Guide to EYLF Outcome 3

The Early Years Learning Framework is made up of 8 EYLF Principles, 7 EYLF Practices, and 5 EYLF Learning Outcomes.

The EYLF Learning Outcomes are designed to capture the learning and development of all children from birth up until 5 years of age. They are:

• EYLF Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity

• EYLF Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world

• EYLF Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing

• EYLF Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners

• EYLF Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators

What is EYLF Outcome 3?

Wellbeing, encompassing both physical and psychological aspects, is central to children's belonging, being, and becoming.

A strong sense of wellbeing builds confidence, resilience, and optimism, enhancing children's ability to learn and interact with others. It includes physical health, fitness, nutrition, rest, social skills, and emotional regulation, all of which are essential for coping with stress and developing executive functioning.

Educators play a vital role in fostering wellbeing by observing children's development, providing safe and supportive environments, using trauma-informed practices, and promoting body safety awareness. They build warm, trusting relationships, respect children's cultural identities, and support their independence in health routines and self-care.

Active physical play, healthy eating, and consistent routines support children’s physical and emotional growth. By learning about healthy lifestyles and forming positive social connections, children gain the confidence and skills needed for lifelong wellbeing and success.

The 4 Key Indicators of EYLF Outcome 3

EYLF Outcome 3 is made up of 3 key indicators:

• Children become strong in their social, emotional and mental wellbeing

• Children become strong in their physical learning and wellbeing

• Children are aware of and develop strategies to support their own mental and physical health and personal safety

Children become strong in their social, emotional and mental wellbeing

Evidence of children becoming strong in their social, emotional and mental wellbeing:

• Demonstrating trust and confidence in their interactions with others

• Remaining accessible to others at times of distress, confusion and frustration

• Identifying and seeking out trusted people to communicate what upsets them, makes them uncomfortable or sad

• Communicating their physical and emotional needs, e.g. hunger or thirst

• Sharing humour, happiness and feelings of satisfaction

• Seeking out and accepting new challenges, making new discoveries, and celebrating their own efforts and achievements and those of others

• Increasingly cooperating and working collaboratively with others

• Enjoying moments of solitude

• Recognising their individual efforts and achievement

• Making choices, accepting challenges, taking considered risks, managing change and coping with frustrations and the unexpected

• Showing an increasing capacity to understand, self-regulate and manage their emotions

• Appreciating the feelings and needs of others

• Experiencing and sharing personal successes in learning and initiating opportunities for new learning

• Acknowledging and accepting affirmation of themselves by others

• Asserting their capabilities and independence while demonstrating increasing awareness of the needs and rights of others

• Recognising the contributions they make to shared projects and experiences

• Sharing humour and laughter with others

• Initiating approaches and actions to interact with other children and forming friendships

• Using positive self-talk when encountering difficulties or setbacks

• Recognising a range of emotions in themselves and others.

Educators can promote this learning by:

• Showing genuine affection, understanding and respect for all children

• Being aware and available to provide comfort for children in distress

• Supporting breastfeeding and responding to children’s cues for hunger and satiety or sense of fullness after eating

• Listening and responding empathically when children communicate their distress, fears or frustrations

• Collaborating with children to document their achievements and sharing their successes with their families

• Ensuring that all children experience pride in their attempts and achievements

• Promoting children’s sense of belonging, connectedness and wellbeing

• Challenging and supporting children to engage in and persevere at tasks and play

• Modelling positive self-talk to support self-regulation during times of stress

• Building upon and extending children’s ideas

• Maintaining high expectations of each child’s capabilities

• Valuing children’s personal decision-making

• Welcoming children and families sharing aspects of their culture and spiritual lives to create culturally safe environments

• Supporting families’ diverse parenting approaches

• Talking with children about their emotions and responses to events with a view to supporting their understandings of emotional regulation and self-control

• Acknowledging and affirming children’s effort and growth

• Assisting children to develop strategies to foster positive mental wellbeing

• Investigating how physical movement, exercise and healthy lifestyles assist children with mental wellbeing

• Discussing unsafe situations that would need to be reported to educators and other adults, including signs of children at risk

• Promoting body safety awareness with children and families

• Helping children talk about negative emotions or potentially unsafe behaviours

• Discussing and model appropriate use of digital technologies and discuss how to keep children safe online with children and families

• Updating their own learning of digital and cyber safety for children

• Being playful and promoting a sense of enjoyment

• Mediating and assisting children to negotiate their rights in relation to the rights of others

• Creating spaces for children to rest and engage in relaxation in indoor and outdoor spaces

• Supporting the development of friendships and engaging with peers.

Children become strong in their physical learning and mental wellbeing

Evidence of children becoming strong in their physical learning and mental wellbeing:

• Engaging in increasingly complex coordination of body movements with sight, sounds and other sensory stimuli to engage with people and explore materials

• Developing movement patterns, mobility and gross motor skills to manage and explore the physical environment

• Combining gross and fine motor movement and balance to achieve increasingly complex patterns of activity, including dance, creative movement, drama and fundamental movement skills

• Building core strength, physical coordination and

• stamina

• Using their sensory perceptions, physical capabilities and dispositions with increasing integration, skill and purpose to explore and respond to their world, including finding new challenges and risks

• Demonstrating spatial awareness and orienting themselves, moving around and through indoor and outdoor environments confidently and safely

• Manipulating equipment and managing tools with increasing competence and skill

• Responding through movement to traditional and contemporary music, dance and storytelling

• Moving to the tempo and rhythm of music

• Participating in physical play, dance, drama

• Negotiating play spaces to ensure the safety and wellbeing of themselves and others.

Educators can promote this learning by:

• Planning for and participating in energetic physical activity with children, including dance, drama, fundamental movement skills and games

• Drawing on diverse family and community experiences and expertise to include familiar games and physical activities in play

• Using physically active play and games as opportunities for children to develop friendships and turn-taking skills

• Providing well-planned and challenging outdoor environments that encourage risk-taking and risky play experiences

• Being aware of and addressing personal preferences that may unintentionally impact best practice for promoting children’s physical activity and movement skills

• Providing a wide range of tools and materials to resource children’s fine and gross motor skills

• Providing ample opportunities and resources for gross motor and movement experiences in both indoor and outdoor learning environments

• Providing an environment with challenges for the abilities of children

• Exploring ways of incorporating knowledge of how bodies function and personal safety

• Using the dramatic arts and role-play for supporting children’s exploration of feelings and opinions.

Children are aware of and develop strategies to support their own mental and physical health and personal safety

Evidence of children being aware of and developing strategies to support their own mental and physical health and personal safety:

• Recognising and communicating their body needs, (e.g. thirst, hunger, rest, comfort, physical

• activity)

• Being happy, healthy, safe and connected to others

• Showing awareness of healthy lifestyles and good nutrition

• Showing increasing independence and competence in personal hygiene

• Showing care and safety for themselves and others

• Building strategies to calm the body and mind

• Having agency and exercising choice about their sleep, rest and relaxation

• Developing a sense of body autonomy and boundaries (e.g. my body belongs to me)

• Learning ways to ask for and provide consent during everyday play

• Distinguishing safe and unsafe touches

• Noticing and labelling feelings/emotions in themselves and others

• Learning how to tell or communicate to a trusted adult about things that upset them, make them uncomfortable or sad

Educators can promote this learning by:

• Actively supporting children to learn hygiene practices

• Promoting continuity of children’s personal health and hygiene by sharing ownership of routines and schedules with children, families and the community

• Discussing health and safety issues with children and involving them in developing guidelines to keep the environment safe for all

• Encouraging and teaching children about personal safety including strategies to support children’s and families’ awareness of boundaries

• Engaging children in experiences, conversations and routines that promote healthy lifestyles and good nutrition

• Creating a safe environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to share about their history and culture, songs, language, food, ceremonies and dance, if they choose

• Considering the pace of the day within the context of the community

• Learning about e-safety for children and embedding and modelling safe digital practices

• Discussing aspects of posture, and other health related age-appropriate digital practices with children

• Providing a range of active and restful experiences throughout the day and supporting children to make appropriate decisions regarding participation

• Providing ongoing opportunities for children to express their ideas, feelings and emotions through the creative arts

• Encouraging all children to share their history and culture, which could include songs, language, food, ceremonies and dance

• Creating culturally safe and appropriate learning experiences and spaces (e.g. reflect children’s cultures in the setting)

• Designing indoor and outdoor spaces of calm to support self-soothing

• Talking with children about the benefits of sleep, rest and relaxation for the mind and body

• Using flexible approaches to sleep and rest, engaging children in decision-making about their own sleep and rest

• Assisting children with the understanding that feelings can change over time

• Reading age-appropriate children’s picture books with body autonomy and boundary themes, and offering these to families to read with their children

• Communicating to children that it is ok to say no to touch

• Listening carefully and taking seriously when children talk about things that bother them

• Helping children understand the concept of consent by modelling or demonstrating asking for and providing consent and provide opportunities for children to practice.

What next for understanding EYLF Outcome 3?

Using these examples in accordance with EYLF principles and practices ensures that educators are assisting children in achieving EYLF Outcome 3.

But it's also important to show evidence. So here's 3 ways to help your team when it comes to educating children:

1. Use a tool that helps saved educators 4hrs per week on documentation - Book Your FREE Demo Today!

2. Get some more resources on the EYLF from ACECQA.

3. Download the EYLF Outcome 3 Sheet below, so you always have this on-hand ⬇️