Lead with love: Stress Awareness Month
28 April 2025
Each April, Stress Awareness Month aims to increase public awareness about the causes and cures of stress. This year, the theme of stress awareness month is #LeadWithLove, focussing on how we approach ourselves and others with kindness, compassion and acceptance, choosing love as a starting point. This theme is very close to Norland’s heart.
At Norland, leading with love is central to our mission and values, embodied by our founding motto ‘Love Never Faileth’. It reflects Norland’s commitment to providing compassionate and dedicated care to children and families and has been a guiding principle since Norland was founded in 1892 by early childhood education pioneer Emily Ward.
The motto is deeply embedded in Norland’s ethos and is a constant reminder to staff, students and graduates of the importance of love and care in their professional practice. It signifies that, regardless of the challenges and adversities faced, love remains a continuous and powerful force in nurturing and supporting children.
In recognition of Stress Awareness Month, Norland is highlighting the ways in which love is channelled throughout its training and as an organisation.
Professional love in our training
As part of our degree course, Norland students learn about professional love in the context of being a nanny. Programmes Manager and Senior Lecturer in Early Years, Tom Parsons, explains how love is a vital part of being a nanny, and must be balanced with a professional way of working.
“In our Working Professionally with Parents and Carers module,” Tom explains, “we explore the different ways in which love is expressed within families and how the nanny can implement professional love in practice. Students are encouraged to discuss the concept of professional love with parents on their placements to establish expectations and provide the type of loving care that meets the individual needs of each family.”
Explore our degree modules
Learning about a loving pedagogy
Principal Lecturer Tamsin Grimmer shares her work on a loving pedagogy with Norland students throughout the course. She argues that creating a loving pedagogy, which is a loving and nurturing way of working with children, will shape them by promoting love, kindness, and other prosocial behaviours. Speaking to us, Tamsin explains how love goes to the heart of what Norland students learn about their practice.
“At Norland, students are taught that our relationship with the children is at the heart of our practice,” shares Tamsin. “Love underpins both our early childhood degree and diploma as students learn about neuroscience, attachment theory, children’s rights, relational approaches to supporting children’s behaviour, emotion coaching and how to nurture children through everyday routines and play. We share current and relevant research which demonstrates the vital importance of a loving foundation for child development.”
“As professionals,” adds Tamsin, “Norland Nannies understand that love is based on action not feelings and acting in loving ways is a golden thread that runs through the Norland Code of Professional Responsibilities. Norlanders are taught to treat children as individuals, listen to children and families and always act in their best interests. A loving pedagogy is patient, kind and slow to anger with the children. It holds children in mind whist protecting and keeping them safe. A loving pedagogy empowers our nannies but, more importantly, empowers the children they care for.”
Students gain fundamental life skills throughout their training that enable them to develop both their own resiliency and that of their charges, during challenging and stressful times. Emotion coaching is an evidence-based approach that helps children to learn to empathise, self-calm and self-regulate, control their impules, motivate themselves, and better cope with life’s up and downs. Norland students are all trained in emotion coaching, alongside other strategies, that help children – and themsleves – to understand their feelings and develop self-regulation.
Watch taster session on self-regulation and emotion coaching
Here to Hear
For students, creating a kind and loving environment is key to helping them achieve their full potential when it comes to studying and student life at Norland. As a small and specialist early years provider, Norland provides a nurturing community and tailored support for its students.
Its innovative peer support scheme ‘Here to Hear’ supports students through all stages of their training, in addition to a raft of student support services including study skills and wellbeing workshops, personal tutoring support, bespoke confidential support, stress-busting activities, and access to counselling, the Students Assistance Programme and the Headspace wellbeing app.
The peer support programme provides an important layer of peer support for students, with volunteers completing a comprehensive training curriculum to equip them with the tools to help fellow students manage their struggles, whatever they may be. Here to Hear volunteers support in a friendly, confidential setting and relate in a caring, compassionate way. Students also learn critical life skills that will support them in their future careers.
Love is central to the role of a Norland Nanny
Norland graduates must embody and maintain our ‘Love Never Faileth’ motto in all they do. The motto is engraved on the Norlander speedwell badge, first awarded in 1902, which fully qualified Norlanders receive at their diploma graduation ceremony in recognition of their professional status. The motto is also prominently displayed alongside the speedwell flower on Norland’s coat of arms, which was unveiled at the first Norland-awarded degree ceremonies in 2022, commemorating Norland’s 130th anniversary year.
Norland Nanny Lizzie (Set 32) reflects on how professional love and respect for the children in her care has been a constant throughout her career. She explains how “nannying was the only option” for her, inspired by Norland’s motto ‘Love Never Faileth’.
Learn more about Lizzie’s career as a nanny
Newly Qualified Nanny Evi (Set 45) discusses how the compassion, love and care given to her by her Year 2 teacher Miss Jordan inspired her to become a nanny. “When I decided I wanted to become a nanny, I remember thinking that if I could make just one child feel as unique as I was made to feel, then my job would be done.”
Read Evi’s journey to Norland, and where she hopes it will take her
Lactation Consultant and Norlander Hannah emphasises how ‘Love Never Faileth’ has stayed with her throughout her nearly 20-year career as a Norlander, in her blog. “The Norland motto of ‘Love Never Faileth’ motivates me and stays with me when I’m working with families, even now.”
The Grenfell Memorial Quilt project
One of the more tangible presentations of the embodiment of ‘Love Never Faileth’ is our contribution to the Grenfell Memorial Quilt project.
The Norland panel – stitched by Norland staff, students and members of the local community – will join other panels from community groups around the country to create a quilt measuring 220 x 72ft, as a commemoration of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
The panel took a year to complete, and is made up of 5 sections totalling 72, 2.5-inch strips of donated fabric. The central panel in Norland’s signature brown, features our founding motto ‘Love Never Faileth’. Surrounding the motto; a heart of Speedwell flowers, a flower closely connected to Norland’s key values of care and resiliency, as well as handprints from students.
The project embodies the Norland spirit of love and compassion, as well as highlighting the importance of community participation in this poignant memorial project.
The Grenfell Quilt project is one of many charitable and community activities by Norland staff, students and graduates.
Learn more about the Norland Grenfell Memorial Quilt
