Summer Reading | Pānui Challenge: Read with Me

8 December 2025

Schools and kura are invited to share the Summer Reading | Pānui Challenge: Read with Me with their students and ākonga entering Years 0 to 8 for the 2026 school year. 

The challenge, developed in collaboration with Duffy Books in Homes, encourages children and mokopuna to read with their whānau regularly throughout the summer holidays and track the days completed on the reading and pānui tracker. 

Reading together builds positive reading and pānui habits and fosters a love of reading. It can also help counter the ‘summer learning loss’ so that students and ākonga retain skills and knowledge learned during the school year. 

Reading and Pānui tracker forms can be downloaded using the links below, and we encourage all schools and kura have copies available for students to take home. We are also advising parents and caregivers that most community libraries have printing services available. 

Students and mokopuna who complete and return the reading and pānui tracker form at the end of the summer holidays will receive a badge and certificate.

To support parent and whānau involvement, information about this Summer Reading | Pānui Challenge, including tracker forms, is also available on the Parent Portal.

Summer Reading | Pānui Challenge: Read with Me (Parent Portal)

Download the tracker forms below: 

Summer Reading | Pānui Challenge PDF (English)

Summer Reading | Pānui Challenge PDF (Te Reo Māori) 

How to receive certificates and badges for your school or kura 

Students and ākonga are asked to return the forms to their school or kura, or email the digital copy to the Ministry, by 20 February 2026. After this date, please collate all forms and email us at [email protected] to let us know how many badges and certificates you need. Please note that the certificates will not include the students’ names, these will need to be added by the school or kura.

Please request badges and certificates no later than 6 March 2026. 

If the Ministry receives digital forms directly from parents and caregivers, we will collate these and send you the students’ name, along with a badge and certificate, to distribute.

Other summer reading programmes 

If your school or kura already has an established summer reading programme or challenge, you may request badges and certificates for these students as well. Students do not need to complete both tracker forms. Please include these in the number of badges and certificates that you request for your school or kura in Term 1, 2026.