In countries recovering from disaster or conflict, school curriculum renewal is submerged in a plethora of more immediate concerns of a nascent government. Yet, curriculum is the cornerstone of any education system. Using a case study for context, this paper describes a methodology to maximise the quality of the emergent national curriculum. In the first section of the paper, a theoretical curriculum planning and implementation framework is established and, in the second section, the experiences of implementing the framework in the case study context are examined. The paper concludes with a discussion of lessons learnt. This methodology of synthesising, packaging and implementing theories of curriculum, development, change management and leadership in the context of an independent emerging nation is of value to education ministers, project planners, first responders and implementation consultants.