Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) is the foundation of the EYFS which connects all areas of the curriculum. Through positive relationships with adults, children learn what their emotions are, how to regulate them and how relationships with their peers work.

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Fostering Personal, Social and Emotional Development

CEA Curricular Guidance for Pre-School Education guidance recommends that staff in a setting need to work together to create an ethos where the children:

• feel secure and have a sense of well-being;
• are encouraged to express their emotions appropriately and be independent;
• receive consistent encouragement and positive reinforcement to behave appropriately and to respect their own and others’ play; and
• feel supported and cared for.

To create this ethos adults should:

• take time to listen, talk and engage with the children;
• be enthusiastic about the children’s learning;
• respect the children’s views and ideas; and
• actively model the types of appropriate behaviour that they wish the children to display.

Some children may experience specific differences which impact on their personal, social and emotional development. These differences may relate to:

• Social communication and interaction
• Sensory preferences
• Monotropic thinking style

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