3. Nurture is Important for Wellbeing

Staff have been through different experiences and are also reconnecting with one another and the community of their setting. If we nurture our staff, this will create the platform for all relationships and wellbeing. Allow time for staff to talk, share and reconnect. Consider their wellbeing - find out about their concerns and needs. What ideas do they have for moving forward? The Educational Psychology Service has a range of training and development materials. Get in touch if you are looking for support in taking staff well being forward, or for signposting to resources.

Covid, Anxiety, Stress: Resources & Links

You can find useful resources to support children and adults around anxiety, worry, stress, and fears; including specific to Covid through this link:

Safe Hands Thinking Minds

Listen to This Poem

Remember, be kind to ourselves and to others. Reconnecting with other people who support us is one of the best ways to protect our well being, no matter what life throws at us. When we are feeling stressed or low we may have less empathy and we might withdraw from others. If you notice someone not being themselves, check in with them. Being kind gives others strength.

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Talk with the children about what they have done and how they have managed during lockdown in a developmentally appropriate way, using visuals, stories and puppets. This should be done sensitively, considering where you do it and who else is around. You should be mindful of the different experiences that will have occurred. It is important to accept and value all feelings and emotions – it is ok to not to be ok. Whilst listening and identifying all emotions and feelings, you can look for children’s strengths and ways in which they have coped creatively. Help them see the qualities they have demonstrated and skills they have developed. You can refer to these skills and qualities in relation to their learning experiences.

Further reading and lots of thoughtful ideas can be found through this link:

ABC Does - What Now?

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Practical Ideas

  • Children and families could share photos and/or creations of what they have been doing together at home during lockdown e.g. rainbow creations for the NHS, workouts with Joe Wicks

  • Print out any photos, comments or work children and families have shared digitally with your setting during lockdown.

  • Create a memory floor book with the children , in small groups, per room or individually according to each child's needs, valuing all contributions.

  • Provide small world resources e.g. people figures, for children to role play their experiences.

All of these examples can provide conversation starters in which you can praise the children's creativity and highlight the transferable skills that they can use in their learning.

Continue to follow the children’s lead, enabling them to have choice and control/agency over what they do or how they do it by making it fun according to what they enjoy. Find ways for personalisation and choice in their learning, making it meaningful for them. Promote special interests within the curriculum. This will support children, making them feel understood, valued and successful.

Revisit:

  • The 7 Principles of Curriculum Design, particularly personalisation and choice.

  • The four capacities, especially confident individuals and effective contributors. The curriculum aims to ensure that all children and young people in Scotland develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they will need if they are to flourish in life, learning and work, now and in the future. These are summed up in the detailed wording of the four capacities. The detailed wording of the four capacities can also form a very useful focus for planning choices and next steps in learning. The attributes and capabilities can be used by establishments as a guide to assess whether the curriculum for any individual child or young person sufficiently reflects the purposes of the curriculum.

  • See The Purpose of the Curriculum

Look for success and achievement. This can be recorded through photos, records and sharing with others. Remember not all children will want the same type of recognition. Think about what will work for individuals, some children value lots of verbal feedback, whilst others may appreciate a ‘thumbs up’ at a discrete moment or sharing their success with another member of staff, while the child is listening in.

Emotional Containment and the Role of the Adult

Watch and listen to this explanation of how children's emotions need to be contained by an adult, and how the adult needs to look after themselves

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Use the wheel to remind yourself of the role of the adult in creating nurturing experiences

Apply the principles of Growth Mindset (Carol Dweck). We should look for effort and persistence, name it and value it in our interactions with children. If a child is displaying self-negating behaviours, eg saying “I can’t” or throwing something in frustration, do not dismiss this out of hand. Let them know when you see observable change and progress. Help them see mistakes as an integral and valuable part of the learning process.

Growth Mindset

Should you tell your kids they are smart or talented? Professor Carol Dweck answers this question and more, as she talks about her groundbreaking work on developing mindsets. She emphasizes the power of "yet" in helping students succeed in and out of the classroom

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Growth Mindset

Introduce the children to the concept of Growth Mindset through videos and stories, e.g. this one from Sesame Street and Bruno Mars about not giving up!