NZHTA Term 3, Week 5 Pānui, 2026

NZHTA Term 3, Week 5 Pānui, 2026

Tēnā koutou katoa,

I hope you are all trying to stay on top of things, getting through your daily to-do lists, and looking after yourselves and your colleagues as the term marches on. Last week the Phase 1-4 (Y0-10) final Social Sciences curriculum was published. We are still awaiting the release of the draft Phase 5 (Y11-13) History | Te Takanga o te Wā for consultation and I will let you all know as soon as we hear anything new.

In this pānui:

• Announcing NZHTA’s new Kaiārahi for 2027

• Phase 1-4 Social Sciences Curriculum and online hui

• Giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi webinar

• New ‘Curriculum Refresh’ section on NZHTA website

• NZHTA 2026 Scholarship Series 2026

• BWB Talks: Tony Ballantyne in Wellington and Auckland

Ngā mihi

Nick Fitness, NZHTA Kaiārahi

nzhtaexec@gmail.com

Announcing NZHTA’s new Kaiārahi for 2027

NZHTA is delighted to announce that Jane Jarman has been appointed to the role of Kaiārahi for 2027. As Head of History at Kerikeri High School for 20 years, and as Te Tai Tokerau Northland NZHTA Executive member since 2023, Jane has extensive experience leading teams through curriculum innovation and supporting kaiako to navigate change. Throughout her career, Jane has sought to strengthen teaching and learning through collaboration, whanaungatanga and a commitment to equitable outcomes for all ākonga. We are very proud to have Jane lead us into the next chapter of change and advocacy from next year.

Phase 1-4 Social Sciences Curriculum is live

The Phase 1-4 (Y0-10) Social Sciences curriculum is live. The Social Sciences learning area is organised into History, Geography, Civics and Society, and Financial and Economic Activity strands. This will take some time to read through and to get familiar with the changes and prepare to start teaching this from next year.

Find out more about what’s coming from the Ministry including links to timeline, resources and engagement opportunities: https://tahurangi.education.govt.nz/years-0-10-curriculum

Y9-10 Social Sciences Online Curriculum Hui

Join NZHTA, ASSEN, NZBoGT and CETA for an online hui to unpack the new Year 9 & 10 Social Sciences curriculum and get you started for 2027. Together, we’ll explore the curriculum big picture, knowledge and practices, the conceptual framework, phases and capabilities, and take a closer look at the four Social Sciences strands. The session will be recorded and shared. Zoom link to be sent out next week.

Details: Tuesday 1 September 2026 7.00pm Online

Giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi webinar

The Waitangi Treaty Grounds staff are running this webinar. This is great end of year PLD for departments and faculties looking to upskill with this critical kaupapa.

New ‘Curriculum Refresh’ section on NZHTA website

We have launched a new space on the NZHTA website called Curriculum Refresh. This is your 'go to' for guidance and resource support as we navigate complex curriculum and assessment change over the coming years. 

It will be updated and added to regularly. Please bookmark it! I have started by creating a FAQ sheet and a Year 9/10 History Strand Overview document to answer a number of common questions coming through, and to begin your thinking and planning for 2027 in your departments and faculties.

NZHTA 2026 Scholarship Series 2026

This year’s theme is relationships between workers, employers, and the state, with a specific focus on Aotearoa New Zealand from the beginning of the 1870s to the end of the 1940s.

Our 2026 line-up features:

Thursday 27 August @4.30pm - Frances Steel. Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Wollongong. Her research connects histories of empire, mobility and the sea in the Pacific World.

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83216798714?pwd=jQZMazLKROsbsqjVMRHXiBaOLKhaMY.1

Thursday 3 September @4.30pm – Cybèle Locke, Jim McAloon. Cybèle’s most recent book, Comrade – Bill Andersen, A Communist, Working-Class Life traces how trade union leader Bill Andersen encountered the world between 1924 and 2005, broadening political history to embrace communist history. Jim has a wide range of interests in the economic and social history of New Zealand and other places, including settler societies, colonial development, class and history, labour history, migration, and twentieth century political history.

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85498098544?pwd=PpVhUGowUcQr0X9Qxgg4P6IPWffuAg.1

Thursday 10 September @4.30pm - Guosheng Xie - A current PhD student looking at Chinese labour and enterprise, 1860s-1920s.

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89578963982?pwd=8SJxvFqcZO6NuHVMBaUQfFSUVgRfFO.1

Thursday 17 September @4.30pm - Ross Webb - He has a PhD from Victoria University of Wellington and is a historian with an interest in organised labour and oral history. He is a principal researcher analyst in the Research Team at the Waitangi Tribunal Unit.

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83595193080?pwd=zjEOrQED1lIKtva1fHHsvn9qUUj3SW.1

Thursday 24 September @4.30pm - Melanie Nolan - Historian and university academic from New Zealand, specialising in labour and gender history. She is the director of the National Centre of Biography at the Australian National University, and general editor of the Australian Dictionary of Biography.

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86801688907?pwd=zuCf3ZsNynec21YL6TRvxhweZFaNqj.1

Wellington Scholarship Sessions

Scholarship Sessions with Vic Uni Professors Cybèle Locke, Jim McAloon and Giacomo Lichtner. The second session will be held on Thursday 27 August at Rutherford House, Pipitea Campus, in Room 207. Starts at 4pm and runs for about 90 minutes. You do not need to RSVP, just show up. Teachers are welcome too. Please contact Karen Brightwell, NZHTA Wellington Exec Rep at karen.brightwell@wgc.school.nz if you have any pātai.

BWB Talks: Tony Ballantyne in Wellington and Auckland

There are two upcoming BWB Talks to celebrate the publication of Tony Ballantyne's new book, Captain Cook and the Unsettled Afterlives of Empire. 

Wellington: Lecture from Tony Ballantyne 

Date: Tuesday 25 August 

Time: 6 – 7pm (doors open 5.30pm) 

Location: National Library | Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, Auditorium

Auckland: Tony Ballantyne in conversation with Damon Salesa, AUT Vice-Chancellor 

Date: Monday 31 August

Time: 6 – 7pm (doors open 5.30pm) 

Location: Te Wai Ngutu Kākā Gallery – AUT, Gallery One

These are both public events, all welcome. ​​​No RSVP is required, but if you're planning to come, we'd love to know – it helps us manage numbers.

Missed a pānui?

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

Ā kō ake nei | Coming up soon

NZHTA Term 4 workshop dates

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