Hi Parents. Hello and welcome to our Social Emotional Learning Blog - we’re pleased you’ve found us. During the next several weeks, we are doing our best to provide as many opportunities to support you with supporting children’s Mental health and Wellbeing at home. This is a difficult time for all of us, and it’s understandable that it will raise a lot of feelings and behaviours for children as they adjust to a new ‘normal’. During school, your child may have been taught The PATHS® Programme for Schools (UK Version) or another Social Emotional Programme. Programmes like these aim to help children learn about their feelings, behaviours, relationships and problem-solving. They also provide opportunities for raising the self-esteem of children, and providing a forum for communication and connection. We don’t want children’s social and emotional learning to end just because they aren’t in school, and are working hard to provide lots of opportunities for you to explore SEL at home. This will help children to manage those ‘big feelings’ that are surrounding them right now. Each week we’ll be sharing materials across social media. We’ll provide a range of resources that will also promote other areas of the curriculum such as literacy, world around us, STEM etc. All these materials are completely optional, and you are welcome to join in as many or as few as you and your children can manage. On a Friday each week we will provide a blog for parents which will give some further information. These blogs are intended to help you understand some of the background to SEL and help you to help your children. They will also provide some additional activities and tools you can use to support your children. This week we’re launching our new blog series with a jargon-busting blog to help you understand some of the key terms surrounding Social Emotional Learning. If we can be of any further support, please contact paths@barnardos.org.uk and let us know what area in the UK you are based. We’ll connect you with a local SEL coach who will be able to support you with other ideas. We look forward to supporting you and hope that you all #staysafe.