Gail DuBock The SSTEW Scales Social and Emotional Well-being Practicalities from the SEED research programme gail.dubock@gmail.com 01903 889833
Early childhood is a period of momentous significance…. ….. by the time this period is over, children will have formed conceptions of themselves as social beings, as thinkers, and as language users, and they will have reached certain important decisions about their own abilities and their own worth Donaldson, Griev and Pratt 1983
SEED research programme Study of Early Education and Development • SEED Consultants visiting settings around the country • Spending half a day or a whole day in each setting • Observing provision for 2 or 3 year olds • Using sub-scales from ITERS, ECERS-R, ECERS-E and SSTEW
The sub-scales for social and emotional development The subscales recognise the ways in which staff encourage collaborative play and develop consistent strategies for helping children think through and resolve conflicts Kathy Sylva 2015 Subscale 1:Building trust, confidence and independence Item 1: Self regulation and social development Item 2: Encouraging choices and independent play Item 3: Planning for small group and individual interactions/adult deployment Subscale 2:Social and emotional well-being Item 4: Supporting socio-emotional well-being
SSTEW scales and the EYFS Positive Relationships What adults could do Personal, Social and Emotional Development: • Share children’s pleasure when they do something for themselves • Value and support the decisions that children make • Model and involve children in finding solutions to problems and conflicts Characteristics of Effective Learning: • Join in play sensitively, fitting in with children’s ideas • Stimulate children’s interest through shared attention • Always respect children’s efforts and ideas, so they feel safe to take a risk with a new idea
Children need practitioners…. Who are skilled in assessing, monitoring and supporting children’s socio -emotional, linguistic, and cognitive development and ….. who also ensure that the child feels safe, comfortable, interested and stimulated, as these are necessary conditions for the child to be ready to learn. (Melhuish, 2004)
SEED Scenarios - Subscale 1, Item 1 Self regulation and social development Highscope 6 steps to conflict resolution: 1. Approach calmly, stopping any hurtful actions 2. Acknowledge children’s feelings 3. Gather information 4. Restate the problem 5. Ask for solutions and choose one 6. Be prepared to follow up Practitioners are in control in a warm and nurturing environment
SEED Scenarios - Subscale 1, Items 2 and 3 2.Encouraging choices and independent play 3.Planning for small group and individual interactions/staff deployment
SEED Scenarios – sub-scale 2, Item 4 Supporting socio-emotional well-being Come on now. Where is your There’s no need nice smile today? to make a fuss. Give him a hug What can we do You always cry that helps us to don’t you Billy? feel calm? The young child needs to learn which emotions to express when, and to accurately “read” other children’s expressions of emotions. This is clearly articulated within the SSTEW Scale
Benefits of using the SSTEW Scales Building confidence in observing and supporting the social and emotional elements of children’s play and learning Raising awareness of: • importance of the adult’s role in nurturing socio- emotional development • development needs of staff who think they are being jolly whilst actually dismissing or ignoring child’s feelings • missed opportunities to support child’s awareness of the full range of their own feelings, and those of other people
Extracts from SEED consultants’ insights Using the SSTEW scale provides deep level insights into the quality of provision including: • realisation that some settings score quite well on much of ITERS/ECERS-E/ECERS-R but much lower on SSTEW • reflection on the impact of practitioners on individual children’s emotional and cognitive development Using the SSTEW scale powerfully focuses the observer’s attention on: • verbal and non-verbal communication as a powerful means of providing emotional support and building self esteem • w hether children’s feelings and ideas are valued/respected – or not
A woven mat…. All children have a right to health, to protection from harm and anxiety, and to harmony, consistency, affection, firmness, warmth, and sensitivity. The strand of well-being emphasises that through relationships, children develop trust that their needs will be responded to, and that trust contributes to developing confidence and independence Te Whariki
Interconnection between the five SSTEW subscales • sub scales 1 and 2 - personal and emotional items • sub-scales 3, 4 and 5 - intellectual items The complex communication described so richly in the scale is multi-layered in its focus on the external world, the world of things and events, but also on the internal world of feelings and wishes Kathy Sylva 2015
We hope you enjoyed this Enable Children session. We welcome any feedback or enquiries about our early years training and consultancy services. gail.dubock@gmail.com 01903 889833 yvonne.au1@gmail.com 07748 986700
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