Personal, social and emotional development

We aim to foster a growth mindset in early years. Children are encouraged to talk to their partners about what strategies they could use to approach a real life problem in maths; they are given opportunities to vote for a story each day and learn that their book might not always be chosen; they are encouraged to look back at their work and see how they've improved and what else they could do next time to make things even better. We regularly check that children have access to books that reflect their family, community and world around them and have recently bought new titles where there were gaps. Mums and Dads, in particular, are encouraged to come in and read every morning before school providing great examples of how important it is to take the time to read. Circle times give children the opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas with each other in a non-threatening way.

Our EYFS garden is a little green haven in our urban landscape! The children help to plant and nurture what's growing there. They compost fruit waste for use on the plants, capture rainwater in a tank for their watering cans. They are surrounded by a huge range of plants and trees. Here are photos of our apple, plum and pear trees, our growing carrots, radishes, potatoes, herbs and berries. The children enjoy being close to nature and we see the benefits in terms of their physical, mental and social development.

In the Good Shepherd EYFS we firmly believe that personal, social and emotional development - PSED - with the nurturing of happy, healthy children at its centre, is crucial to children’s cognitive development. Underpinning children’s personal development are the important attachments that shape their social world. The adults in our setting provide the children with strong, warm and supportive relationships enabling them to learn how to understand their own feelings and those of others. We support children 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 focus attention as necessary. Through adult modelling and guidance, the children in our EYFS learn how to look after their bodies, including healthy eating, and manage 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.