Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of education and crucial for all children’s development.
Providing children with social emotional skills to handle life’s challenges, such as regulating emotions and interacting with peers, dealing with conflict, and coping with stress are all important protective factors that buffer against mental health risks.
Schools play a pivotal role in the health and wellbeing education of all children. Building strong social emotional foundations for children and taking the time to nurture their social and emotional needs will not only lead to more productive, self-aware, resilient and socially aware young people in the classroom, but directly correlate to happiness and success as an adult.
At Hamish & Milo we strongly believe that all children should have access to high-quality social and emotional learning to build and strengthen their skills.
What is social emotional learning?
In a nutshell, SEL is the process through which young children develop and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to develop a healthy sense of self, manage their emotions, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships, make responsible decisions and achieve their goals, hopes and dreams.¹
The development of emotional literacy skills is important for developing a sense of self-awareness, boosting self-esteem, encouraging emotional self-regulation, and healthy emotional and social development. Supporting emotional literacy in schools has also been shown to help children engage with their learning and have better educational and life outcomes.
¹ Adapted from CASEL
