The Early Years Evidence Store draws on research evidence and educators’ practice to illustrate high-quality, evidence-informed teaching approaches. Supporting Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) in the early years is crucial for children’s overall progress. That’s why we’ve produced a new, downloadable and bite-sized resource that presents what the research evidence tells us about supporting PSED in the early years.

Often the description of what the approach is and how to put it into action is likely to be the most tangible and relatable information on the Evidence Store. Educators are likely to be familiar with the idea of labelling and discussing emotions, as described in Approach 1: Teaching awareness of emotions and feelings, for example.

However, the summary helps to build educators’ knowledge by bringing them closer to the most relevant messages from the evidence. In relation to Approach 1, for example, evidence suggests this approach is likely to be beneficial for children who are at least two years old, and those with either higher stress or less support at home.

The summary provides a useful overview of the PSED theme and highlights the most relevant content to share with educators in your setting. You might want to print this out or share with practitioners in your setting to discuss where you can develop practice through intentional adult interactions.

For those who would like to know more about the evidence for the approaches in greater depth, visit the PSED theme in the Early Years Evidence Store to see short videos and written examples of approaches in action.

Wanting more?

Listen to our Evidence into Action podcast on the topic of PSED in the early years.

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