Making the New Social Science Curriculum Work for Young Learners Webinar

A practical, hopeful and refreshingly different approach to the new Social Sciences curriculum.

Online webinar | 3.30pm–5.00pm NZDT | 90 minutes

Not another boring Ministry curriculum webinar!

If you're looking for someone to read through curriculum slides and tell you what's changed, this probably isn't the webinar for you. But if you're wondering how on earth you're supposed to make the new Social Sciences curriculum work for the young learners in your classroom, without adding even more to your already crowded school day, you're in exactly the right place.

Our in-person Making the New Curriculum Work for Young Learners workshops have already supported teachers to find practical, developmentally appropriate ways forward. Here's what participants have shared:

“Longworth has a way of taking something that feels overwhelming and helping you see a practical way forward. I've come away with ideas I can actually use in my classroom, without compromising what I know works for kids.”

— In-person workshop participant, September 2026

“This was exactly the professional learning I needed. It helped me think about how to meet curriculum expectations without losing sight of how young children actually learn. I left feeling encouraged and with some really useful ideas.”

— In-person workshop participant, September 2026

Now we're bringing that same practical, thought-provoking approach online, with two focused webinars designed for teachers who couldn't join us in person.

The new Social Sciences curriculum brings significant changes to what children are expected to know and understand. For teachers working in Years 1–3, it also raises some important questions.

How do we make prescribed curriculum content meaningful for five-, six- and seven-year-olds? How do we honour children's identities, cultures, experiences and connections to place? And how do we retain opportunities for curiosity, exploration, conversation and play within increasingly structured curriculum expectations?

This webinar is about finding practical answers to those questions.

Rather than simply unpacking curriculum statements, we'll explore how to bring Social Sciences to life through the people, places, relationships and communities that matter to young children.

We'll consider how meaningful Social Sciences learning can emerge through children's everyday experiences, questions, investigations and play, while still ensuring we are intentional about developing the knowledge and understandings required by the curriculum.

What we'll explore

During this interactive 90-minute session, we'll consider how to:

• Make sense of the new Social Sciences curriculum expectations for Years 1–3.

• Identify the important knowledge and understandings young learners need to develop.

• Translate curriculum content into engaging, developmentally appropriate learning experiences.

• Build meaningful connections to children's identities, cultures, whānau, communities and places.

• Integrate Social Sciences with literacy, oral language and other learning areas without creating additional workload.

• Use children's questions, interests, play and everyday experiences as meaningful starting points for learning.

• Retain professional judgement and responsive pedagogy within a more prescribed curriculum.

This is not a sit-back-and-listen webinar.

Expect practical examples, opportunities to reflect, professional discussion and ideas you can take straight back to your classroom.

We'll acknowledge the challenges and frustrations associated with curriculum reform, but we won't spend 90 minutes dwelling on what isn't working.

Instead, we'll focus on what teachers can do, and how we can make thoughtful, informed decisions that work for the children in front of us.

You'll leave with

• A clearer understanding of the new Social Sciences curriculum for Years 1–3.

• Practical examples of meaningful, age-appropriate Social Sciences learning.

• Ideas for connecting curriculum expectations with children's existing experiences and interests.

• Strategies for integrating learning across an already busy school day.

• Greater confidence in your ability to interpret and implement the curriculum without compromising what you know about good teaching.

We may not have chosen the curriculum we've inherited. But we still have considerable influence over how children experience it.

Come prepared to think, question, contribute and leave with some renewed confidence about the possibilities.

Who should attend?

Teachers working in Years 1–3, junior school team leaders, curriculum leaders, deputy principals, principals and PLD professionals supporting curriculum implementation.

Presented by Dr Sarah Aiono & Linda Cheer | Longworth Education

Independent, research-informed professional learning, grounded in the realities of New Zealand classrooms.