Personal & social development // Area
Empathy & Social Awareness
Age coverage
Ages 5 to 14
Starts at age 5 // 4 topics
Starting at age 5
Your child is developing emotional intelligence and social skills — learning to show kindness to others, appreciating diversity in their community, and understanding that people have different thoughts and feelings.
- Vocabulary: understanding others
Know and use the key vocabulary for understanding others — empathy, perspective, kind, fair, community, similar, different, and care — and understand that these…
Ages 5 to 8Language - Other People's Feelings and Thoughts
Understand that other people have their own feelings and thoughts, and that these might be different from your own — a foundational awareness that not everyone…
Ages 5 to 7Concept - Everyday Kindness and Care
Show kindness and care towards others in simple everyday ways — comforting a friend who is upset, helping someone who has dropped their things, sharing without…
Ages 5 to 7Method - Similarities & Differences
Notice and appreciate ways that people are similar to and different from each other — including appearance, family structures, languages spoken, foods eaten…
Ages 5 to 7Concept
Starts at age 7 // 4 topics
Starting at age 7
Your child is developing empathy and understanding of fairness — learning to see situations from others' perspectives, recognising that everyone has different experiences and challenges, and understanding that being fair sometimes means giving people what they need rather than everyone getting the same thing.
- Seeing Someone Else's Point of View
Practise perspective-taking by imagining how someone else might feel in a given situation — using prompts like 'How would you feel if that happened to you?' and…
Ages 7 to 9Method - Vocabulary: social awareness
Know and use the vocabulary of social awareness — including stereotype, prejudice, discrimination, equality, equity, bias, compassion, and fairness — and…
Ages 7 to 11Language - Different Lives and Experiences
Understand that people's lives and experiences can be very different from their own — that some children face challenges like disability, poverty, family…
Ages 7 to 9Concept - Fairness, Equality and Equity
Understand what fairness means and why it matters — recognising that fair doesn't always mean equal (everyone getting the same) but can mean equitable (everyone…
Ages 7 to 9Concept
Starts at age 9 // 4 topics
Starting at age 9
Your child is developing deeper understanding of fairness and diversity — learning to recognise stereotypes and bias, understanding how prejudice affects people, and appreciating the value of different cultures and perspectives.
- Questioning Your Own Biases
Reflect on their own assumptions and biases — recognising that everyone carries unconscious assumptions about others, and that actively questioning these…
Ages 9 to 11Thinking skill - Prejudice and Discrimination
Understand the impact of prejudice and discrimination on individuals and communities — that treating people unfairly because of their identity causes real harm…
Ages 9 to 11Concept - Stereotypes and Individual Differences
Recognise stereotypes — oversimplified beliefs about groups of people based on gender, race, age, or other characteristics — and understand that stereotypes are…
Ages 9 to 11Concept - The world contains many cultures, traditions
Understand that the world contains many cultures, traditions, and belief systems, and that learning about others' perspectives enriches our own understanding…
Ages 9 to 11Concept
Starts at age 11 // 1 topic
Starting at age 11
- Systemic Inequality and Allyship
Move beyond 'treating everyone the same' to understand that structural advantages and disadvantages exist regardless of individual effort or intention; explore…
Ages 11 to 12Concept
Starts at age 12 // 1 topic
Starting at age 12
- Sympathy Versus Empathy
Distinguish sympathy ('I feel sorry for you') from empathy ('I understand what you're experiencing'); develop active listening skills: reflecting, paraphrasing…
Ages 12 to 13Method
Starts at age 13 // 1 topic
Starting at age 13
- Global Citizenship
Understand what it means to be a citizen in an interconnected world where decisions in one place affect people elsewhere; explore global issues (climate…
Ages 13 to 14Thinking skill