TAKE AROMATAWAI

ASSESSMENT MATTERS

25 March 2026

He Mihi

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatanga maha, tēnā koutou katoa.
E mahara atu ana ki ngā mate kua wahangū atu ki te ao wairua.
Haere koutou, moe mai rā, okioki atu ai.
Āpiti hono, tātai hono, rātau te hunga mate ki a rātau; tātau te hunga ora ki a tātau.
Ka huri au ki tō tātau Kuīni Ngawai Hono i te pō me te ahuarewa tapu.
Rire, rire, hau paimārire.

Kupu Whakataki

Kia ora koutou,

As we step into the heart of 2026, we want to acknowledge the immense mahi you continue to put into supporting, guiding, and uplifting our ākonga. Your passion, professionalism, and commitment form the backbone of Te Mahi Ako.

This year has already brought exciting progress, new initiatives, and powerful growth across our programmes—and that’s because of you. Thank you for everything you do to uphold quality, mana, and excellence in every interaction.

Let’s dive into this first newsletter of 2026, full of updates, celebrations, and opportunities!

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2026 mahi worth celebrating!

We are thrilled to share some early wins for the year. These achievements reflect your dedication and hard work:

• 5,759 credits reported since 1 February 2026
• 533 ākonga completions across micro‑credentials, NZ Certificates, and Apprenticeships

Ka mau te wehi!
 Your mahi empowers workplaces, uplifts communities, and strengthens our sectors.

Assessor kudos!

James Hardaker - Going above and beyond visiting the workplace with Ang Robinson as the regional advisor and helping to induct new coaches for sport coaching, having James there to support this mahi was invaluable to the integrity of the course.

Patrick Martin - for showing aroha to his ākonga and sending out a follow-up email to his ākonga to check in with them.

Mel Engelbrecht - Anna Murrell has just completed her Exercise L4 and wanted us to know that “Mel, my assessor was amazing! Gave me some awesome feedback."

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Important updates

Te Mahi Ako update – Fee adjustments

To continue providing reliable, high-quality support to ākonga (learners) and workplaces, and to reflect the costs involved in delivering assessment, administration, and ongoing learner support services, there will be some changes to our fees from 1 January 2026, including the introduction of a new fee.

The changes are HERE

Assessor registration change

As part of our ongoing commitment to delivering high quality, relevant, and industry aligned assessment experiences for our ākonga and workplaces, we are enhancing our assessor registration renewal cycle.

From 2026, assessor registration will move from a three-year renewal cycle to an 18-month renewal cycle.

This change is centred on strengthening support and ensuring assessors feel confident and well-equipped in their role. A more frequent renewal cycle helps us stay connected, maintain currency with industry practice, and provide timely guidance so you can continue delivering high quality assessment experiences.

Why this shift?

• Strengthening currency: Ensures assessors remain aligned with evolving industry and assessor specific requirements
• Increasing support: Creates more regular touchpoints for coaching, development, and connection
• Enhancing quality: Helps us identify strengths, share great practice, and respond early to any support needs
• Future-proofing our workforce: Supports a consistent, high quality experience for ākonga across all sectors and programmes.

We see this as an opportunity to celebrate your contribution more often, recognise growth, and ensure you have the guidance and resources needed to thrive as a Te Mahi Ako assessor.

All 2026 assessor registrations will align to the 18-month renewal cycle. We will also be working to align assessors registered prior to 2026 to the new time frames, more detailed information regarding this change will be shared with you individually over the coming weeks.

Evidence verifier – new process

We now have 35 registered evidence verifiers!

Our new EV course provides:

• A certificate recognising skill and contribution
• A clear development pathway: Evidence verifier → assessor → SAM
• More in‑depth learning (launched June 2025).

Those who complete the course with 80%+ may apply to become registered evidence verifiers.

Applications check Evidence Verifier Specific Requirements (EVSRs) and workplace endorsement.

Once approved, EVs:

• Receive a certificate of registration
• Are added to our EV register.

What does this mean for you?

• Please strongly encourage your evidence verifiers to complete the course — it’s FREE and available within the Te Mahi Ako portal

• You can confirm EV status by requesting a copy of their certificate
• EV registration will become a compulsory requirement in the near future.

If you have questions, please reach out.

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Coming soon!

Ākonga surveys – supporting quality conversations

As part of our commitment to continuous improvement and delivering high quality learning and assessment experiences, Te Mahi Ako sends surveys to ākonga throughout their learning journey. These surveys help us understand what is working well, where we can strengthen our support, and how ākonga are experiencing their programme and assessor engagement.

Some survey questions relate specifically to communication and interactions with assessors. While not all ākonga complete the survey, the feedback we do receive provides valuable insights that guide our training, coaching, and quality improvement processes.

As our surveys gain more momentum, we will begin celebrating this feedback in our newsletters, highlighting positive themes, sharing examples of great practice, and keeping you connected to the ākonga voice.

Project DropSpot – gearing up for testing

Coming to all assessors and SAMs in 2026! (Launch date still to be confirmed.)

DropSpot is our new secure online repository for assessment evidence.

Key features:

• Secure storage
• Two‑Factor Authentication
• Centralised tagging for easy retrieval
• Reduced phone storage stress (and fewer bottom-drawer papers!).

A true game changer — more updates to follow.

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Programme updates

SELO – update

We’re excited to share some updates to the NZC in Sport, Exercise and Leisure Operations (Level 3) programme.

One of the key changes is the updated programme name: Sport and Recreation Foundations. This change has been made in response to industry feedback and more accurately reflects the focus of the programme. Alongside the new name, there are a few additional updates outlined below.

What has changed?

Assessment structure

Assessment content is now organised into three key topic areas:

• Sport and recreation, your workplace and Aotearoa
• Working safely in sport and recreation
• Working professionally in sport and recreation.

Assessment questions
A small number of assessment questions have been refined based on industry feedback.

What is staying the same.

There are no unit standard version changes, so ākonga currently enrolled in the existing SELO version can continue as normal.

We are working to make this transition as smooth as possible, if you have any questions please get in touch.

Closure of NZC Freestyle Group Exercise (Level 4)

New Zealand Certificate in Freestyle Group Exercise (Level 4) will be formally closing on 31 December 2026. Why is the programme closing?

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Tikanga assessors – expressions of interest

Kei ngā maunga whakahī,
Kei ngā wai pōteretere,
Kei ngā waka whakatere taniwhā,
tēnā rā koutou katoa.

We are expanding our pool of Tikanga assessors. If you (or someone you know) holds deep knowledge of Tikanga Māori, we would love to hear from you.

What we’re looking for:

• Holds Unit Standard 4098 or 30421
• Strong understanding of Tikanga Māori
• Culturally grounded, respectful practice
• Excellent communication and organisation
• Committed to culturally safe, mana‑enhancing assessment
• Aligned with Tika, Pono, Aroha
• Embraces whanaungatanga and manaakitanga.

Why expand your scope?

• Support the growth of mātauranga Māori
• Walk alongside ākonga in their cultural journey
• Join a kaupapa‑driven Tikanga assessment whānau.

Next steps

• Submit your EOI via the link in your email
• Or contact faye.barrand@temahiako.org.nz

Make a referral

If Tikanga isn’t your area, please consider referring others.

Use the Tikanga Assessor Referral Form.

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General reminders

Reporting credits

A reminder not to report credits until:

• Online programmes - All ākonga evidence has been uploaded to the learning portal (Moodle)
• For paper-based programmes - All ākonga evidence and workbooks have been shared with you and you have retained a copy for moderation purposes
• All assessments have been marked in accordance with your Assessor Guide, and your assessment decision is that a Competent outcome has been reached.

We are seeing an increasing number of occurrences where credits have been reported, however no evidence has been submitted or uploaded into the portal and marking has not been completed.

This is especially important for the Aquatics Professional Online Programme. Please ensure your ākonga upload ALL observation forms and that these are marked via your Assessor Portal/Moodle prior to reporting any credits.

Evidence for Moderation

Please ensure that you keep all assessment evidence used to make your assessment decisions for two (2) years for your records. This is for anything not already loaded via the Learner or Assessor Portal (Moodle). This ensures ALL evidence is available and ready should it be selected for moderation purposes.

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Moderation update – from Quality Assurance team

Quarter one moderation is now wrapping up.

• This quarter, moderation focused on Exercise programmes and Cycle Skills
• Across Exercise and Cycle Skills, 53 assessors submitted material for moderation, with over 100 assessment samples moderated
• We are very pleased with the outcome — 40 acceptable moderation results were recorded and there were no Not Acceptable outcomes, which is a fantastic result.

Thank you to everyone who participated.

Looking ahead: Quarter two moderation

We are now preparing for the quarter two moderation call, which will focus on Aquatics programmes. This is a large moderation cycle, with around 156 aquatics assessors expected to be called for moderation.

Some aquatics assessors may be asked to submit material for moderation more than once if you assess across different programmes.

What you can expect

• If you have completed paper‑based assessments, you will receive a Moderation Request email asking you to submit up to three samples (if you have assessed more than three) for a specified programme
• If you have completed online assessments only, you will receive an email advising that moderation will be completed by accessing your online assessments — there is nothing further you need to do for those assessments.

It’s important that you read moderation emails carefully, as some of you may receive more than one email. This may occur if you have:

• Completed both online and paper‑based assessments, or
• assessed more than one paper‑based programme.

In these situations, you are still required to submit samples for your paper‑based assessments, even if your online assessments are also being moderated or you are being moderated for another programme. Please contact assessors@temahiako.org.nz if you are unsure or require support.

From your Quality Assurance team (Edwin, Emma and Jacinta)

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Update from Learning Support team

Learner Engagement Plan (LEP)
The Learner Engagement Plan outlines how TMA’s regional and learner support teams work together to awhi TMA ākonga throughout their learning journey. When ākonga enrol, they are assigned both a regional advisor and a learner support coordinator. Every three months, one of these staff members will check in to discuss progress, identify any emerging needs, and ensure the ākonga is well‑supported.

If additional support is required, the ākonga will then work 1:1 with their learner support coordinator for tailored guidance. Assessors can also refer ākonga to the learner support team at any time through their assessor portal by selecting Contact Support → Learner Support.

From your Learner Support team - Denise, Emily, Jade, & Leatrice

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Assessor support

To book a hui with our Assessor Facilitation team via Teams:

Faye Barrand – Assessor facilitator manager

You might book me for:

• Registered assessor and SAM support
• Escalations.

Book time with Faye Barrand: 30 Minute Hui

Monique Freshwater – Assessor facilitator trainer

You might book me for:

• Trainee assessor support
• System support and training for ALL assessors/SAMs.

Book time to meet with me - Assessor Trainer

Questions / Pātai?

We are here to help.

Email us at: assessors@temahiako.org.nz

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He kupu whakatepe

As we continue into 2026, we acknowledge your dedication to quality assessment, cultural safety, and ākonga success.

Your mahi shapes futures, strengthens communities, and breathes life into meaningful, accessible learning in Aotearoa.

Thank you for the compassion, skill, and integrity you bring every day.
We see it. We value it. We couldn’t do this without you.
 

Ngā manaakitanga ki a koutou,
The Te Mahi Ako Assessor Facilitator team

Faye, Lee, & Monique