The Early Years Foundation Stage says:
Children’s personal, social and emotional development (PSED) is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives, and is fundamental to their cognitive development.
Underpinning their personal development are the important attachments that shape their social world. Strong, warm and supportive relationships with adults enable children to learn how to understand their own feelings and those of others.
Children should be supported to manage emotions, develop a positive sense of self, set themselves simple goals, have confidence in their own abilities, to persist and wait for what they want and direct attention as necessary. Through adult modelling and guidance, they will learn how to look after their bodies, including healthy eating, and managing personal needs independently.
Through supported interaction with other children, they learn how to make good friendships, co-operate and resolve conflicts peaceably. These attributes will provide a secure platform from which children can achieve at school and in later life.
Personal social and emotional development
The development of children’s confidence, self-esteem and resilience is central to their success as learners. RAFAKidz operates a key person system where every child and family are linked to a team member enabling good relationships to be fostered.
Each key person has a buddy so that if the main key person is absent there is continuity for the child, who can identify with another key adult. All team members will receive training in modelling positive behaviour skills so that children can learn to develop positive relationships and develop respect for each other to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings, understand appropriate behaviour in groups and have confidence in their own abilities.
The team will provide comfortable havens in each group room where children can go to be calm and quiet when needed. Team members will offer appropriate praise to children and encouragement, especially to have another go or to keep on trying. This supports children in building their self-confidence and esteem as well as their resilience.
RAFAKidz recognises that strong attachments are vital for every child and the team will work hard to ensure transitions to new rooms are managed as sensitively as possible. This will be carefully planned in partnership with parents and / or carers ensuring that each child gets to know their new environment and becomes familiar with a new key person before they complete their move.
