What is the Circle of Security?
Circle of Security (CoS) is a relationship-based framework. We are all hard-wired to seek security—we all want our underlying emotional needs to be met to strengthen our relationships now and into the future. CoS focusses on guiding caregivers, including educators, to develop skills and strategies to support meaningful connections, strengthen relationships, and to respond to children’s emotions and behaviour in ways that make them feel secure and meets their relationship needs. The program draws a clear link between attachment and children’s learning.
This article focusses on how The Infants’ Home’s integrated team of educators and allied health therapists use a CoS approach to create secure attachments with children to support their learning, development and wellbeing. However, the framework informs all relationships in our early childhood education and care services, including those between staff and families and between colleagues.
The concepts that underpin the Circle of Security approach at The Infants’ Home
A child’s behaviour or action is how they communicate their need for connection
It is essential to consider the child’s perspective and what they might be feeling and why. The adult’s role is to ‘decode’ and respond helpfully to the message a child’s behaviour or action is sending. This involves the adult in ‘Being-With’ the child by recognising and honouring the child’s feelings rather than denying or dismissing them. The concept of ‘Being-With’ is at the core of CoS.
Children need calm adults to help them to feel safe when they have big feelings
Children experience their world through their emotions much of the time, especially when they are younger. When they feel overwhelmed by their emotions, children need a calm adult to reassure them, keep them safe and help them to regain their sense of calm.
The more secure a child feels, the more connected and ready they are to thrive and learn
Children learn within the context of their relationships with others. Having secure attachments with adults, and experiencing consistency, predictability and continuity in their early learning settings, gives children the confidence to explore, experiment, take risks, problem solve and learn.
Adults occupy 50% of a child’s circle of security, as the ‘secure base’ and the ‘safe haven’ half of the circle
As a secure base, adults need to be genuinely ‘with’ children’ as they explore, to support them, watch over them, delight in them, help them (as much as they need to achieve on their own) and enjoy with them. As a safe haven, the adult’s role is to welcome children back when they want to return from exploring. As they move to this part of the circle, children want the adult to be there to protect them, comfort them, delight in them and help them to organise their feelings if needed.
Rupture and Repair—when ruptures happen, they need to be repaired
Ruptures occur when the adult ‘steps off’ the child’s circle of security. Ruptures are an inevitable part of a normal, authentic relationship. They happen when there is disconnection, or the needs of someone or something else are prioritised over the child’s needs. A rupture may be big or small and can be upsetting. The most important thing for the adult to do is to acknowledge and repair the rupture by letting the child know that they, and their connection with the adult, is safe. Repair also helps children to understand that grown ups make mistakes too, and it models for them positive relationship behaviours.
CoS training for staff at The Infants’ Home
The Infants’ Home’s integrated team of educators and allied health therapists have ongoing opportunities to attend our internal CoS training program. Training is delivered over 8 weekly sessions by members of our staff who are registered CoS facilitators. The training is adapted to combine the CoS Parenting and CoS Classroom programs and is tailored to help our integrated team to support secure attachments and learning for children within our early childhood education and care settings. There is a strong focus on creating a community of practice within The Infants’ Home through which colleagues can regularly share their experiences, reflections and ideas, and support each other’s learning and professional development.
What our Educators and Allied Health therapists say about CoS
“The Circle of Security approach in our ECEC service helps us to see children more deeply through their lens. It is particularly helpful with children who present behavioural challenges as, rather than stopping challenging behaviours as a first line strategy, we try in the first instance to understand the children’s needs. In my experience, children whose security needs are met are more settled, engaged and joyful in the daycare setting.”—Educator Tracey
“CoS promotes and advocates being “bigger, stronger, wiser, kinder” and for me, being mindful of that and incorporating that into a daily approach has brought me closer to the children both as a collective and as individuals. It becomes more apparent that the children, being the intuitive little people that they are, read this and respond in kind. It serves as wonderful base for forging meaningful, warm, reciprocal connections that support the kids on their journey.” —Educator Russell
“The Circle of Security approach significantly supports my practice with children by helping me recognise and respond to their needs for both comfort and exploration. Understanding the “circle” allows me to provide appropriate support when children seek attachment and when they are ready to explore independently.” —Educator Jessica
Conclusion
Children need adults to help them make sense of their emotions. These are ‘organise my feelings’ moments on the circle. By teaching children that they’re not alone in their feelings, they learn to trust and share their emotions, without being overwhelmed by them. The CoS approach helps our integrated team to understand children’s inherent need for safe, secure attachments, and to understand and respond positively to the behaviours and actions that are telling them that a child needs their connection and help.
Contact us
The Infants’ Home delivers a range of free parenting programs each year, including the Circle of Security Parenting program. To learn more about current and future programs, visit our website here.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please email us at childrensservices@theinfantshome.org.au.