Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) lies at the heart of early childhood education, and at Britannica we place great importance on nurturing children’s emotional well-being, confidence, social skills and independence. In the Early Years, children are learning far more than early literacy and numeracy they are learning how to understand their feelings, navigate friendships, solve conflicts, express themselves safely and develop the confidence they need to explore the world around them. At Britannica, we see PSED as the foundation for all future learning, shaping how children approach challenges, form relationships and understand themselves.
PSED in the Early Years covers three central areas: personal, social and emotional development. Personal development involves helping children build independence, self-belief and a sense of identity. This might be as simple as putting on their own coat, making choices in their play or showing pride after mastering a tricky task. Social development focuses on how children learn to play kindly, take turns, communicate, negotiate and build genuine friendships. Through daily interactions, children at Britannica learn what it means to be part of a community, developing empathy and respect for others. Emotional development is about recognising emotions, expressing them in healthy ways and beginning to manage big feelings with the support of trusted adults.
This week, as part of Anti-Bullying Week, our Early Years children celebrated kindness and friendship exploring what it means to be a good friend. The children shared ideas about kindness, taking turns, helping others and using gentle hands and kind words. Through stories, circle times and play-based activities, they reflected on what makes a friendship special and how small acts of kindness can make a big difference. This linked beautifully to our PSED focus, helping children understand the value of positive relationships and showing them how to build safe, happy and caring connections with others.
At Britannica, PSED is supported through the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, which outlines the key goals of Self-Regulation, Managing Self and Building Relationships. These goals guide the way we support children through everyday experiences, consistent routines and warm, responsive relationships. Every child develops these skills at their own pace, and we celebrate each step forward—whether it’s expressing a feeling with words, waiting patiently or comforting a friend in need.
Alongside the EYFS, Britannica incorporates elements of The Curiosity Approach, creating a calm and thoughtfully prepared environment. Natural materials, cosy spaces and open-ended resources encourage children to communicate, cooperate, problem-solve and develop independence. A calmer environment helps children regulate their emotions and feel safe and connected. When a child becomes deeply engaged in open-ended play sorting shells, building structures or creating imaginative small worlds—they are practising the emotional and social skills at the heart of PSED.
PSED matters because emotionally secure children learn better. They explore more confidently, express themselves more freely and cope more effectively with challenges. These early emotional skills support wellbeing, school readiness and positive relationships throughout life. At Britannica, we aim to nurture children who feel valued, understood and capable, giving them the emotional tools they need to thrive both now and in the future.
Parents play an essential role in this journey, and everyday routines at home help strengthen PSED. Naming emotions, offering simple choices, maintaining clear routines and modelling calm behaviour all support young children as they learn to understand and manage their feelings. Reading stories about friendships, encouraging kindness and praising effort also help children develop empathy and resilience.
Recently, Britannica held a PSED workshop for parents, exploring how we support emotional development through the EYFS and The Curiosity Approach. Families discussed real-life scenarios, explored resources and learned practical strategies to support children’s emotional well-being at home. We look forward to offering more opportunities for parents to engage with this important area of learning.
Reception’s focus this week has been on friendship. We read the story Pip and Egg and discussed who our friends are and what makes a good friend. The children drew pictures of their friends and shared why those friends are special. They enjoyed making friendship bracelets and gifting them to one another as an act of kindness. In phonics, Reception continued learning the sounds sh, ch and th and have been practising blending and segmenting CVC words using magnetic letters. In maths, the children have been exploring measuring and comparative language such as longer and shorter, bigger and smaller. Outdoors, they compared sticks, leaves, stones and other natural items to discover which were the longest, widest or heaviest. We ended the week by celebrating Odd Socks Day—everyone looked wonderful and it was a perfect way to close our week of friendship and kindness.
As the beautiful autumn weather continues, so has Nursery’s interest in the changing environment. The children have been gathering leaves and sticks and using them to build nests for the owls in our sensory tray. We read the story It Was a Cold Dark Night, which follows a little hedgehog looking for a warm place to shelter. This led to rich discussions about nocturnal animals. Nursery discovered fascinating facts about owls, badgers, foxes, bats and hedgehogs, learning how these animals come out at night and adapt to their dark surroundings.
In Pre-Nursery, we also celebrated Kindness by exploring what it means to be kind to friends and family. We read the story When I Am Kind and collected examples of kind behaviour from the children. During Art, the children made heart-shaped crafts to share with someone they love, encouraging conversations about caring for others. Continuing with our woodland theme, Pre-Nursery enjoyed reading The Gruffalo, which led to thoughtful discussions about bravery and how we can be brave in everyday situations. The children took part in activities that helped them explore kindness, courage and community. It has been a heartwarming week filled with creativity, exploration and meaningful conversations.
