Trial of emotion coaching in supporting early years development to launch in November
1 October 2024

Norland, in collaboration with Emotion Coaching UK, is proud to announce that a major trial of emotion coaching in early years settings is set to launch in November 2024, with high levels of interest from settings across the country.
The trial, which is funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), will assess the impact of emotion coaching on the self-regulation of children and will involve 180 settings.
Through these early years settings, the participants will receive staff training to promote responsive relationships through the use of emotion coaching with young children. Over 7,300 children in total will benefit from the training.
Emotion Coaching UK, who will lead the training, will introduce the early years practitioners to emotion coaching which is designed to help children improve their ability to self-regulate, as well as understanding their emotions and managing their stress responses.
The training will focus on a four-step approach:
- Recognising the child’s feelings and empathising with them.
- Validating these feelings and labelling them.
- Setting expectations for appropriate behaviour, given the context.
- Problem-solving with the child to improve their ability to self-regulate.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Norland to work more closely with early years settings across the country”, said Dr Janet Rose, Principal of Norland.
“Emotion coaching is an evidence-based strategy that supports all aspects of the Self-Regulation Early Learning Goal within the early years foundation stage (EYFS) standards, as well as facilitating children to manage themselves more effectively and build positive relationships with others. Indeed, by utilizing emotion coaching into their everyday practice, early years practitioners can fulfil the requirements of the personal, social and emotional prime area for learning and development in young children.”
Norland is delighted to be supporting Emotion Coaching UK with delivering this transformative trial.
Learn more about the national research trial
