Greater Manchester’s 10 Top Tips for Thriving

By Dr Alison Gurney – Senior Educational Psychologist (Early Years Specialism), Trafford Educational Psychology Service/Trafford Early Years Service

Dr Alison Gurney is a Senior Educational Psychologist at Trafford Educational Psychology Service and specialises in early years (EY). She works for Trafford’s Early Years Service for two days a week and leads on several EY projects as well as delivering training on a variety of topics. Alison also works as an Early Years Specialist Tutor/Lecturer on the Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology programme at The University of Manchester, which involves delivering teaching seminars to Trainee Educational Psychologists and supervising their research projects.  

Ten Top Tips for Thriving

These tips tie in with the guidance for practitioners laid out in the EEF Early Years Evidence store in the PSED section:

The GM Top Tips for Thriving have been written with relational models of practice at their core. They adhere to best practice literature which advises a move away from terminology focused on ‘behaviour management’ towards language which encourages adults to understand what a child may be communicating through their behaviour and supporting underlying need(s).

Relational models are underpinned by increased understanding of how young children’s brains develop within the earliest years of life. They emphasise the central importance of warm and sensitive, emotionally attuned relationships alongside effective limit setting and represent a shift away from over-reliance on behaviourist models based on compliance and control.

Supporting children’s personal, social and emotional development (PSED) is a prime area of learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum. Research has shown a link between children who achieve good social and emotional development in their early years and success in adulthood, particularly in terms of academic achievement, positive mental health and the ability to establish and sustain emotionally healthy relationships.

So what do we mean by the term ‘social emotional development’?

It’s how children start to understand who they are, what they are feeling and what to expect when interacting with others. It allows young children to:

• Form and keep positive relationships with important people
• Safely experience, express and manage their feelings
• Feel confident to explore the world and try new things.

What do we mean by the term ‘wellbeing’?

Wellbeing is more holistic in nature and is used as a broad term to describe children’s:

• Levels of happiness and confidence
• Ability to problem solve, make choices, empathise with others and be emotionally resilient
• Social competence and pro-social behaviour towards others.

Childhood wellbeing is argued to be an important concept in promoting more holistic understandings of children’s mental health. Conceptualisations are often multidimensional and, as such, emphasise the impact of environmental factors and wider systems on childhood wellbeing.

The Greater Manchester #BeeWell programme is a project involving several partners with the aim of measuring young people’s wellbeing to bring about positive change in local communities. As part of this project, young people across Greater Manchester were asked what wellbeing meant to them.

The areas of wellbeing that were found to be most important to young people were:

• Meaning, purpose and control: autonomy, life satisfaction, optimism
• Understanding oneself: psychological wellbeing, self-esteem, stress and coping, emotional regulation
• Emotions: negative affect, positive affect.

The things that were found to impact, drive and be most important to the wellbeing of young people were:

• Health and routines: physical health, sleep, nutrition, physical activityHealth and routines: physical health, sleep, nutrition, physical activity
• Hobbies and entertainment: free time, use of social media, participation in arts, culture and entertainment
• Education: sense of belonging, achievement, relationships with staff
• Environment and society: home environment, caregiving responsibilities, material deprivation, local area and feeling safe
• Future: feeling ready for life and having hope for the future
• Relationships: with parents and carers, friendships and social support, bullying, harmful/abusive experiences, and loneliness.

There is consensus in the literature that the foundations for positive wellbeing throughout childhood, adolescence and beyond are laid within the earliest years of a child’s life.

So, check out the GM Top Tips for Thriving and use them with the children and families you support.

Further reading and useful links:

10 Top Tips for Thriving

EEF Evidence Store – Personal Social and Emotional Development

EEF blog: What do we know about Personal, Social and Emotional Development

DfE Help for early ears providers Personal  Social and Emotional Development

BBC Tiny Happy People