ABSTRACT
The focus of an emotional literacy curriculum is upon developing children and young people’s awareness of their emotions and developing strategies to manage the behaviours arising from those feelings; this may support resilience and thus support psychological and physical health. Social-emotional skills may not naturally develop. Hence, the teaching of emotional literacy may support reducing the incidents of challenging behaviours and thus reduce the risk of exclusion. Teaching children and young people knowledge, skills and understanding related to emotions, specifically: Emotional awareness, How feelings can impact upon behaviours, and Strategies which can help them self-manage their behaviours provides them with the tools to positively influence their access to the academic and social aspects of school life. In order to implement emotional literacy, the leadership team and the rest of the school team need to agree that emotional literacy is an approach they will all implement.
