| Element |
Experiences/ Strategies/ Knowledge |
| Background, theory (attachment) |
- Provide a secure base/ maintain a sense of security (Bowlby, 1998; Ainsworth, 1970)
- Key person approach – Warm, responsive, consistent carers (Elfer, Goldschmied & Selleck, 2012; DCSF, 2008a; DfE, 2017)
- Dance of dialogue - attuned to the child’s needs/ treat as communicating being from birth (Read, 2014; Sharma & Cockerill, 2014)
- Impact of care/ responsiveness/ neglect on brain development and short and long term outcomes. Minimise stress levels – impact on cortisol, myelin breakdown (Thompson, 2008; Music, 2011; Gerhardt, 2014)
- Emotionally enabling environments/ create a sense of belonging (Gunner & Donzella 2002; Early Education, 2012)
|
| Working with parents |
- Key person approach – triangle of trust & communication. Practitioner, child, parent (Goldschmied & Selleck, 1996).
- Parental engagement - helpers & volunteers (self-efficacy, agency) Bandura, 1995)
- Parents valued & respected as experts of their child(ren) (QCA, 2000). ERGO (Empathy, Respect, Genuineness, Optimism) (Scott et al, 2007)
- Share children’s everyday successes
- Share concerns sensitively and honestly
|
| Transitions & Building resilience |
- Transitional objects (Winnicott, 1953)
- Create personal stories for individual children using talk, drawings by adult or child and scribed by adult or child (Masten, 2014).
|
| Understanding and regulating emotions & behaviour |
Warm reciprocal relationships, opportunities for autonomy, encouraging ‘talk’ (Whitebread, 2013)
Conflict resolution – 6 steps to conflict resolution (Holt, 2010)
- Opportunities for gaining the perspectives of others – stories, personal experiences
- Observe children to identify A, B, C of behaviour
- Model sharing and caring skills & behaviours
- Provide images that show feelings being expressed – emotions on carved branches, emotion stones
- Talk about feelings and provide key vocabulary as opportunities arise
- Use situation stories
- Provide consistent fair boundaries whilst allowing for risk and challenge
- Opportunities to be physically active
|
| Making relationships |
- Key Person Approach (Elfer, Goldschmied & Selleck, 2012; DCSF, 2008a; DfE, 2017)
- Engage in playful interactions (DCSF, 2008b)
- Social stages of play – Range of play opportunities including imaginative play, sharing stories, turn taking games, time for 1:1 with key persons & small groups (Parten, 1932; Bronfenbrenner 1979)
- Communication Friendly Spaces (Jarman, 2013)
- Value all children, listen, give time to express/ respond
- Short, small meaningful circle times
- Learn the names of others through songs and rhymes
|
| Self-confidence, self-awareness & independence |
- Provide opportunities for children to have small responsibilities (Bandura, 1995)
- Provide spaces for quiet reflection e.g. dens
- Use every day routines to promote independence e.g. mealtimes, dressing (Casey & Robertson 2016; DfE, 2017)
- Time to self-initiate play and exploration with open ended materials that have many possibilities (no right or wrong) e.g. loose parts.
- Psychological safety & psychological freedom
- Use specific praise, share achievements, WOW moments
- Encourage children to support others (scaffold) (Bruner 1978; Rogers, 1961)
- Positive comments/ expressions need to significantly outweigh negatives
- Take a genuine interest in children, listen to them
- Allow children to take decisions, express preferences & make choices
- Creating & Thinking Critically (DfE, 2017)
- Risk and challenge (Gill, 2006)
|
