Early years staff struggling to support children's emotional and behavioural needs

It is often overlooked that nursery practitioners are working with vulnerable children on a daily basis, the report ‘Their challenges are our challenges’ by the Anna Freud Centre states.

The centre, which specialises in child mental health research, training and treatment, surveyed more than 900 nursery practitioners during the last three months of 2020. They revealed that they have experienced working with children facing complex backgrounds and challenging emotional and behavioural needs.

Many of the nursery staff surveyed admitted that they had found the children’s needs difficult to manage and wanted more access to training. More than half (53 per cent) said they had not received any additional training, alongside their standard training, that related to early years mental health.

Domestic violence, parental substance use, abuse and bereavement were listed as some of the issues affecting the children in their care. Other challenges involved different emotional or mental health needs.

The effects of the pandemic were also a cause for concern for some of the respondents (see below). One nursery worker said, ‘Children’s behaviour has changed. Some are very noisy, others are very quiet. The atmosphere at work doesn’t feel “normal” – ie I feel there is an underlying stress for everyone…’

The report found that:

• 69 per cent of nursery staff who responded to the survey said they had experienced working with babies or children affected by trauma or abuse.
• 71 per cent of nursery staff said they had worked with babies and children affected by domestic violence.
• 60 per centreported that they had worked with babies or children from families affected by substance usage.
• Almost half (48 per cent)said they had worked with children who had experienced the bereavement of either a parent or sibling.
• 42 per cent of staff said they had noticed signs that children in their care had had their emotional wellbeing affected by the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown.
• Three quarters (75 per cent) of staff said they had looked after young children who displayed ‘unusually aggressive or violent behaviour’.
• 91 per cent said they had dealt with challenging situations that involved children who potentially had mental health issues, or social or emotional difficulties.

Dr Camilla Rosan, head of the early years programme at the Anna Freud Centre said, ‘The early years are the most important in terms of a child’s development, and the results of this survey are truly eye opening.

‘When most of us think about who will be directly supporting our most vulnerable children and families, we normally think of social workers and mental health professionals. But we forget that our nursery workers are engaging with vulnerable children on a daily basis. Aside from their own families, these children probably spend more time with nursery workers than anyone else during their early formative years. This research should fundamentally shift the way we view the role of nursery workers within our society.’

Many of the nursery workers surveyed said that they felt stressed and upset (71 per cent) when it came to dealing with children’s challenging needs. While almost three quarters (74 per cent) reported feeling confused and unsure of the best way to deal with those children.

‘At times, nursery staff are clearly feeling under-prepared and under-resourced to manage and support children who are experiencing challenging emotions or have mental health needs,’ said Dr Rosan.

‘They are telling us that they want to know more about what lies behind emotions such as anger and aggression, as they are encountering them more than we think. They also tell us they want more training in the best ways to support a child who is experiencing these difficult emotions. It’s clear we need to prioritise the development of these skills and give nursery staff the support and training opportunities they so want and deserve about early years’ mental health.’

The pandemic’s effect on early years children’s mental health and wellbeing

Signs that the mental health and wellbeing of early years children had been affected by the pandemic or lockdowns was noted by 42 per cent of the early years workers questioned.

One nursery worker responding to the survey summarised, ‘Those children who were confident and happy to leave parents are now not. They have struggled to settle. As the dynamics of family lives continue to change, the stresses can be seen - late payment of invoices, cancellations of lunches/quality of lunch for children. Difficult behaviour from children who have had no garden space, limited family time and lack of money has meant months in their house where parents have given them unlimited screen time and lack of rules and boundaries.’

Common themes mentioned included:

Greater separation anxiety and newfound issues in forming relationships with staff

Nursery staff said that longer periods of settling and support were required. Children were ‘anxious when leaving parents at the gate’.

Greater reliance on comforters was mentioned, as was a fear of being left alone: ‘Some children kept repeating “I love you” almost like they thought we had gone and weren’t going to return again’.

Also, some staff reported children’s fears over staff wearing PPE.

Children having become more emotional, experiencing more unpleasant emotions, and a newfound difficulty with managing their emotions.

An increase in angry and aggressive behaviour was also mentioned a number of times - as were meltdowns and tantrums.

Children now exhibiting more challenging behaviour

Some children also seemed less willing to listen to adults, less patient in having their needs met, more demanding than before, less co-operative and more reluctant to share space with others.

Children experiencing greater issues with socialising

‘When the children returned they shied away from each other. They played in a solitary way initially, even the children who had formed good peer/peer relationships. Also some children seemed afraid to be around others, withdrew and didn't want contact.’

The ability to play, in general, had also been affected in some children.

Children developing an obsession with cleaning hands, and a fear of germs, and a fear of the virus’s danger and damaging effects

A significant number of respondents reported incidents of children who had become ‘obsessed’ with washing their hands.

‘Some have become a bit obsessed with hand washing, some were nervous of new or unusual adults, one put his hand over his mouth every time he came close to an adult initially, lots now talk about germs a lot!’

Children being upset over restrictions around seeing family and friends

A number of respondents mentioned that children were anxious or upset over not being able to see friends, family or grandparents outside of nursery.

Some also struggled when there were rule changes in this regard, for example, ‘I can see my grandma, now I can’t see my grandma again.’

Need for training

Sector organisations backed the survey's recommendations and call for more training for early years staff to help them support vulnerable children.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), said, ‘The results of this survey clearly show the range of challenges practitioners are facing. They are seeing the impact the Covid-19 pandemic and numerous lockdowns are having on our youngest children first hand and dealing with the difficulties. 

‘We wholeheartedly support calls that the sector needs more training to support staff for the complex work they are doing. This training is increasingly important for them to identify problems early as we know this can have the biggest impact on those children’s development.’

Commenting, Neil Leitch, Early Years Alliance chief executive, said, ‘We know that practitioners are a source of unwavering emotional safety and security for children, but undoubtedly the level of responsibility when it comes to supporting and safeguarding children can itself take a huge emotional toll on those working in the early years. It is therefore vital that the sector is supported both practically and financially to ensure practitioners are not under undue pressure themselves, and that they have access to the tools and training needed to provide the vital care so many children need.'

Further information

The Anna Freud Centre is holding a series of free webinars aimed at childcare practitioners. The first webinar on 24 February is ‘Managing challenging behaviour in early years settings’ including how to understand and manage emotions such as anger, aggression and frustration in young children.

Other webinars in the series will include: 

• Supporting bereaved children in early years settings 
• Caring for children in early years settings who have experienced trauma.