Anticipate, monitor, and plan for responding to child stress
Suggestion for implementing the strategy ‘Support emotional wellbeing and positive mental health’
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Ensure students are known
Ensure students are known
Get to know and understand each student and identify potentially difficult times or situations that may be stressful or difficult for them.
Keep up-to-date and maintain an interest in a student’s life beyond school.
This will help you to:
- eliminate or minimise situations that may cause unnecessary stress (for example, changes in routine, rushing, illness, sensory overload, turn taking, being reprimanded in front of others, things happening at home)
- identify the student’s personal signs of stress or unhappiness and intervene early
- have a timely conversation with a student about what you have noticed and how to develop coping strategies
- more accuratelly interpret wider classroom/playground behaviour and pre-empt potential areas of conflict.
Watch for external and internal behaviours
Watch for external and internal behaviours
Remember, children and young people can express feelings outwardly or internalise them.
Pay attention to unusually quiet behaviour as well as “loud” exhibitions of behaviour.
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Pay attention to specific needs or sensitivities
Pay attention to specific needs or sensitivities
Ask students and their whānau:
- What situations create stress, such as certain types of noise, changes in routines, pain, or discomfort?
- What can you as the teacher do differently to remove or minimise stress points?
- What can we change in the classroom or school environment to reduce stress points?
- How can the student help themselves to return to a calm state if they become stressed?
Monitor overload
Monitor overload
Students experience cognitive stress and overload when a task or situation is overwhelming.
As cognitive fatigue accumulates through the day/week, it may impact self control and heighten sensitivities.
- Regularly connect with the student and parents/whānau to discuss their workload and what is happening at home.
- Work with the student and their family to prevent overload. (For example, negotiate in advance the expectations around completing tasks.)
- Find out what the signs of the student being overloaded are.
- Find out what triggers overload for the student.
- Discuss with the student what support they need to self-manage when they are overloaded. For example, use a break card, withdraw to a quiet space, tell the teacher they are overloaded.
Questions to discuss with students
Questions to discuss with students
- How can we communicate if something is too hard?
- How can we ask for help?
- How can we look after our friends and recognise when they are stressed?
- Where we can go if we are stressed?
Useful resources
Useful resources
The incredible 5-point scale
Overview of the Incredible 5-point scale, including examples and a blank template.
Publisher: Kari Dunn Buron
He māpuna te tamaiti: Supporting social and emotional competence in early learning
Read time: 160 min
This resource has been written for kaiako in Aotearoa New Zealand early learning services. Its purpose is to support you to understand and draw on effective practices that enhance children’s social and emotional competence, engagement, and learning.
Publisher: Te Whāriki Online
Next steps
More suggestions for implementing the strategy “Support emotional wellbeing and positive mental health”:
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Current page Anticipate, monitor, and plan for responding to child stress
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Teach how to recognise emotions and options for expressing feelings
Return to the guide “Behaviour and learning”
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How to use this site
Guide to Index of the guide: Behaviour and learning
Understand:
- Understanding behaviour
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Understanding how to respond to problem behaviourShow suggestions for Understanding how to respond to problem behaviour
Strategies for action:
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Foster positive relationships and partnershipsShow suggestions for Foster positive relationships and partnerships
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Collaboratively develop a safe and caring culture and climateShow suggestions for Collaboratively develop a safe and caring culture and climate
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Supporting language and communication skillsShow suggestions for Supporting language and communication skills
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Support emotional wellbeing and positive mental healthShow suggestions for Support emotional wellbeing and positive mental health
- Anticipate, monitor, and plan for responding to child stress
- Strengthen student identity
- Teach stress management, anxiety and coping skills
- Offer relaxation options and downtime activities
- Teach how to recognise emotions and options for expressing feelings
- Providing support following traumatic experiences
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Enable access and participation in learningShow suggestions for Enable access and participation in learning
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Respond safely to challenging situationsShow suggestions for Respond safely to challenging situations
