Building resilience in children
Building resilience in children is a continuous task that teachers face in their career.
The impact of COVID-19 means that teachers are now under even more pressure to ensure pupils catch up to the age-related standard and present excellent results in their assessments.
The stress that teachers are subsequently experiencing from this means there is a risk that children will also experience this kind of pressure where they are afraid to fail. Sadly, research has shown that this is likely to result in many emotional development issues and low resilience.
In this blog, we spoke with Early Years Consultant Ciara Smith around her experience of pupil anxiety and tips on building resilience in children.
Ciara Smith on building children?s resilience
After experiencing teaching in key year groups where assessments were moderated, I found that children?s morale and motivation dropped quickly throughout the year, but their anxieties increased as they put the pressure on themselves not to fail.
When I taught in reception, at the start of the year during baseline assessments, children did not seem phased by the fact that they could not do things like write their own name or recognise all numbers.
However, by October half term, I found that many children were upset or panicked if they could not achieve this task. In such a short time, the children had developed this fear of failing because, as one child said to me, ?all my friends can do it so I need to do it?.
I will also never forget teaching year 2 in my NQT year.
SATs caused so much stress for the children (these children were only six years old and worrying about tests!). I will never forget having a meeting with a parent about her child and she said, ?My child is crying most nights as she is afraid of failing her SATs.?
I think there are several reasons that children are developing this fear of failing.
However, there are ways which we can support children through it.
I think as teachers, we at times can?t help but deflect some of that pressure to achieve onto the children and I also think that parents are guilty of it too as they want their children to achieve.
There is no hiding from assessments; they are an integral part of our education system. However, I believe that assessments can be more accurate and achievable if the children are continuously motivated throughout the year.

Building resilience in children should be a fundamental aspect of our work as teachers.
I?m sure I don?t have to tell you how heart breaking it can be from a teacher?s point of view to see children worry and stress over making mistakes, whereas it should be seen and used as a learning opportunity.
As with everything, this will of course impact their later lives both in and out of education.
There are a number of simple strategies that can be used for building resilience in children throughout their time in school.
Ideas such as:
- modelling making mistakes in your work
- making rules for working that convey the idea that making mistakes is okay, and
- not picking up on every mistake made
? have all been successfully used to normalise errors, rather than criminalising them. There is also an idea to create visual aids and songs for those common/reoccurring mistakes to help the children remember and learn.
As I have spoken about reminding and emphasising to children that mistakes are okay to make, I also want to remind you as teachers: Being in this profession, there are a lot of pressures but as we are only human, mistakes are inevitable ? and that?s okay!
Are you looking to make a positive difference in young people?s lives?
If, like Ciara, you?re an early years professional looking for an opportunity to provide children with a positive and memorable educational experience, be sure to explore our current early years job opportunities, or register with us to be the first to hear about new vacancies!