Ministry of Education, NCEA change proposal

In response to a Ministerial address, the Ministry of Education initiated a nationwide communications campaign to support upcoming changes to the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) in secondary schools. The goal was to inform and engage the Aotearoa New Zealand public including students, parents, principals, teachers, and employers—with clear, accessible content.

To support the public launch of the NCEA change proposal, the Ministry commissioned the production of seven short-form videos:

• Promotional video in three language formats: English, Te Reo Māori, and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL).
• Explainer videos in English outlining four key proposed changes.

These videos were designed to build awareness, spark interest, and encourage public participation in the consultation process.

Solution:

Our team collaborated closely with the Ministry of Education team to implement the video component of the launch plan. With the Minister’s public announcement scheduled for four week’s time, we worked under tight timelines to ensure all content was ready for national distribution.

Key steps included:

• Pre-production planning: Coordinating talent availability, briefing presenters, and preparing shoot logistics.
• Filming: A full-day shoot at a local school, capturing all videos with a range of presenters.
• Multilingual delivery: Producing the promotional video in English, Te Reo Māori, and NZSL to ensure accessibility and inclusivity.
• Confidentiality: With the sensitivities of the announcement and NCEA changes, additional confidentiality and risk mitigation measures were put in place.

The videos were crafted to be concise (2–3 minutes each), visually engaging, and informative, with a ‘presenter to camera’ format to deliver to the tight timelines.

Result:

The campaign successfully launched alongside the Minister’s announcement, with the videos playing an important role in the public rollout of the NCEA change proposal.

Outcomes included:

• Increased engagement: Stakeholders were empowered to learn about the changes and contribute feedback; the videos were professional and approachable in delivery. Each video was also broken into 'chapters', labelled with onscreen name plates to highlight key changes and digest the information easily.
• Accessible videos: The multilingual approach required careful planning, a stringent review process and clear messaging, this brought accessibility and relevance to the overall campaign. We brought on board our senior NZ Sign Language translator, highly experienced in education, who we knew could provide us high-quality translation at a fast pace. We also worked closely with MoEs Te Reo presenters in both the production and post-production phases.
• Meeting tight timeframes: Ministerial requirements pushed the final delivery of videos out by a week, with Eden delivering on time and on budget within 4-5 weeks from start to finish.

This project is a great example of how, through video, strategic storytelling and inclusive media can help drive meaningful public engagement in education reform.

“It has been such a pleasure to work with you… you have made my job easy.”

Watch the ‘NCEA Proposed Changes’ video series:

• Promo video - English
• Promo video - Te Reo Māori
• Promo video - NZ Sign Language
• Explainer video 1 - Vocational Education and Training (VET)
• Explainer video 2 - Foundational Skills Award
• Explainer video 3 - Clear, consistent qualifications
• Explainer video 4 - Strengthening the requirements

> Watch the full video series here