While it is usual for a Minister to be aware of the different iterations of a curriculum, it is unusual for a Minister to have input. 

And yet, this is exactly what has happened with the English Years 7-13 curriculum. Has it happened with others?

Erica Stanford, and her office, received a number of draft versions of this curriculum. This is typical. A Minister should be kept abreast of changes, including the rationale for them.

But Stanford has reached beyond this process into atypical Ministerial actions.  

We know, thanks to an Education Report, that around 10 February 2025 Stanford’s office requested changes to the version of the senior English curriculum sent to her in early February. What those changes were I have yet to find out, as Stanford has told me she has no record of them. 

However, I have found out that Stanford also received copies of the draft senior English curriculum on 14 and 27 March. This is significant. In an OIA response, Stanford confirms the content was “reviewed and feedback provided to officials in meetings”.

That’s right: Stanford played a role in the writing of the senior English curriculum, reviewing documents and providing feedback to Ministry officials on at least 10 February, 14 March and 27 March. This is highly unusual, for a good reason. Having separation between governance and operational roles helps limit political interference in the development of curriculum. It allows the experts to do their job. It allows for consultation to work through proper processes and not be unilaterally overruled.

March 2025 saw at least two versions of the senior English curriculum. We now have an admission from Stanford she was involved in them. One stipulated the inclusion of Māori and Pacifica authors, and Shakespeare was not included. In the version released to the sector at the start of April, Shakespeare was back, and Māori and Pacific authors erased.

It is hard to escape the conclusion that Stanford had something to do with the switch.

Read more about the two March English curricula.