Nursery World - Health & Wellbeing: The power of observations

Tuning into children is a vital part of practice, says June O’Sullivan, CEO of London Early Years Foundation

Being sensitive to children is one of the most important elements of being an early years teacher or educator. It seems such an obvious statement but it is critical to the complex world of relationship-building. Staff who build sensitive and empathetic relationships with children are demonstrating best practice. It requires staff to know how, why and when to tune into a child. Being able to do this benefits the child's lifetime ability to build relationships and regulate emotions confidently. It shapes their brain architecture by creating positive synaptic connections. It also affects children's immediate wellbeing because it provides the buffering protection to manage challenging experiences without producing toxic stress responses, and underpins our foundations for personal and professional success.

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