Early Years Staff : Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning

Early Years staff wellbeing resource

Early years staff love their work, but it can be emotionally demanding & stressful. This early years resource shows that staff wellbeing needs to lie at the heart of nursery settings. The resource identifies four key areas that could make a difference to the wellbeing of nursery and preschool staff:

Supporting each other
Supportive management
The physical environment
Outside support

The resource was informed from the findings of a survey of 1,458 staff working in nurseries and preschool settings across England and was produced in partnership with a number of local authorities including Bury Council, Norfolk County Council, Salford City Council, Tameside Borough Council, and the London Borough of Hackney, along with the National Day Nurseries Association.

Videos of live learning events for early years staff

So how exactly can a pair of wellington boots sprayed gold help a child in your setting who has been affected by trauma or abuse? And how can a box of dead insects help a child in your setting who has suffered a bereavement?

Anna Freud Centre ran a series of three fascinating live webinars just for nursery and other early years staff. The first looked a managing challenging behaviour, the second looked at attending to the needs of children affected by a bereavement, and the third advised on how nursery staff can help any children in their setting who may have experienced trauma or abuse.

Speakers included Louise Jackson, Deputy Head of St Lawrence's primary and nursery, child bereavement specialist, Beck Ferrari, and our own mental health experts.

Nearly 3,000 early years staff logged on to these fascinating live webinars to watch them in real time. Now you can watch at a time of your choosing. Some of these subjects are seldom covered in training, so feel free to pass these links on to your teams or any colleagues who would be interested.

Supporting children in early years settings who may have experienced trauma or abuse

Supporting bereaved children in early years settings

Managing challenging behaviour in an early years setting

Early Years Staff Wellbeing

Early years staff love their work, but it can be emotionally demanding and stressful. For Infant Mental Health Awareness Week, it's important to remember that staff wellbeing needs to lie at the heart of nursery settings. This resource identifies four key areas that could make a difference to the wellbeing of nursery and preschool staff:

Supporting each other

Supportive management

The physical environment

Outside support