About This Course
Social-emotional learning, the development of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making, is one of the most thoroughly evidenced areas of educational research. A meta-analysis of 213 school-based social-emotional learning programmes involving over 270,000 students found an 11 percentile point improvement in academic achievement alongside significant improvements in social skills and reduction of conduct problems.
Mindfulness, the deliberate practice of present-moment awareness, has emerged as one of the most powerful tools for developing the self-regulation and emotional awareness that underpin effective social-emotional learning. Evidence from both neuroscience and educational research confirms that even brief, regular mindfulness practice significantly improves students' ability to manage attention, regulate emotion and engage constructively with others.
This course gives education professionals a thorough, evidence-based and personally engaging introduction to both approaches. Participants explore the research, experience the practices for themselves, and develop the skills and confidence to introduce mindfulness and social-emotional learning into their own classrooms and schools.
Who Should Attend
- Teachers who want to build emotional intelligence and self-regulation skills in their students
- School counsellors and wellbeing staff
- Teachers who want to introduce mindfulness in their own practice first
- School leaders developing whole-school approaches to social-emotional learning
- PSHE, health and citizenship teachers
- No prior experience with mindfulness required
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course participants will be able to:
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Explain the research evidence for social-emotional learning and mindfulness and their impact on academic and wellbeing outcomes.
The evidence for social-emotional learning is among the strongest in educational research. You will be able to summarise it clearly and compellingly for colleagues, parents and school leaders who are sceptical about giving time to non-academic programmes.
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Apply evidence-based social-emotional learning approaches across the five CASEL competence areas in your own classroom.
The CASEL framework, the most widely used framework for social-emotional learning in European and international education, maps five core SEL competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making. You will have specific, practical activities for developing each competency across different age groups.
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Use age-appropriate mindfulness practices with students in ways that are effective, evidence-based and inclusive.
You will have practiced mindfulness yourself before teaching it. This is non-negotiable. Teachers who teach mindfulness without personal practice are less effective and less convincing. You will leave with a personal mindfulness practice and a range of age-appropriate activities to use with students.
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Integrate social-emotional learning into curriculum subjects rather than treating it as a separate programme.
Social-emotional learning is most powerful when it is embedded throughout the school day rather than confined to a dedicated slot. You will know how to integrate SEL competences into your subject teaching in ways that neither distort the subject nor feel forced.
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Support colleagues in developing their own social-emotional competence and mindfulness practice.
Schools that implement social-emotional learning most effectively do so across the whole staff community, not just in student-facing programmes. You will have strategies for introducing mindfulness and SEL to colleagues in a way that is respectful, evidence-based and practically useful.
A 7-Day Professional Development Experience
The Sude Nexus programme combines five days of intensive professional training with a structured arrival day and a cultural excursion day. The outline below gives a general sense of the week. We are always open to tailoring the programme to your needs.
Participants arrive at their chosen destination and are welcomed by the Sude Nexus local team. Check-in to accommodation, welcome pack distribution and an informal welcome dinner. A brief orientation walk introduces the city.
Guided cultural excursion to a key landmark of the destination. Participants travelling home are free to depart after breakfast.
This outline is a starting point, not a fixed schedule. Contact us to discuss how we can tailor this programme for your institution.
EU Policy Alignment
Erasmus+ 2026 Horizontal Priorities
EU Competence Frameworks
EU Policy Initiatives
Available Locations and Dates
This course is available across all 13 Sude Nexus destinations. Check the dates page for current availability.
Check Dates and Availability