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PSED Activities for EYFS: 15 Ideas, Sorted by Goal
PSED activities for EYFS sorted by the three early learning goals, each matched to the Development Matters statement it supports. Movement ideas included.
PSED activities in the EYFS are games and routines that help young children manage their feelings, look after themselves and get on with other people. The 15 below are sorted by the three early learning goals for PSED, which are self-regulation, managing self and building relationships. Each one names the Development Matters statement it supports, and five of them get children up and moving.
Personal, social and emotional development (PSED) is a prime area of learning, one of three, in the EYFS statutory framework that early years settings and Reception classes in England work to. The framework calls it "fundamental to their cognitive development", so it isn't a soft extra next to phonics and counting.
What does PSED cover in the EYFS?
The framework sets out what children at the expected level should be doing by the end of Reception in three goals:
- Self-regulation: understanding their own feelings and other people's, setting and working towards simple goals, "being able to wait for what they want and control their immediate impulses when appropriate", and following instructions "involving several ideas or actions".
- Managing self: being "confident to try new activities", explaining the reasons for rules, and managing their own hygiene and personal needs, including dressing and going to the toilet.
- Building relationships: to "Work and play cooperatively and take turns with others", form friendships, and "Show sensitivity to their own and to others' needs."
The DfE's Help for early years providers website files the same ground under emotions, sense of self and relationships.
The three goals describe the end of Reception. For younger children, Development Matters, the Department for Education's non-statutory curriculum guidance, breaks the same ground into statements by age band, from birth to 3 up to Reception. Those statements are what the activities below are matched to.
Who are these ideas for, and what do they need?
They're written for a key person, a Reception teacher or a childminder with a small group, and most work at home with one child and a parent. Each gives the youngest age it suits. Most need only what a setting already has: a drum or a saucepan, a sand timer, a mirror, a picture book, a dressing-up box. Start anywhere.
Self-regulation activities: waiting, feelings and focus
1. The two-step drum game
Children move while you beat a drum and freeze when it stops. Once they've got it, add a second step: "When the drum stops, touch your toes, then sit down." Then three steps. It practises the end-of-Reception goal of following instructions with several ideas or actions, and Development Matters' "remember rules without needing an adult to remind them". From age 3.
2. The sand timer turn
Put a one-minute sand timer by the most fought-over thing in the room, the trike or the dressing-up crown. The child who's waiting holds the timer. When the sand runs out, they swap. Holding it gives the waiting child a job, which makes waiting easier. Development Matters lists "waiting for a turn and resisting the strong impulse to grab what they want" under birth to 3. From age 2.
3. The volume dial
Draw a dial on a big sheet, from 1 (calm) to 5 (fizzing). Call a number and children move to match it: shaking all over at 5, flopping like a starfish at 1. Then ask each child to point to where they are right now. Development Matters lists "identify and moderate their own feelings socially and emotionally" for Reception. From age 4.
4. What would help Sam?
Hold up a puppet and tell a tiny story: Sam's tower got knocked over, or Sam wasn't picked for the game. Ask how Sam feels, then what might help. Development Matters asks Reception staff to give "explicit examples of how others might feel in particular scenarios". It works towards the goal of understanding other people's feelings. From age 3.
5. Slow-down tree
After a busy game, everyone stands in tree pose, one foot resting on the other leg, hands together, and counts five slow breaths. Wobbling is fine; staying on one foot is not the point. Do it with them, so the calm is copied rather than ordered. In Reception, Development Matters wants children armed with "strategies for staying calm in the face of frustration", and a tree is one that travels. From age 3, with a toe on the floor.
Managing self activities: having a go and looking after themselves
6. My next try chart
Each child picks one thing they can't do yet: a balance, a jigsaw, doing up a zip. Draw it on a chart and add a sticker each time they try, not only when they manage it. Development Matters asks Reception staff to "Help children to set their own goals and to achieve them", and the goal names "resilience and perseverance in the face of challenge". From age 4.
7. The dressing-up relay
Put a coat, a hat and a pair of wellies at the far end of the room or garden. Children run, put all three on, run back, take them off and hand them over. Doing up the coat counts double. It's the managing-self goal of dressing independently, practised at a run. Development Matters has 3 and 4-year-olds learning to "be increasingly independent in meeting their own care needs", and this pays off at the cloakroom peg. From age 3.
8. Paint-hand washing
Put a dab of washable paint on each child's hands and ask them to wash it all off. Whatever's left shows the bits they usually miss: thumbs, wrists, between the fingers. Development Matters lists "washing and drying their hands thoroughly" for 3 and 4-year-olds, and suggests talking about why we wash before eating and after the toilet. From age 3.
9. Rules we made
Ask the group for three rules, in their words. Take a photo of a child showing each one and put the photos up at their eye level. Development Matters suggests displaying "a small number of necessary rules visually as reminders". Ask "Why do we have that one?" often, because explaining the reasons for rules is part of the managing-self goal. From age 3.
10. Snack helpers
Give each child a snack-time job on a rota: fetching the fruit, handing out cups, wiping the table, washing their own plate. Offer a choice between two fruits rather than a free-for-all. Development Matters suggests jobs like fetching the fruit and washing up their own plates, and puts making "healthy choices about food, drink, activity and toothbrushing" among the 3 and 4-year-old statements. From age 3.
Building relationships activities: turns, friends and fall-outs
11. Can I have a turn?
Use two puppets to act out a squabble over a toy, then teach the words that fix it: "Can I have a turn?" and "My turn next." Let children take the puppets and try it themselves. Development Matters suggests modelling those two phrases for the youngest children, and talking about how it's hard to wait. From age 2.
12. The role hat
When a game keeps falling apart because everyone wants the same part, put the roles in a hat: the captain, the dog, the shopkeeper. Draw again next time. Development Matters gives the example of "accepting that not everyone can be Spider-Man in the game, and suggesting other ideas" for 3 and 4-year-olds. Ask the group to invent the next role. From age 3.
13. The one-mat challenge
Give two children one yoga mat or rug, and set one rule: both of them have to fit on it, for every pose. They choose three poses together, butterfly, boat or star, then find a way to do them side by side without leaving the mat. They have to talk, take turns choosing and give way. Development Matters suggests adults "Model how to listen to someone else and agree a compromise." From age 4.
14. Build it together
Give a small group a pile of blocks or boxes and one rule: everyone adds one piece in turn, and nobody takes a piece off somebody else's. Build a tower, a den or a wall for the toy animals. Development Matters asks Reception staff to "Ensure children's play regularly involves sharing and cooperating with friends and other peers." From age 3.
15. Show and tell in pairs
Pair children up. One shows something they made or played with and says one thing about it; the other listens, then asks one question. Then swap. It's quieter than whole-class show and tell, and every child gets a turn. Development Matters asks Reception staff to "Provide opportunities for children to tell each other about their work and play." From age 4.
A ten-minute PSED session, three ways
Put one activity from each goal together and you have a short session that covers all three.
- Before lunch: the dressing-up relay (7), the two-step drum game (1), then slow-down tree (5) to settle before washing hands.
- After a fall-out: can I have a turn? (11) with the puppets, then the role hat (12) for the next game, then what would help Sam? (4) to talk it through.
- A quiet afternoon: build it together (14), show and tell in pairs (15), then the volume dial (3) before home time.
If your setting uses yoga for calm-down time, each of our yoga mats for children carries 15 poses, numbered and laser-engraved, and a child can find tree or butterfly by looking down rather than waiting to be shown. We also sell class sets of mats for nurseries and schools.
Which PSED activities suit babies and toddlers?
For under-threes, PSED happens through a key person and small, everyday choices rather than games. Development Matters suggests letting children "choose which song to sing from a set of 4 song cards, by pointing", and choose milk or water at snack time. It suggests treasure basket play for babies who can sit up, and making sure a comfort object is within reach.
Development Matters also suggests narrating feelings: "Sara is smiling. She really wanted a turn with the truck." The sand timer turn (2) and can I have a turn? (11) both work from about two, with an adult close by.
When a child hangs back
Some children won't join a group game, and pushing usually makes it worse. Development Matters suggests a gentler route into other children's play: "encourage them to stand and watch from the side with you", talk about what you see, and suggest a way in. Pair them with one other child, not the whole group.
Development Matters flags "children who seem worried, sad or angry for much of the time" as ones to keep an eye on. If that's your child, start with their key person or class teacher. Your health visitor or GP is the next step if you're still worried.
For more on the feelings side, our emotional regulation activities for kids cover what to do in the middle of a meltdown, our children's mental health week activities include feelings faces and a story game, and our kindness activities for kids take building relationships further. Our circle time games for EYFS and KS1 practise turn-taking in a ring. For the prime area next door, read our parent's guide to physical development in the EYFS.
Frequently asked questions
What are the three areas of PSED in the EYFS?
The EYFS framework splits PSED into three early learning goals: self-regulation, managing self and building relationships. The DfE's Help for early years providers website uses three slightly different headings, emotions, sense of self and relationships. Both cover the same ground: feelings and focus, independence and rules, and getting on with other people.
What activities support social and emotional development?
Anything with a turn to wait for, a feeling to name, a choice to make or a small job to do. Turn-taking games, story pauses that ask how a character feels, snack-time jobs and role play all count. Movement games are useful too, because stopping on a signal and waiting for a go are self-regulation practised with the whole body.
Is PSED a prime area of learning?
Yes. The EYFS statutory framework makes PSED one of three prime areas, with communication and language and with physical development. Practitioners working with the youngest children are expected to build a strong foundation in those three. The four specific areas, such as literacy and mathematics, then give children chances to strengthen and apply them.
How can parents support PSED at home?
Mostly through ordinary days. Name feelings out loud, your own included, give your child small jobs like laying the table, let them dress themselves even when it's slow, and play games that need waiting for a turn. Ask the nursery what they're working on this term, so home and setting use the same words.
