Health and Wellbeing Resources for Early Childhood Educators
By focusing on social and emotional learning, educators help children understand and express their feelings. Providing behaviour support and teaching children about emotions ensures holistic growth for children and sustains long-term support for educators.
Essential Resources has a range of titles designed to support educators and children with their wellbeing. From emotional awareness teaching resources to mental health for educators, we're confident you’ll find reassuring, evidence-based support strategies to implement in your setting. We also have informative reads by experts in behaviour support. Their insights will help you to identify the root causes of challenging behaviour and work collaboratively with children to achieve better outcomes.
How can early childhood educators improve their wellbeing?
There are a variety of ways in which early childhood educators can improve their wellbeing. Early childhood educators play a vital role in supporting children's emotional development and social and emotional learning, but it's equally important for educators to prioritise their own wellbeing. Improving educator wellbeing can be achieved through a combination of self-care, professional development, and accessing evidence-based resources.
Wellbeing Science in Early Education shares practical steps educators can take to safeguard their wellbeing. For example, author Jo Maloney explains the benefits of sharing positive emotions within a team and how to cultivate them for yourself. As well as supporting each other within a team, also consider ways in which external support might be of use. Jo also shares tips on how to build resilience by creating communities, mentoring networks and sharing within your team. Knowing how others have managed difficult situations can provide reassurance and prevent educators from feeling isolated.
Educators who actively develop their own social and emotional skills are better equipped to handle the demands of the classroom. These skills enhance communication, conflict resolution, and self-regulation, all of which contribute to improved educator wellbeing. For more information on mental health for educators, check out Taking Care of You by Anne Vize. Alternatively, browse our helpful selection of blogs, including this one on protective factors and strategies for building resilience in educators.
What is the difference between behaviour management and responding to behaviours that challenge?
Generally speaking, behaviour management focuses on general strategies to prevent challenging behaviours, while responding to behaviours that challenge involves tailoring responses to individuals. In her bestselling book But I Want To Be Good, Niki Buchan emphasizes the importance of investigating the cause of challenging behaviour to provide effective, personalised behaviour support. She suggests reframing behaviours regarded as challenging as children expressing that their needs are unmet. Niki also discusses how neurodiversity and trauma can also cause children to display behaviours regarded as challenging. For information on creating an inclusive learning environment, dip into the A to Z of Specialist and Inclusive Education and Partnerships with Families of Children with Additional Needs.
What resources are there to support responding to challenging behaviours?
Essential Resources has a number of evidence-based resources to support responding to challenging behaviours. We have a section of our website dedicated specifically to behaviour, making it easy for you to locate resources on supporting children’s behaviour in early childhood. Popular titles include Understanding Behaviour in the Early Years and Personal Development, Behaviour and Welfare. Our blog also features articles by expert authors with titles such as Supporting Young Children With Challenging Behaviours. Continued learning about emotional development in early childhood and social and emotional development helps educators better understand the needs of the children they work with.