Author: Ali

This comprehensive 45-minute staff meeting template guides early years practitioners through understanding and implementing joyful pedagogy in their setting. The resource explores how joy differs from simple enjoyment, examining it as a deeper, lasting state of wellbeing that benefits both children and educators. Teams work through practical activities including sharing personal experiences of joy, identifying recent joyful moments with children, and mapping barriers and bridges to joy in their provision. The template emphasises how joy is expressed differently across cultures and encourages practitioners to recognise diverse forms of joyful expression. With reference to research showing that engaging in joyful play reduces educator stress whilst enhancing wellbeing, this resource includes follow-up activities, supervision prompts, and suggestions for creating ongoing celebrations of joy. The template empowers settings to prioritise authentic, culturally responsive joyful experiences that foster children’s relationships, self-determination, and positive social-emotional development.