Student Wellbeing

Emotional Literacy

The Respectful Relationships program acknowledges that children of any age have challenges to overcome. Through the program, we are able to teach social and emotional skills appropriate to the age of students including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social management through a series of learning experiences.

In the sessions where Emotional Literacy is the focus students participate in discussions and activities about different emotions we feel, how we present them through our body language and how to articulate and regulate what we are feeling.

Developing emotional literacy skills is an important element of maintaining positive relationships. There are some simple things that adults, teachers, relatives and other primary caregivers can do to support a child's emotional literacy skills.

• Provide a good model: if your child is expressing their emotions negatively or inappropriately, ask them if they're able to explain what they're feeling and why. Similarly, if you are experiencing an emotional response to something and your child asks what's wrong, explain to them simply how you are feeling using simple language.

• Promote empathy where you can: once your child is starting to recognise their own feelings, why not encourage them to think about others? For example, when reading a book with your child, ask them questions like, 'How do you think that made them feel?' or 'How would you feel in that situation?'

• Show your children that you're there to listen: create an atmosphere where children can share their emotions freely by modelling good emotional literacy yourself. If your child is displaying a strong emotion, ask them about it. You could even help them by explaining how you handle the same emotion.

• Encourage them to talk: as with the above point, you can let your child know you're there to listen to them, but they need to know the language of emotion first. Some children will need more guidance in recognising their own feelings, meaning that they might need more support. 

Using ‘I’ statements

These statements are encouraged to be used to express what has happened and how it made the individual feel. It also allows the child to suggest a possible resolution. Mastering an ‘I’ statement can take time. It is important that opportunities are given to children to practise using these statements in a variety of situations.

How can I construct an ‘I’ statement?

‘I’ statements allow children to:

1. Name what happened
2. State how it made them feel
3. Identify what they would like to happen next.

We are all capable of developing skills and strategies to ‘Bounce Back’ and build resilience. When faced with conflict, students at POPS are encouraged to...

1. Calm down by taking a deep breath, taking a break or thinking of something calming
2. Take turns speaking using ‘I’ statements
3. Agree on a solution