Major early years study involving Norland finds positive impact of Emotion Coaching on young children
26 October 2026
A major national evaluation of an early years emotion coaching programme, developed and delivered by Emotion Coaching UK in partnership with Norland University of Early Childhood, has found promising impacts on young children’s self-regulation and improvements in practitioner confidence and capability.
Launched in November 2024, the two-year Emotion Coaching Early Years trial was commissioned by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and involved 160 early years settings and 3,999 children across England, making it one of the largest evaluations of Emotion Coaching undertaken within the early years sector to date.
Emotion coaching is an evidence-informed approach that helps children understand and manage their emotions and behaviour through supportive, trusting relationships and co-regulatory strategies. The project aimed to strengthen practitioners’ ability to recognise, understand and respond effectively to children’s feelings through a structured approach that supports emotional wellbeing and self-regulation.
The independent evaluation found positive impacts on children’s self-regulation and pro-social behaviour, both of which are recognised as important foundations for learning, relationships, wellbeing and future outcomes.
While the evaluation identified positive benefits for children, it also found perceived benefits for practitioners too. Those who took part reported increased confidence in recognising and responding to children’s emotional needs, supporting them through challenging situations and using everyday interactions as opportunities for learning and development.
Following the evaluation, the Education Endowment Foundation has designated Emotion Coaching a ‘Promising Programme’, recognising the programme as having demonstrated meaningful, cost-effective improvements in outcomes through independent evaluation, particularly for socio-economically disadvantaged pupils. The designation is awarded to programmes that demonstrate positive impact through robust independent evaluation and can be successfully implemented in practice, signalling strong potential and wider use across the sector.
We are proud to contribute to research that strengthens the evidence base for the sector and helps improve outcomes for children beyond our own students and graduates.Professor Janet Rose
Professor Janet Rose, Vice Chancellor of Norland and co-founder of Emotion Coaching UK, said: “These findings are an important contribution to the growing evidence base around young children’s social and emotional development and the role this plays in learning, wellbeing and long-term life chances. We are particularly encouraged to see the positive impact on practitioners, whose confidence and capability in responding to children’s emotional needs are fundamental to creating the supportive relationships that help children thrive.
“At Norland, we are committed to advancing evidence-informed practice, research and innovation across the early years sector. Emotion coaching and self-regulation form part of the learning experience for our students on the BA (Hons) Early Childhood Education and Care degree and Norland diploma, making this partnership with Emotion Coaching UK a natural extension of our longstanding expertise in child development and emotional wellbeing.
“As the world’s first and only university dedicated to early childhood, we are proud to contribute to research that strengthens the evidence base for the sector and helps improve outcomes for children beyond our own students and graduates. We hope these findings will help inform future research and programme development aimed at giving every child the best possible start in life.”
Professor Becky Francis CBE, CEO of the Education Endowment Foundation, said: “The early years are where the foundations for future learning are built. Supporting children to develop strong language, communication, and self-regulation skills can make a lasting difference to their later education outcomes.
“We know that early years professionals make a huge difference to children’s life chances. But they need access to the best possible evidence about what works. This helps make sure that their limited time and resources can be directed towards approaches with the greatest potential to benefit children.”
Licette Gus, co-founder of Emotion Coaching UK and Project Director of the Education Endowment Foundation Emotion Coaching Early Years trial, said: “This trial has been an important milestone for Emotion Coaching UK. The findings give us encouraging evidence that Emotion Coaching can strengthen practitioners’ understanding, confidence and approach to supporting young children’s emotional development, while also showing us where implementation can be strengthened.
“What is particularly valuable is that we now have much clearer evidence about how to support settings to embed Emotion Coaching consistently across the whole team. We are enormously grateful to the early years settings, practitioners, Norland University and the Education Endowment Foundation for making that learning possible.”
The evaluation also found that, within the relatively short intervention period, practitioners observed improvements in children’s emotional awareness, emotional language and co-regulation. These findings suggest early positive changes in day-to-day practice and children’s emotional understanding.
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