How practitioners can support children’s PSE development
Personal, Social and Emotional development are three key areas of a child’s development that come together and help to build the person a child will grow into. It will help develop their character further and how they feel about, and act in the world around them.
Within the EYFS, Personal, Social and Emotional development is a fundamental aspect throughout a child’s growth and generally all three area’s come hand in hand. Treating each section as individual however, can help to achieve a deeper understanding, knowing what aspects of development fall under each section and understanding how best to meet these needs
Personal Development:
Personal development is about how a child develops themselves. How a child feels about themselves and their own self-image is a big part of personal development, as without self-confidence and self-esteem a child may hold back in particular situations, potentially falling behind in other areas of development. Practitioners can help to build a child’s self-esteem and self-confidence by giving praise throughout the day for activities they do and tasks they complete – don’t forget, simple tasks such as zipping up our coats that we as adults don’t think twice about can prove difficult for children and are a huge achievement when they manage it for themselves.
Encouraging a child’s independence is another way practitioners can build a child’s self-esteem and self-confidence. Practitioners should encourage children to do tasks for themselves, for example, putting on their own shoes and doing them up for themselves. Yes, it may be quicker for the practitioner to put the child’s shoes on for them, but this takes the learning opportunity away from the child – allow extra time for the child to attempt this task for themselves, encourage them throughout, be patient and most importantly do not forget to praise the child! This small task can create an overwhelming sense of pride and achievement for the child, doing wonders for their self-image.
Social Development:
Social development is all about how a child interacts with others and how they build relationships. For children in an early years setting, building a relationship and developing a bond with a practitioner is essential. Don’t forget, a child in a setting is away from their primary care giver and having a bond with a practitioner allows them a source of comfort. This child/practitioner relationship will develop a child’s self-confidence, allowing them to explore the setting and foster new relationships with other children and staff, all the while knowing they have a safe ‘base’ to come back to when seeking comfort.
Practitioners can promote social interactions between children through managing activities involving team work, and encouraging social skills such as turn-taking and sharing.
Emotional Development:
Children are able to develop emotionally through understanding their own feelings and emotions, as well as understanding the feelings of others. Children should be encouraged to share their feelings, and understand that it is ok to feel the way they do. Talking about feelings and emotions enables a child to recognise different emotions, understand why they are feeling a certain way, and develop coping strategies. A feelings chart within an early years setting is a great way for children to express the way they are feeling and also gives the option for these feelings to be discussed.
As well as understanding and managing their own feelings, empathising with others is a fundamental aspect of emotional development. Practitioners can enable children to learn to empathise with each other through telling stories and giving scenarios of emotional situations and asking a child how that would make them feel. This gives the child the opportunity to recognise and understand others feeling the same emotions that they do. Role play is another great way for children to explore their feelings and act out scenarios that enable children to learn and display empathy with the added bonus of children interacting with one another.