We are pleased to announce that we are currently working with KEPS (Kent Educational Psychology Service) on an exciting new project for Emotion Coaching.  Emotion Coaching is an evidence-based communication approach that has been proven to support children’s social, emotional and mental health, build resilience and improve educational outcomes in some cases.  It can also help children to feel that their voice is heard and will be a universal approach adopted by all staff across our school to provide a consistent approach to help support pupils to understand their emotions and to self-regulate.

The joint project involves whole-school training and staff meetings with an EP (Educational Psychologist) from KEPS, as we work towards introducing this approach across the school.  We will also be applying for an accredited status with Emotion Coaching UK and are working towards becoming an Emotion Coaching Hub for schools in Kent.   

We will also be offering parent workshops later on in the year, so that you can find out more about Emotion Coaching, in the meantime, you might like to look at the Emotion Coaching UK website:-  

https://www.emotioncoachinguk.com/ 

Why Emotion Coaching?

• It is a natural communication style that teaches children about their emotions as they happen
• It helps children to develop strategies to support their own self-regulation
• It acknowledges emotions as normal and valid feelings
• It enables adults to co-regulate through understanding, modelling and reflection
• It helps to build trusting and respectful relationships

Being able to regulate our emotions is a skill that can take a lifetime to develop and so many children find it difficult to understand or even recognise their emotions.  Emotion coaching helps children to become reflective, noticing when they are beginning to feel an emotion and to develop strategies that they can use to help them to return to a calm state.   

The 4 Steps to Emotion Coaching

1. Notice your child’s feelings and empathise
with them
The first step is largely non-verbal, the moments when you begin to notice your child’s behaviours or emotions.  It’s about ‘tuning in’ to your child by trying to understand why they are feeling or behaving in this way.  You may adjust your body position, facial expression to communicate to your child that you understand.

2. Label and validate the feeling your child is
experiencing right at this moment
‘I can see that you get angry when that happens.
I would feel angry if that happened to me. It’s ok
to feel angry’

3. Set limits (if needed)
Emotion Coaching is not about ignoring the fact
that some behaviours are not acceptable or are unsafe. After
steps 1&2 you need to make clear which
behaviours are and are not acceptable or unsafe.
‘I understand you’re feeling really angry, but
one of our rules is about looking after our things, so throwing your
bottle isn’t okay and someone could get hurt’

4. Problem Solving
When your child is calm, work together to help find a strategy or solution.This may include considering what they could do next time they feel this way.  It can also be a time when you can further explain why their behaviour
was inappropriate or hurtful, find solutions for
what they did, not for how they feel, give your
child time to suggest solutions and when possible
follow his/her lead in picking a solution.