The Foundations of a Nurturing Approach

In this chapter we will consider the importance of the early years in child development, and highlight the following key elements, to help us to consider ‘what every child needs’, in terms of emotional wellbeing: (i) adult wellbeing, (ii) brain development, (iii) the attachment relationship, (iv) the PACE approach and (v) enabling environments. This chapter will introduce a developmental framework for emotional wellbeing, that promotes a ‘nurturing’ stance and considers the fact that children can, and do, move from one stage of development to another, both backwards and forwards according to what is happening in their world at any given time. Learning and development, as we know, is not linear; it is dynamic and a child will sometimes move forwards or backwards, at a steady pace; at other times a child may appear to make swift progress, and sometimes they just ‘stand still’ as they consolidate and embed new learning. Children all learn at a different pace, and most importantly, we should remind ourselves constantly that emotional development, like other areas of development, is unique for every child and is holistic in nature. The underpinning foundation of the framework ‘what every child needs’, helps to promote strong, emotional development for all children. Building that foundation is about helping you to support children to build relationships and make connections. It also aims to provide an overview of the environment and experiences that meet the needs of all babies, toddlers, and young children, as they arise naturally, in line with age related expectations. The focus is on taking optimum advantage of the early years foundation stage as a period of development in which to build a strong stress-regulation system, providing solid foundations for subsequent social and emotional development as children move on to school and beyond.