Decodable Texts for Years 4-10

Overview 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. Purpose 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. Scope The scope includes: Supply of 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 that are engaging and age-appropriate, covering a range of fiction and non-fiction topics, with grammatically correct sentences, coherent and meaningful texts, and appropriate instructional design Resources that complement existing Ministry literacy resources and cater for students whose reading and decoding level may differ from their actual school year Resource sets for three learner groups: Years 4–6, Years 7–8, and Years 9–10 Resources offered in professionally printed, printable, downloadable and/or digital formats Contractor Requirements Ability to supply smaller quantities of physical books where required 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 Contract Terms and Conditions For physical books, the initial purchase is expected to be based on school pre-orders, with the potential for subsequent purchases 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 Enquiries Contact: Nirav Patel Email: nirav.patel@education.co.nz