Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)

'Keeping Ourselves Happy, Healthy and Safe'

At Oakengates Nursery School, Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) provides the foundations for children’s wellbeing, confidence and relationships. It supports children from Birth to 4 years to feel safe, valued and secure, enabling them to engage positively in nursery life and learning.

Our bespoke curriculum, Keeping Ourselves Happy, Healthy and Safe, underpins our whole approach to PSED and supports children to develop the three key EYFS strands:

Self-Regulation – understanding and managing feelings and behaviour
Managing Self – building independence, confidence and healthy habits
Building Relationships – forming positive connections with adults and peers

These essential skills help children develop resilience, empathy and a positive sense of self, laying strong foundations for happiness, learning and future success.

Our PSED curriculum is closely linked to our commitment that every child will Belong, Achieve and Thrive.

Belong – Children feel safe, valued and included. Secure relationships and a strong sense of community enable children to develop confidence and trust.
Achieve – Children build resilience, independence and self-belief, learning that they are capable of reaching goals and overcoming challenges.
Thrive – Children develop emotional wellbeing, positive relationships and the personal skills needed to flourish in nursery, their next stage of education and later life.

Curriculum Intent

We believe every child should be valued and understood as an individual — academically, socially, emotionally and as a spiritual being.

Our PSED curriculum supports children to understand who they are, how they feel and how they relate to others. It helps them to develop kindness, empathy, confidence and resilience while learning how to be part of a community.

Through our curriculum, children are supported to:

develop positive relationships with adults and peers
understand and manage their emotions
build confidence and independence
learn how to keep themselves healthy and safe
recognise that families and communities are diverse
understand that they have rights and responsibilities

These experiences help children to build strong foundations for lifelong wellbeing and learning.

Implementation (How We Teach PSED)

In Preschool, we follow the Jigsaw PSHE programme, which provides a progressive and structured approach to emotional literacy, resilience and wellbeing. Jigsaw supports children to explore feelings, relationships, health and change in age-appropriate ways and includes mindfulness to help children develop emotional awareness, calmness and focus.

In our Toddler and Baby Rooms, PSED is taught through carefully planned themes, routines and play-based experiences that are developmentally appropriate for younger children. These focus on:

forming secure attachments
recognising emotions
developing early independence
learning to share, take turns and build relationships

Across all rooms, PSED is embedded through everyday interactions, modelling by adults and consistent routines.

We teach children to be accepting of one another, helping every child feel a sense of belonging. We celebrate diversity and promote the message Different Families, Same Love, supporting children to understand that families come in many forms and that everyone deserves respect.

How Children Learn PSED Skills

Children develop PSED through:

warm, responsive relationships with trusted adults
play-based learning and real-life experiences
stories, puppets and role play
group discussions and circle time
modelling of positive behaviour
opportunities to practise independence
consistent expectations and routines

These experiences help children learn how to express emotions, solve problems, work with others and feel confident in themselves.

Supporting Emotional Wellbeing and Character

PSED supports children to develop resilience and character, helping them to:

believe in themselves
persevere when learning feels tricky
recover from challenges
develop kindness, honesty and integrity
build confidence in trying new things

These qualities support children to become happy, successful learners and caring members of society.

British Values, PSHE and SMSC

(Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development)

Our bespoke curriculum Keeping Ourselves Happy, Healthy and Safe goes beyond PSED and includes:

emotional literacy
mental health and wellbeing
resilience
social skills
British Values
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development (SMSC)
an inclusive philosophy

These are woven through everyday practice, helping children to understand right and wrong, respect others, feel part of a community and develop a positive sense of self.