Looking Beyond Behaviour, Learning and Achievement

Children and young people need more than encouragement to learn and achieve. Meeting a child’s emotional, relational and physical needs helps them feel safe, connected and better able to engage with the world around them.

This visual uses a simplified adaptation of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a way of reflecting on some of those foundations, from basic needs and safety through to belonging, self-esteem and opportunities for growth.

It isn't intended to suggest that children's needs develop in a fixed order or that every child will experience them in the same way. Instead, it offers parents and carers a simple prompt to pause and consider:

What might my child need right now?

Sometimes looking at the needs surrounding a behaviour or difficulty can help us move away from simply asking “How do we change this?” towards becoming curious about “What might be happening here?”