When we teach emotional literacy effectively in primary schools, we unlock some extraordinary things: better relationships, stronger learning, and children who are in charge of their physical and emotional wellbeing.

3 evidenced reasons why your school should build emotional literacy into its approach

  1. Children who are given structured support to safely explore their emotions develop a personal toolkit that they can use for the rest of their lives.
  2. By providing safe opportunities to express and explore emotions, schools create spaces where young people feel a sense of belonging and that they matter, positively impacting safeguarding and behavioural outcomes
    (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, CASEL).
  3. Schools that purposefully invest in emotional development over time see improvements in academic outcomes (Durlak et al, 2011) as the foundations are laid for resilience, self-belief and strong cognitive growth.

In short, emotional literacy is not a “soft skill”—it’s a core competency that underpins long-term success – one that everyone can develop.

Life Lessons approach to Emotional Literacy

At Life Lessons we draw on the ‘mixed’ model of emotional intelligence development that acknowledges the range of factors involved in a young persons’ emotional landscape. 

Drawing on and interweaving a range of evidence informed strategies, Life Lessons’ progressive, spiral curriculum provides every opportunity for young people to deliberately practice and apply the following emotional competencies: (Boyatzis, Goleman & Rhee, 1999)

  • Self Awareness – exploring how emotions feel and look in our own and others bodies, accurately labelling and articulating these experiences.
  • Self Regulation – developing a range of strategies to respond to and manage emotions in a range of contexts, as well as understanding the impact others emotions can have on our own experiences.
  • Motivation – exploring and acknowledging the impact our emotions have on our view of the world and how we respond to it, and that these can vary day to day and from person to person.
  • Empathy – understanding our impact on others emotions and experiences, and being able to offer support when those around us may need it.
  • Social Skills – confidently applying emotional literacy to navigate the world and thrive. This includes considering the part that yours and others emotions play in team work, social and intimate relationships, professional interactions, leadership, support and your relationship with yourself. 

Experience emotional literacy – the Life Lessons way!

Drawing loosely on Bruner’s (1960) concrete, pictorial, abstract model (CPA), we have developed a cast of engaging characters, used throughout our Primary lessons alongside human characters, that provide a pictorial representation of our emotions. 

By personifying the emotions this abstract concept is given a shape that young people can safely and creatively explore. Taking full advantage of the breadth of evidence that shows young people learn effectively and safely through oral and written narrative (Akhun & Akhun, 2020), these characters share a range of experiences. 

Ensuring these experiences are relatable and reflective of young people’s lives allows them to hook the abstract concept to concrete experiences in their own lives. 

Having developed this link between abstract and concrete, young people can consider hypothetical scenarios. This is particularly important for equipping young people with the understanding and awareness to handle challenging emotions that they may encounter in the future, for example feeling manipulated online or grief. 

A few example slides from a Life Lessons Primary school lesson bring this to life:

Emotional literacy is foundational, not optional. When schools get it right, they empower children with skills that ripple outward—improving classroom climate, academic achievement, and children’s long-term mental health. With strong evidence supporting its importance and many simple strategies available, now is the time to put emotional development at the heart of primary education.

To learn more about the Life Lessons curriculum, and to bring our evidence based approaches to your classroom, sign up for one of our drop ins or contact us for a quote. 

About the Author

Dawn Aytoun is the Life Lessons Product and Programme Delivery Manager. She has nearly 20 years experience in Primary school education as a teacher, senior leader, coach and trainer. Dawn specialises in young people’s mental health, curriculum development and inclusive approaches to education.