Parliament NZ FAQ

What is Explore Parliament?

The NZ Parliamentary Service operate educational tours of the Parliament buildings in the capital city, Wellington. Not all New Zealanders are able to visit Parliament in person, so it can be easy to feel detached from the processes that take place there. 

As such, Parliament NZ has developed online courses to widen the reach of their educational offerings and bring Parliament to the People, so that all Kiwis can learn about the democratic process. 

Education Perfect have partnered with the NZ Parliamentary Service to release lessons offering a foundational understanding of the various functions of Parliament and provide a better understanding of where rangatahi can get involved. The modules are developed by teachers, for teachers, and include:

• Videos.
• Cross-curricular lessons.

Does it cost?

These resources are free for all people across Aotearoa New Zealand.

What content is available?

There are 7 lessons available and they align most closely to the Social Sciences Curriculum. They also draw from the Values (e.g. equity) and Key Competencies (e.g. Participating and Contributing) of the New Zealand Curriculum. 

There are plans in place to release more lessons heading into 2023 to deepen students' understanding and knowledge of New Zealand Parliament and include content associated with the refresh of the curriculum. 

The lessons currently available for students to dive into are: 

1. Overview of Parliament: In this lesson, students will learn about the main features and roles of Parliament and systems of government.
2. The Debating Chamber: In this lesson, students will learn about the main roles and some physical features in the debating chamber.
3. Select Committees & the Role of Media: In this lesson, students will learn about select committees and the role of the media.
4. Elections: In this lesson, students will learn about the electoral system in New Zealand and how elections create the New Zealand Parliament. 
5. The Budget: In this lesson, students will learn about parliament's role in making decisions about money, and what happens on Budget day
6. Scrutiny: In this lesson, students learn about the importance of Parliament's role to scrutinise the government that is in power 
7. Social Actions: In this lesson, students learn about social actions that they can have their say about at Parliament and seek to influence decisions on the future laws of New Zealand.

These lessons are also available in Te Reo Māori.

How do I access the Explore Parliament resources?

Once you have an account, you can log in to the EP platform and access the Parliament NZ content here. Parliament NZ content is located in the Cross-Curricular subject area.

Our school blocks YouTube, how can I access the video material?

Content filtering software used by schools normally has an exceptions list, which allows schools to make exceptions for specific links which would otherwise be blocked. This list allows a specific list of URLs to be visited by students, while still enforcing the overall restriction on YouTube. 

A full list of the YouTube links used on Education Perfect can be downloaded here. Your IT administration team should be able to grant students access to the listed URLs for you. 

How do I add my students?

You can enrol your classes by following the instructions in our help guide: How do I enrol my classes on Education Perfect?

If your school uses a Student Management System, you can export your class lists to send them directly to us. Instructions on how to do this with MUSAC Edge can be found here. For other Student Management Systems, you can get in touch with your SMS admin for instructions.

If you have any further questions about Parliament NZ or EP, feel free to get in touch with us or visit the Parliament website.