About
At the heart of every behaviour, every moment of curiosity, and every learning opportunity is a child’s sense of wellbeing. Fostering Wellbeing in Early Childhood is a supportive, evidence-informed workshop designed to help educators understand what drives children’s behaviour and how to respond in ways that nurture connection, safety, and lifelong learning.
Using the Phoenix Cups Framework as a practical tool, educators are invited to look beneath behaviour and explore the universal human needs that shape children’s experiences: Safety, Connection, Freedom, Mastery, and Fun. When these needs are understood and intentionally supported, educators can plan, teach, and respond in ways that strengthen engagement, emotional security, and a sense of belonging.
Grounded in play-based, child-centred pedagogy, this workshop focuses on real-world practice. Educators deepen their relational skills, develop a shared language for understanding children’s needs, and build confidence in creating environments where all children feel seen, supported, and able to thrive.
We will
- Explore children’s fundamental human needs through the Phoenix Cups Framework Safety, Connection, Freedom, Mastery, and Fun shape children’s wellbeing, behaviour, and learning.
- Use real-world examples, videos, and practical activities to support educators to view behaviour through a needs-centred, guidance-oriented lens rather than a compliance-focused one.
- Examine evidence, theory, and accessible neuroscience to build confidence in applying needs-based approaches in everyday practice.
- Engage in shared critical reflection to consider how these strategies can be meaningfully embedded within your pedagogy, environments, and unique service context.
Participant Outcomes:
- Increased confidence in understanding behaviours as attempts to meet needs and responding through supportive, relational strategies.
- Practical knowledge of how to foster security, self-worth, autonomy, self-competence and joy through everyday curriculum decisions.
- Greater capability to design emotionally safe, inclusive learning environments aligned with holistic wellbeing.
- Deepened understanding of the Phoenix Cups Framework and how it guides planning, interactions and reflective practice.
- Enhanced ability to recognise and support individual needs through a strengths-based, humanistic, guidance-centred approach.
Theoretical Underpinnings
Phoenix Cups Framework
Sandi & Chris Phoenix
Behaviour is a child’s best attempt at meeting their needs. Children’s basic human life needs consistently influence their emotional state, wellbeing and behaviour. Educators responses can support regulation, wellbeing and readiness to learn.
Guidance Approach
Dr Louise Porter
Focuses on children being supported rather than controlled, prompting educators to respond with empathy, skill-building, and relationship-based practice rather than consequences or rewards, using empathy proactivity to support children’s skill development.
Self-Determination Theory
Ryan & Deci
Children thrive when their core psychological needs are met. Children’s wellbeing grows when environments actively support autonomy, competence, and relatedness as the foundations of children’s capacity to learn, relate, and regulate.
Theory of Constructed Emotion
Dr Lisa Feldman-Barret
Children learn to understand their unique emotional experience through exploration of their world, sensory input and exploration and rich interactions with adults and peers. Enriching children’s emotional vocabulary and modelling regulation, educators support brain and emotional development.
National Alignments
Quality area 1 – Educational Program and Practice (Elements 1.1.1, 1.2.1, 1.2.2): strengthens intentional, responsive practices that promote holistic wellbeing.
Quality area 5 – Relationships with Children (Elements 5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.2.1): supports secure, attuned, connection-rich interactions that build belonging and self-worth.
Quality area 7 – Governance and Leadership (Elements 7.2.1, 7.2.3): promotes reflective practice, educator capability and a service-wide commitment to wellbeing.
Standard 1.2 – Know learners and how they learn: deepens understanding of children’s needs, motivations and wellbeing.
Standard 3.2 – Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning: enhances intentional, responsive and developmentally informed practice.
Standard 4.4 – Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments: builds relational strategies that promote safety, agency and emotional security.
Principle 1 – Child safety and wellbeing are embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture. The course supports a culture where children’s needs, rights and wellbeing guide every decision.
Principle 2 – Children are safe, informed and participate in decisions affecting them. A needs-based, guidance approach strengthens children’s agency, voice and meaningful participation.
Principle 3 – Families and communities are informed and involved. Wellbeing planning encourages transparent communication and genuine partnership with families.
Principle 5 – People working with children are suitable and supported. Educators develop reflective, relational skills that strengthen safe, attuned practice.
Principle 6 – Processes to respond to complaints and concerns are child-focused. The focus shifts from blame or behaviour management to understanding needs and providing support.
Social & Emotional Skills
- Strengthens educator understanding of children’s basic human life needs.
- Builds capability in co-regulation, resilience-building, and attuned responses.
- Supports predictable yet flexible environments where children feel secure and ready to engage.
Access & Inclusion
- Promotes relational, needs-based and trauma-informed practice that reduces barriers to participation.
- Helps educators adapt environments and interactions to meet diverse needs.
- Ensures equitable engagement for children experiencing vulnerability or developmental differences.
Physical & Gross Motor Skills
- Encourages movement-based regulatory strategies (e.g., proprioceptive play) that support emotional regulation.
- Links physical movement and sensory input with stress reduction and wellbeing, enhancing children’s readiness to participate.
Oral Language & Communication
- Uses connection-rich strategies such as serve-and-returns and educator tools that build everyday communication skills.
- Models emotional granulation vocabulary and language for problem-solving and expressing needs.
- Strengthens educators confidence supporting childrens expressive and receptive language.
Access & Inclusion
- Promotes relational, needs-based and trauma-informed approaches.
- Reduces barriers to engagement for children experiencing vulnerability.
- Ensures children feel safe, seen, included, and able to participate meaningfully.
Communication (language, literacy and numeracy)
- Enhances the quality of everyday, connection-rich communication.
- Models emotional vocabulary and responsive dialogue.
- Supports confidence in expressive and receptive language skills
Online Course Option:
Prefer to engage in this training from the comfort of your own home? We get it!
That's why we created the self-paced online course, with video content and downloadable workbooks.
Here's what's included:
- Self-paced course broken into six separate lessons.
- Over 5 and a half hours of recorded videos.
- 5 downloadable reflective journals to guide reflection and deepen learning.
- 5 resource libraries with links to further content to explore.
- Interactive content.
- Downloads and downloadable resources.
More on fostering wellbeing
Interested in fostering wellbeing? You can read all about it in our blog.
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