NZHTA Pānui 1, 2026

NZHTA Pānui 1, 2026

Tēnā koutou katoa,

Welcome back everyone. A special welcome to the NZHTA for any first-year or returning-to-history teachers. All the very best for the term ahead.

We have an amazing association, and we are here to support you all, and promote and encourage the teaching of history. The strength of our association lies in the many hands that come together to uphold the voice of our communities, and support the wellbeing of our kaiako, tamariki, and rangatahi.

This year is a conference year for our association. We are very excited! It is being held in Te Matau-a-Māui/Hawke’s Bay from April 8-10, 2026. Our conference theme, ‘Nga mata maha o Rongokako/The many faces of Rongokako’ speaks to the changing nature of history and how history can be viewed through multiple lenses. There is more information contained in this pānui about the conference.

In this pānui:

NZHTA Executive Members
Decision on 2026-2028 NEX funding
2026 NZHTA membership
NZQA: Request for feedback from teachers
2026 NZHTA Conference
NZHTA proposed constitution changes
Curriculum updates
NZHTA classroom resource support
Using Pūtake for NCEA Assessment Support
Term 1 workshop in Tauranga
Writing a successful essay

As always, please just reach out with any history related matters and I will do my best to help.

Ngā mihi,

Nick Fitness

NZHTA Kaiārahi

nzhtaexec@gmail.com

NZHTA Executive Members

The NZHTA is supported by regional representatives throughout New Zealand. The ordinary affairs of NZHTA are managed by the NZHTA Executive. Our 2026 members:

Chair: Craig Thornhill

Kaiārahi: Nick Fitness

Secretary: Shayla Close

Treasurer: Bronwyn Houliston

Regional Representatives:

Te Tai Tokerau / Northland: Jane Jarman

Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland: Epifania Malifa

Waikato and Te-Moana-a-Toi / Bay of Plenty: Annabel Walsh & Kārena Ngata

Te Matau-a-Māui / Hawke’s Bay: Rene Hanham

Te Upoko-o-te-Ika/Wellington / Lower North Island: Karen Brightwell

Waitaha/Canterbury / Upper South Island: Josie Welsh

Ōtākou me Murihiku / Lower South Island: Felicity Speight & Savannah de Vos

Decision on 2026-2028 NEX funding

We are yet to make a decision on the proposed NEX funding offered to our association for 2026-2028. We have really valued your input on this and continue to accept responses to this survey here. We plan to make a decision in the next few weeks.

2026 NZHTA membership

As the new school year has rolled over, so does our annual membership. The 2026 NZHTA subs were emailed out automatically to all registered schools on the 20^th of January. If you haven’t received an email please get in touch. You can also go online to the NZHTA website and register. This will give you access to all the goodies behind the paywall, especially the practice exams for later in the year.

NZQA: Request for feedback from teachers

NZQA is seeking feedback through a general survey which has already been sent to schools and this process of working through you to obtain some subject specific feedback is in addition to the general survey. The survey link is here.

2026 NZHTA Conference

Click here to register: REGISTRATION LINK

Where: Lindisfarne College, Te Matau-a-Māui/Hawke’s Bay

When: April 8-10,2026.

Theme: ‘Nga mata maha o Rongokako’ - Our conference theme speaks to the changing nature of history and how history can be viewed through multiple lenses.

Cost: $425 for NZHTA members, and $500 for non-members.

Keynotes: Sir Joe Williams, Dr Michael Belgrave, Christina Nicolaas, Bex Rose and the team from AI Surge, Dr Lloyd Carpenter, Dr Jongwoo Han, Jane Jarman and Kipa Munro, Chair, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rēhia, Piripi Smith and many more! We will be running a Kaiako Māori session on Tuesday the 7^th of April.

Workshops: Are you interested in running a workshop at the NZHTA conference? If you are, please send a workshop abstract to hanham.rene@lindisfarne.school.nz

Workshops can be between 30-60 minutes long.

NZHTA proposed constitution changes

The NZHTA Executive has completed a thorough review of our current constitution and propose changes to this. These changes reflect the commitment that NZHTA made at the 2023 Conference to ensure that we as an organisation are Te Tīriti honouring. We would like to share these proposed changes with you all through a series of online seminars (dates TBC) this term. This will allow for a period of consultation and feedback. Final changes will be circulated before the NZHTA conference in April, and voting will occur at the conference. There will also be an online voting option.

Curriculum updates

Consultation on the draft Social Sciences curriculum

You will be able to find this content on Tāhūrangi here and will need to be used from Term 1, 2027. Consultation is still open for the NZC Years 0-10 draft curriculum through to Friday, 24 April 2026. We have been told that the Years 11-13 curriculum will be available in early 2026 for wider feedback.

You can use this Ministry link to share your thoughts using the feedback forms provided: https://newzealandcurriculum.tahurangi.education.govt.nz/y0-10-draft-curriculum-consultation

We have been gathering a large amount of teacher voice through the NZHTA workshops. If you haven’t already done so here is the NZHTA survey link – this will stay open through the term to gather as much feedback as we can for a NZHTA submission to this draft curriculum.

SURVEY LINK: NZHTA special pānui survey questions

Schools trialling the draft curriculum

NZHTA is looking to connect up schools who are trialling the draft Social Studies curriculum this year. This can be as a means of sharing and supporting each other, and to gain some insights from you all. So far, I have seven schools involved. Please email me if you would to be added to this group.

NCEA Review and Maintenance Programme – 2026 updates

There is only ONE very small update to a L1-3 History internal standard for 2026. This affects the L3 History research internal 3.1 - AS91434. It is an update to Explanatory Note 2: Excellence criteria for appropriate levelling. The instructional word “[Critically] evaluating…” has been added. When students are being ‘critical’ in their evaluation this may include making reasoned judgements about the value, effectiveness, or significance, of the evidence, supported by clear evidence and analysis.

NZHTA classroom resource support

We offer an extensive range of digital teaching and learning history support - teaching units, classroom resources, advice and guidance webinars, A.I. support, source packs, internal assessment materials. Its all here for you.

If you’re after the 1.1 Source Packs - you can access them here at NZHTA’s He Waka Eke Noa shared drive. A new 1.1 source pack on the Montgomery Bus Boycott has just been added, and another is coming on Little Rock!

You should have now all received your free copy of Kiwis in Korea. We look forward to hearing how you are using this resource in your classrooms. You can also access the resource digitally at https://koreanwarlegacy.org/teaching-tools/

Using Pūtake for NCEA Assessment Support

Here you can find Assessor Support courses, modules and workshops provided by NZQA. They are super useful and there are really relevant for support with annotations, combining internals and making assessor judgements. Log in using your ESL login. If you aren’t sure what your ESL is, ask your school Principal’s Nominee.

Term 1 workshop in Tauranga

Please REGISTER HERE to attend an upcoming NZHTA workshop. A full day of NZHTA PLD to share, learn & inspire. Don’t miss it! This workshop is tailored for history teachers who want to strengthen their practice, connect with colleagues, and maybe even a chance to share your expertise with others!

Where: Tauranga - Te Manawaroa, Level 1 University of Waikato Tauranga campus

When: Friday March 20th

Time: 9am-2.30pm

Writing a successful essay

I found this article recently while searching for some PLD reading on essay writing. This teacher critiques the overuse of PEE/PEEL in history essays, arguing it encourages formulaic writing. He proposes ‘TACKLED’, a framework that prioritises analysing essay questions and conceptual demands to improve historical thinking and argumentation. Take some time to have a read of it if you are still scratching your head over some recent .5 results.

Missed a pānui?

You can find all our previous pānui on our website: https://nzhta.org.nz

Ā kō ake nei | Coming up soon

8-10 April 2026 – NZHTA Conference – more info at https://nzhta.org.nz/conference

Kōrero Mai | We'd love to hear from you!

At NZHTA, fostering connections with our history community is at the heart of what we do. Whether you have questions, feedback, or ideas to share, we’re here and ready to listen. Your input helps us continue to support educators, enhance our resources, and advocate for quality history education across Aotearoa New Zealand. Reach out to us and let’s keep building a strong, supportive network together.

4/06/2024 9:32AM

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