Association of New Zealand (SEPANZ) to seek feedback on the clarity of assessment requirements and their ability to accommodate the diverse needs of learners.