Ministry of Education

Decodable Texts for Years 4-10

The Ministry of Education is seeking proposals for the supply of high-quality, off-the-shelf decodable text resources for students in Years 4–10. Funding has been allocated as part of the Government’s 2026 Budget to support students who require additional targeted teaching and age-appropriate resources to develop their reading and decoding skills.

The procurement is for decodable text series aligned with the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) and a phonics scope and sequence that supports a controlled, cumulative and sequenced progression in decoding. Resources should be engaging and age-appropriate and include a range of fiction and non-fiction topics, grammatically correct sentences, coherent and meaningful texts, and appropriate instructional design. Resources should complement existing Ministry literacy resources and cater for students whose reading and decoding level may differ from their actual school year.

The Ministry is seeking resource sets for three learner groups:
- Years 4–6
- Years 7–8
- Years 9–10

Resources may be offered in professionally printed, printable, downloadable and/or digital formats. For physical books, the initial purchase is expected to be based on school pre-orders, with the potential for subsequent purchases. Respondents should be able to supply smaller quantities where required. The Ministry is seeking an average cost of $30 or less per physical book.
Following evaluation, the Ministry intends to establish a list of up to 10 resource sets for each learner group (up to 30 resource sets in total). Schools will be able to select one or more approved resource sets, subject to the value of their agreed budget. Inclusion on the list does not constitute a minimum commitment to purchase.

The Ministry intends to have contracts in place early in 2027. Provision of resources to schools is expected to occur no later than the middle of Term 2, 2027. Successful Respondent(s) will be expected to maintain ongoing communication with the Ministry and schools throughout the ordering and fulfilment period, including providing timely updates on order status, shipping arrangements and delivery.



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