Educator Association Updates | March 2026
- Mar 7
- 7 min read
Updated: Mar 29
This article contains updates from various educator associations. News is curated via your friendly regional representative, announcements or newsletters by other affiliated members and the organisational website.
This is a live article so please continue to check-in as the month progresses.
New update for this month No Updates this month |
ACEC, Aotearoa Climate Education Coalition
AEC, Aotearoa Educator's Collective
More details are now available for UpliftED 2026.
Recording - Funding our Future: Unpacking the Economic Story of NZ Education (YouTube).
Proposal to replace NCEA confirmed; And yet another reform we didn’t ask for and don’t need.
AEC welcomes people that would like to submit a piece for their substack between March and June. Topics of interest include: curriculum, assessment and NCEA, learning support, ECE and charter schools. Anyone interested can contact hello@aec.org.nz
Because it matters! Extend the consultation period on the draft NZ Curriculum 2026
Equality of Opporunity (Trevor Bills)
When Curriculum and Progress Markers tell different stories
Contact
BEANZ, Biology Educators of Aotearoa New Zealand
BioLive ChemEd event information is now live.
Alisha Grimmer is now sharing the BEANZ Regional Representative role with Vicki.
Ngā mihi nui,
Vicki Wallace, BEANZ Regional Representative
Alisha Grimmer, BEANZ Regional Representative
ESSENZ, Earth and Space Science Educators New Zealand
Year 12 & 13 Classes Combined (webinar recording now available).
Level 3 Internal Assessments (webinar recording)
New to ESS 2026 (webinar recording).
A range of webinars for Term 1 and Term 2 are now available.
Ngā manaakitanga
Jim Critchley, ESSENZ Regional Representative
jimc@mmc.school.nz
Erin Nolan, ESSENZ Representative erin.nolan@whs.co.nz Official website www.earthspacescience.org.nz www.youtube.com/@esswebinars
Membership to ESSENZ is free and gives kaiako access to all ESSENZ resources on their Google shared area, as well as access to all the exams that the association has produced. You can join here.
HATA, Horticultural and Agricultural Teachers Associations
Carlos Mancer (Lincoln University, Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme) is looking for secondary teachers to share their experiences with online and blended learning, including LMS use and AI. The short survey (5–10 minutes) is anonymous and will help inform the future of agricultural training. Take part here. Consent form below.
Two upcoming webinars may be of interest to teachers and educators:
16 March | Plants of Place: Mana Whenua Connection, Whakapapa and IdentityA talk by Maria Rodgers exploring connections between plants, place, whakapapa, and identity.Available in Wellington or online. More information
18 March | AEC Webinar: The Economics of Education in AotearoaEconomist Shamubeel Eaqub and Stephen Lethbridge unpack the economic story of education in Aotearoa. Find out more
Congratulations to Kerry Allen, who has been awarded Lincoln University’s oldest-established medal, the Bledisloe Medal, in recognition of her highly regarded 30-year career developing agri-education in secondary schools.
Ag&Ed is a free resource created by AgriHQ with topical and relevant content to connect the classroom with the reality of horticulture and agriculture in NZ. Sign up for free here.
Contact
Kerry Allen. Secretary k.allen@stpauls.school.nz
KEA, Empower Kaiako for Equity Aotearoa
No updates yet - please check back later.
Contact details
Keri Tan Garlick, President of Empower KEA
NZAEE, New Zealand Association of Environmental Education
NZAEE has published guidance to support consultation on the Te Mātaiaho Draft 2026.
Professional Learning | NZAEE are running free webinars over February and March; you can watch the recordings of our previous webinars in our website Professional Learning catalogue.
March 12 4:00 - 5:00 pm | Integration of Sustainability Education for Secondary Learners Lyn Rogers will share case studies, resources and advice, with examples from both junior and senior secondary schools. We will also include time for discussion and some possible plans for our secondary educator support in Term Two.
March 25th 3:30 - 4:30 pm | Growing Spaces of Belonging
Katie Earle will share research insights and practical advice for those exploring land-based pathways within their education setting. Aimed at educators working in Aotearoa primary and intermediate schools, this webinar is also relevant for environmental educators, nature educators and others who support the health and wellbeing of young people.
As we start to plan our webinar schedule for Term Two, please get in touch (Becky@nzaee.org.nz) if you have a case study, research or new perspectives to share with our sector, or any suggestions for future session.
NZAEE 2025 Evaluation Report | Read the Evaluation Report here
The full report includes a wealth of interesting findings that are relevant to our sector, with direct quotes and key themes and actions identified. But we also know that many of you are limited for time, so we have included a table at the start of the report that highlights the key findings, with suggested actions for both NZAEE and sector groups. We would love to hear your thoughts about these actions and look forward to progressing them throughout the year, including providing space for collaborative discussions at our national conference.
Nga manaakitanga
The DePetris, NZAEE Regional Representative
NZAPSE, New Zealand Association of Primary Science Educators
No updates yet.
Contact details
John Marsh, NZAPSE Regional Representative
NZASE, New Zealand Association of Science Educators
NZASE’s latest newsletter on 25 March is available here. Highlights include NZASE PLD for Term 1, Agribusiness, the normalisation of mātauranga Māori in science, resources and upcoming science education events and dates for teachers.
Article | Agribusiness - from gumboots to global trade: agribusiness is shedding its reputation as simply a pathway into farming. National agribusiness advisor Melanie Simmons explains why agribusiness needs science-savvy students. Read article
Article | A teacher’s journey supporting the normalisation of mātauranga Māori in science: we revisit Charmaine Russell, a pūtaiao specialist, who blends mātauranga Māori and science into her role at Wainuiomata Intermediate School. Read article
NZASE membership is free for intermediate and primary schools and for student teachers (PCT1 and PCT2). Individual membership is $20. A full list of membership options is available here.
Save the date: The NZASE AGM is scheduled for Tuesday, 6pm, 19 May.
NZASE’s latest newsletter on 11 March is available here. Highlights include Māori biochemistry vocabulary posters, free physical STEAM classroom resources, and upcoming science education events and dates for teachers. Link: https://mailchi.mp/nzase.org.nz/2026-march-11
Article | Weaving Mātauranga Māori into the Classroom: Auckland Zoo educator Koha Kahui-McConnell explains how combining mātauranga Māori with Western science helps rangatahi explore scientific ideas through connections with te taiao and Indigenous knowledge systems. Read article. Link: https://nzase.org.nz/category/resources/weaving-matauranga-maori-into-the-classroom-kaupapa-maori-educator-koha-kahui-mcconnell/
Article | From London to Aotearoa: How Science in a Van began: Science in a Van founders Emily and Alan Worman celebrate 15 years of bringing curiosity (and flying rubber chickens) to classrooms across Aotearoa. Read article. Link: https://nzase.org.nz/category/resources/from-london-to-aotearoa-how-science-in-a-van-began/
NZASE membership is free for intermediate and primary schools and for student teachers (PCT1 and PCT2). Individual membership is $20. A full list of membership options is available here. Link: https://nzase.org.nz/membership/
Ngā manaakitanga
Lian Soh, NZASE Regional Representative
NZIP, New Zealand Institute of Physics (Education)
No updates yet.
Contact
Mat Synge, NZIP Regional Representative
SCENZ, Secondary Chemistry Educators New Zealand
BioLive ChemEd details are now live.
The following highlights have been sourced via the latest SCENZ newsletter:
Writing groups for Phase 5 subjects have been working for some weeks to prepare a first overview draft that will be critiqued by an independent review group over the next few weeks. Taking this feedback into account a more detailed draft will be developed that is expected to go out for feedback from the full education sector in the first half of the year.
The National Teacher Organisations of NZASE, SCENZ, NZIP, BEANZ and NZAMT have sent a letter of concern to NZQA about the timing of 4 STEM exams within 4 days.
SCENZ has sent a critique of last year's Level 2 chemistry exams to NZQA.
A series of webinars relating to best practice teaching L2 and L3 chemistry is being planned for Term 2 and Term 3; these will also be recorded.
RSC (Royal Society of Chemistry): teachers outside the UK are still limited to accessing one resource per month from their extensive range of chemistry education resources. However, if you find a resource that you would urgently like, e-mail ian.torrie@gmail.com
SCENZ memberships: There is a reduced membership cost for smaller schools and currently subscriptions have a 50% subsidy
because of NEX funding from the Ministry. Schools that are isolated or have an inexperienced sole charge teacher can also apply for free membership.
SCENZ resources: in the next few weeks, online resources will include teaching and/or learning support for all L2 and L3 internals except C2.3. Online teaching resources will also be re-organised over the coming weeks.
Reminder: You can get all the compound chemistry posters here.
Ngā manaakitanga
Lian Soh, SCENZ Regional Representative
Te Kikini o te Rehutai, Tauranga Moana Māori Teacher's Association
No updates yet.
Ngā manaakitanga
Whaea Tania Jackson, Treasurer. Tauranga Moana Māori Teacher's Association
I mōhio rānei koe? | Did you know?
Educators representing 34 organisations have slammed the direction, pace, and lack of genuine consultation in the Government’s rushed, wholesale curriculum changes. Joint media statement from New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF) and education union NZEI Te Riu Roa
Technology Educators New Zealand have published a submission guide for the draft technology curriculum. Additional tips on how to structure and make a submission can also be found here.
The Australian Science Teacher's Association (ASTA) have released its latest Teaching Science Journal, featuring a new climate change education position paper and classroom-ready resources.
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