Minister Stanford’s Ties to PRIME Maths: A Red Flag

When asked in Parliamentary Written Questions (PWQ), “Did the Minister make any recommendations to Ministry of Education officials about suitable providers of the math resources before, during or after the Request for Proposal had closed; if so, how did the Minister become aware of those providers?”, Stanford replied:

“No. I approved the criteria for selecting maths resources though the procurement process, but I have not made any recommendations about suitable providers before or during the procurement process. I was made aware of the approved providers once the procurement process had been completed. From talking to principals and teachers I was aware of some of the resources schools are using.”

Stanford had an ongoing relationship with PRIME Maths, stretching back at least 18 months. PRIME Maths are the ‘inventors’ of structured maths. They became one of the successful tenderers. Stanford has not, to my knowledge, disclosed this relationship to Parliament, even when given the chance to in PWQ. The very fact of its existence means she should never have been approving the procurement criteria.