Children’s Well-being in the Nursery Policy

Well-being is a broad term that covers how you feel about yourself and your life. It encompasses the physical, emotional (and mental), social and spiritual areas of a person. Under the Early Years Foundations Stage (EYFS) this is covered in the children’s personal, social, emotional development and physical development, both of which are prime areas of learning and development. 

Physical well-being covers everything physical to do with the body: 

• Growth and development
• Moving and keeping physically fit
• Caring for personal health (e.g. washing, cleaning teeth, etc.)
• Eating a balanced and nutritious diet
• Rest and appropriate sleep patterns. 

Mental and emotional well-being includes: 

• Acknowledging, expressing and coping with feelings and emotions
• Thought processes 
• Reducing stress and anxiety.

Social well-being includes: 

• Relationships
• Family (close and extended)
• Friends
• The feeling of belonging and acceptance 
• Compassion and caring approaches. 

Spiritual well-being can cover the following: 

• Value and beliefs held
• Personal identity and self-awareness.

Children’s physical well-being is supported through our carefully planned curriculum programme which supports all types of gross and fine motor play both inside and outside. We provide nutritionally balanced meals for the children and support our staff to make healthy choices in regard to their physical health. 

Personal hygiene is supported in children of all ages, explaining the reasons for hand washing, tooth brushing and other routines. 

Children are provided with quiet and calming areas for rest, sleep and relaxation. This supports both their physical and mental well-being.  We support children to make strong attachments with their key person as well as forge relationships with their peers in order to support their social well-being. We offer opportunities and resources for children to play singly, in pairs, small groups and large groups to support this area of development. 

Children’s mental and emotional well-being are supported. We provide a safe environment that allows for caregiver to child co-regulation. This practice supports the process of children building the capacity for self-regulation, through providing activities in which children are able to recognise and express their emotions, including emotional literacy. This enables us to provide support for children who may be experiencing big emotions they cannot cope with just yet, including sadness and over-excitement. We support children’s developing self-regulation through carefully planned activities and resources, modelling calming strategies, naming and talking about feelings and by providing opportunities for children to practise their self-regulation skills. 

Staff use the Promoting positive behaviour policy to ensure a consistent approach. 

Staff can recognise when a child may need support with their emotions and will provide this one-to-one or in a small group, whichever is more appropriate. Teaching children to recognise and manage their emotions at a young age helps support foundations for doing this throughout their life.