Health and Wellbeing in Childhood

This chapter focuses on how early years’ educators can foster wellbeing through learning in health and physical education. This chapter is organised into sections that provide the background knowledge that is relevant to the health promotion and wellbeing of all early years learners, paying particular attention to students with backgrounds that for many reasons can be described as educationally disadvantaged. Recent policies that should guide educator decision-making across the dimensions of health and physical education and wellbeing will be canvassed. Insights are given into the relationship between recognition of culture and identity and educational rights, building resilience, safety and pride in the early years and the educator’s role in fostering their development. While this discussion does canvass some social and contextual factors underpinning healthy development for children who experience disadvantage, the focus is more on what you can do as a teacher to promote these dimensions from a strengths-based or salutogenic approach (Antonovsky, 1996; Quennerstedt, 2008; 2019). The chapter concludes with a case study of how teachers can act locally and in partnership with national and community-level organisations to facilitate wellbeing in early years learners via the health and physical education learning area.