SEL programmes and provision
Social emotional programmes and approaches range from whole-school ethos development and classroom programmes to targeted intervention support for pupils with specific social or emotional needs.
Whilst provision in UK schools is wide-ranging and variable, there are three broad categories of SEL.
- Whole school approach – developing a positive school ethos involving staff, parents and the wider community alongside what is taught.
- Curriculum programmes – taking place in classrooms with the whole class.
- Intervention programmes – targeted support for children with particular social or emotional needs.
A whole-school approach, embedding SEL practices in the curriculum, considering schoolwide practices and policies, classroom routines, values and culture is the most effective way to implement SEL and can foster a more supportive inclusive environment for all children and targeted interventions are necessary for children who require additional support due to individual challenges or needs.
For social and emotional learning to be most effective, children must consistently access social and emotional knowledge and apply SEL skills across time and context. SEL is most effective when carried out in nurturing, safe environments by positive, caring teachers and teaching assistants who foster genuine connection and understanding. Interventions tend to be most effective when embedded in daily school life.
By taking part in social and emotional learning interventions, children learn how to apply social and emotional knowledge, skills, and attitudes. SEL does not replace the need for mental health interventions, but can cultivate important ‘protective factors’ such as caring relationships, safe and supportive environments, social and emotional skills – that buffer against mental health risks and intergenerational patterns of inequality and disadvantage.
SEL programmes should provide a clear and consistent ready-made curriculum that is informed by theory and evidence. If a school chooses to write their own SEL curriculum, it is important to ensure coverage of the core skills at the heart of SEL in a carefully sequenced progression that follows the SAFE principles.¹
Engagement with families and community
Family is the first place a child learns social and emotional skills and how they model and reinforce SEL competencies at home is essential to a child’s social-emotional development. The quality of interactions and activities parents engage in with their children at home profoundly influences both cognitive and social-emotional growth. Schools build on this, providing opportunities for children to model and practice SEL, reinforcing vital social and emotional skills.
When schools and families work together building strong connections, when families feel valued as partners with the school, they can learn how to support and build on school SEL practices in their homes so it’s important to foster a culturally responsive, inclusive and welcoming school environment.
¹’ ² Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405–432.
