A question nearly answered
In my initial report into the actions of the Ministerial Advisory Group, I asked this question:
At what point did they begin writing the curriculum? There is the real possibility they did so in contravention of policy regarding ministerial advisory groups.
I'm close to being able to give an answer to that question.
It seems, if the emails (which I have obtained in a recent OIA request) between the members are any guide, that they began writing curriculum documents in mid-January 2024, shortly before their second meeting!
To me, that suggests that there is a strong likelihood that in that first meeting they discussed what the rewritten documents would look like despite the terms of reference for the group saying their purpose was to review the existing curriculum refresh work and report back to the Minister, and despite Public Service guidelines clearly saying these kinds of groups are unsuited for writing regulations, which is what a curriculum is.
Remember, their report wasn't finished until late March, and wasn't accepted by the Minister until 5 April 2024.
The implications of this are huge. I will be covering them in detail in my next report.