Surfaced and Storypark, compared.
Many New Zealand centres use Storypark. This page sets out what each product’s public pages say, with a source for every Storypark fact.
| Surfaced | Storypark | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it is today | In pilot in New Zealand. | Established. Its site says it is used by over 11,850 early learning services. |
| Countries | New Zealand. | New Zealand, Australia and Canada, among others, with a site for each. |
| AI drafting | Claude drafts a note or Learning Story from a kaiako’s words. | Storypark Assist ‘helps educators document, reflect on, and communicate children’s learning’. Its New Zealand pricing page lists Storypark AI as an add-on. |
| What the drafting AI receives | Words, with the context listed on Privacy & AI. Never photos, video or audio. | Its AI page says Assist ‘builds from what you share’, and that summaries build ‘from linked stories and child notes educators have already written’. Whether photos, video or audio are sent is not stated on the pages we checked. |
| Before families see AI text | A kaiako checks every AI draft. Published drafts are labelled ‘AI-assisted · reviewed by a kaiako’. | Its AI page calls Assist ‘a coach, not a co-author’ and says ‘AI generated work can always be reviewed, edited and adjusted by educators’. |
| Naming children in photos | A kaiako names who each photo is for. Optional face matching runs on the centre’s phones and only suggests tamariki whose whānau said yes. | Not stated on the pages we checked. |
| Where data is stored | Sydney, Australia. Anthropic may process drafts outside New Zealand. | ‘Data stored with AWS in Sydney, Australia.’ |
| Security certification | None yet. | ‘SOC 2 Type I certified.’ |
| Staff sign-in | Email and password. | Multi-factor sign-in, and single sign-on with Microsoft Entra. |
| Family access | Whānau use the web. An iPhone app for whānau is in testing. | Free for families, with public phone apps. |
| Published price | Not published. | Yes, per child per month, with a free 30-day trial. |
Surfaced and Storypark, from each product’s public pages, checked 20 October 2026
Where it is today
- In pilot in New Zealand.
- Established. Its site says it is used by over 11,850 early learning services.
Countries
- New Zealand.
- New Zealand, Australia and Canada, among others, with a site for each.
AI drafting
- Claude drafts a note or Learning Story from a kaiako’s words.
- Storypark Assist ‘helps educators document, reflect on, and communicate children’s learning’. Its New Zealand pricing page lists Storypark AI as an add-on.
What the drafting AI receives
- Words, with the context listed on Privacy & AI. Never photos, video or audio.
- Its AI page says Assist ‘builds from what you share’, and that summaries build ‘from linked stories and child notes educators have already written’. Whether photos, video or audio are sent is not stated on the pages we checked.
Before families see AI text
- A kaiako checks every AI draft. Published drafts are labelled ‘AI-assisted · reviewed by a kaiako’.
- Its AI page calls Assist ‘a coach, not a co-author’ and says ‘AI generated work can always be reviewed, edited and adjusted by educators’.
Naming children in photos
- A kaiako names who each photo is for. Optional face matching runs on the centre’s phones and only suggests tamariki whose whānau said yes.
- Not stated on the pages we checked.
Where data is stored
- Sydney, Australia. Anthropic may process drafts outside New Zealand.
- ‘Data stored with AWS in Sydney, Australia.’
Security certification
- None yet.
- ‘SOC 2 Type I certified.’
Staff sign-in
- Email and password.
- Multi-factor sign-in, and single sign-on with Microsoft Entra.
Family access
- Whānau use the web. An iPhone app for whānau is in testing.
- Free for families, with public phone apps.
Published price
- Not published.
- Yes, per child per month, with a free 30-day trial.
Moving from Storypark
Surfaced can import your roster from a CSV file. It can’t import Storypark stories yet.
Where Storypark is stronger.
- It is established and widely used, with apps for educators and families in the public app stores.
- It has an independent security certification, SOC 2 Type I, with multi-factor sign-in and single sign-on.
- It publishes its price and offers a free 30-day trial.
- It runs in New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
- It covers more of running a centre, including compliance and routines, waitlists and enrolment forms, and financial tools for Australian services.
- It offers training and webinars.
- It has packages for organisations with several sites.
How we checked.
We read Storypark’s public pages on and link each one above. We haven’t used Storypark’s product for this page. Where its pages don’t say, we write ‘Not stated on the pages we checked’ instead of guessing. If something here is wrong or out of date, email hello@surfaced.co.nz and we’ll correct it.
Pilot Surfaced at your centre.
Surfaced is in pilot, with the kaiako app on iPhone. Tell us about your centre and how you document learning today.
Talk to us