Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)
Intent
At Alkerden CE Academy Nursery, we believe that children thrive when they feel safe, valued, respected and loved. We place Personal, Social and Emotional Development at the heart of our curriculum because we know that secure relationships, emotional wellbeing and positive self-esteem are the foundations for all future learning.
Guided by our Christian vision, we nurture every child as a unique individual, encouraging them to flourish socially, emotionally and spiritually within a caring and inclusive community. We want children to develop confidence in themselves, resilience when faced with challenge and empathy towards others. Through warm, trusting relationships with adults and peers, children learn to recognise and manage their emotions, build friendships, make positive choices and become increasingly independent.
Our curriculum enables children to become confident learners who are willing to explore, persevere and take pride in their achievements. We recognise that every child's journey is different and ensure that all children are supported to make progress from their individual starting points.
Development Matters (2023) – Children aged 3–4 years are learning to:
- Select and use activities and resources independently.
- Develop their sense of responsibility and membership of a community.
- Become more outgoing with unfamiliar people while continuing to form secure relationships.
- Play with increasing confidence alongside and with other children.
- Talk about their feelings using an expanding emotional vocabulary.
- Understand gradually how others might be feeling.
- Increasingly follow rules and understand why they are important.
- Remember rules without needing an adult to remind them.
- Develop appropriate ways of being assertive.
- Do not always need an adult to remind them of routines.
We intend for children to leave Alkerden CE Academy Nursery with the emotional security, confidence and independence needed to embrace the challenges of Reception.
Implementation
Positive relationships are at the centre of everything we do. Our carefully planned curriculum enables children to develop emotionally through secure attachments, meaningful interactions, purposeful play and consistent routines.
Building Secure Relationships
We achieve this through:
- A nurturing key person system where every child feels known, safe and valued.
- Strong partnerships with parents and carers, recognising families as children's first educators.
- Consistent routines that provide security and predictability.
- Sensitive, responsive adults who model kindness, respect and empathy.
- Warm greetings and meaningful conversations throughout the day.
- Small group activities that encourage belonging and confidence.
Developing Emotional Literacy
Children are supported to recognise, understand and regulate their emotions through:
- Daily check-ins and opportunities to talk about feelings.
- Stories and high-quality picture books exploring emotions, friendships and resilience.
- Emotion cards, mirrors and visual prompts.
- Adults modelling emotional language and problem-solving strategies.
- Coaching children through conflicts rather than solving problems for them.
- Opportunities to reflect, apologise, forgive and repair friendships.
Children are encouraged to name and understand emotions such as happy, excited, worried, frustrated, disappointed, proud and calm.
Developing Independence
Throughout the day children are encouraged to:
- Choose resources independently.
- Take responsibility for tidying and caring for the environment.
- Dress independently for outdoor learning and Forest School.
- Manage personal hygiene and toileting confidently.
- Serve their own snack and pour drinks safely.
- Persevere when tasks become challenging.
- Make decisions and solve simple problems independently.
Adults encourage children to "have a go" whilst providing appropriate support when needed.
Learning to Play Together
Children learn to:
- Share ideas and resources.
- Take turns fairly.
- Negotiate roles within imaginative play.
- Respect differences and celebrate diversity.
- Show kindness and consideration.
- Cooperate towards shared goals.
- Resolve disagreements with increasing independence.
Through high-quality interactions, practitioners model respectful communication and positive relationships.
Wellbeing Through Play and Reflection
Children's emotional wellbeing is supported through:
- Daily access to outdoor learning.
- Forest School experiences that build confidence, resilience and risk management.
- Cosmic Yoga and mindfulness activities that promote calmness, body awareness and self-regulation.
- Quiet spaces where children can rest, reflect or regulate their emotions.
- Opportunities for awe and wonder through nature, seasonal changes and exploration.
Strategies to Support PSED
Practitioners will:
- Build trusting relationships through consistent, responsive interactions.
- Use emotion coaching to support children in recognising and managing feelings.
- Model respectful language and positive conflict resolution.
- Celebrate effort, perseverance and progress rather than simply outcomes.
- Provide visual routines to develop independence.
- Give children meaningful responsibilities within the nursery.
- Encourage collaborative play and cooperative learning.
- Offer praise that develops a growth mindset, for example, "You kept trying until you found a solution."
- Teach children calming strategies such as breathing exercises, mindfulness and movement.
- Adapt support to meet individual emotional needs.
- Work closely with families and external professionals where additional emotional or social support is required.
British Values and Our Christian Vision
Children experience opportunities to develop:
- Respect for themselves and others.
- Kindness, compassion and forgiveness.
- An understanding of fairness and inclusion.
- Confidence to express their own views while listening to others.
- Responsibility for their actions and their community.
- Appreciation of diversity and the uniqueness of every individual.
These values are woven naturally through play, daily routines, stories, celebrations and collective experiences.
Impact
By the time children leave Alkerden CE Academy Nursery they are happy, confident and emotionally secure learners who are ready for the next stage of their education.
Children will:
- Demonstrate confidence in trying new experiences.
- Form warm, respectful relationships with adults and peers.
- Express their feelings using an increasingly rich emotional vocabulary.
- Begin to regulate their emotions using taught strategies.
- Show resilience when faced with challenge or disappointment.
- Play cooperatively, sharing, negotiating and taking turns.
- Understand and follow routines and expectations.
- Show increasing independence in self-care and everyday tasks.
- Demonstrate kindness, empathy and respect towards others.
- Take pride in their achievements and celebrate the success of others.
- Feel safe, valued and confident to contribute to nursery life.
Impact is evidenced through:
- Strong, secure relationships between children, adults and families.
- Children demonstrating high levels of wellbeing and involvement.
- Development Matters assessments showing progress from starting points.
- Observations of children's independence, resilience and friendships.
- Reduced reliance on adult support to solve social conflicts.
- Positive behaviour and attitudes to learning.
- Parent voice reflecting children's growing confidence at home.
- Children who are emotionally ready to access the wider curriculum and transition successfully into Reception.
At Alkerden CE Academy Nursery, our children leave as compassionate, confident and resilient individuals who understand that they are valued members of our school family. They have developed the emotional wellbeing, independence and social skills that enable them to flourish in Reception and beyond, living out our vision that every child is known, nurtured and encouraged to achieve their potential.