The Happiness Toolkit
Customized Telegenz Training Empowers Dublin Creche with Professor Farhana Sharif’s Happiness Toolkit
Success Story
Executive Summary
Early childhood educators at a leading Dublin creche have experienced transformative professional development through Telegenz’s bespoke training in the acclaimed Happiness Toolkit, created by Professor Farhana Sharif, Consultant Paediatrician at Mullingar Regional Hospital, Ireland. By tailoring the training to address specific real-life scenarios encountered by staff, this initiative has set a new benchmark for effective early years education and well-being support.
Background
Mental health and resilience in children have become critical priorities in Ireland, especially as childhood settings evolve to meet modern challenges. The Happiness Toolkit, developed by Professor Farhana Sharif, is a collection of six evidence-based self-care skills designed to promote positive mental health, boost self-esteem, and foster resilience in children, carers, and educators. The six practices are:
- Smiling a vision
- Social relatedness
- Mindfulness
- Gratitude
- Positive physical contact
- Reflective practice
These practices are structured for daily and practical use in educational and home settings, helping children navigate social, emotional, behavioural, and mental health issues.
The Custom Telegenz Training Solution
Approach
Recognizing that early years settings are dynamic and unique, Telegenz partnered with Professor Sharif to deliver a customized, context-relevant training program for the creche’s educators:
- The staff generated ten detailed scenarios representing genuine challenges faced in their daily work with children from infants to under 10 years old
- Expert trainers used these scenarios as the foundation for interactive, role-play-based sessions, allowing participants to apply the Happiness Toolkit’s principles directly to their specific environment.
What Made This Initiative Unique?
- Personalization: Unlike generic training, this approach honoured the diverse needs and contexts within the creche’s different rooms and age groups—emphasizing the philosophy that “one size does not fit all.”
- Scenario-Based Learning: Training was grounded in real-life events, increasing relevance, engagement, and retention for participants.
- Role-Play and Guided Practice: Educators practiced and refined the six Happiness Toolkit skills within realistic, relatable situations.
- Feedback-Driven Adaptation: Sessions were further adjusted based on educator feedback, ensuring that the material resonated and delivered lasting impact.
Results and Feedback
Positive Impact for Educators and the Community
- Increased Confidence: Staff reported higher confidence and competence in addressing children’s social-emotional needs.
- Immediate Applicability: Educators could apply techniques right away, seeing improvements in both child well-being and classroom atmosphere.
- Enhanced Engagement: The owner and staff of the creche highlighted the value of customized professional development and praised the interactive, scenario-based format.
- Scalable Success: The success of the educator training has inspired the creche to extend the opportunity to parents who wish to learn and use the Happiness Toolkit at home.
Continuous Professional Development
Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is central to maintaining and enhancing high-quality standards in early childhood education and care. This is reinforced by national frameworks such as Síolta, the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education, Aistear, the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework, and Tusla’s Quality and Regulatory Framework (QRF). These frameworks emphasise the importance of professional reflection, upskilling, and ongoing learning to support inclusive, child-centred, and emotionally responsive practice across all early childhood education and care settings. This commitment is also strongly supported by national policy, including the Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare (2022–2028). This strategy recognises the importance of ongoing professional learning to support a skilled, valued, and sustainable workforce.
According to the educators, the Happiness Training Toolkit has enhanced their team’s understanding of:
- Emotional regulation and mindfulness practices
- Creating emotionally secure learning environments
- Promoting children’s well-being and resilience
This CPD training empowered the staff to embed wellbeing into their daily routines and curriculum whilst strengthening their commitment to child-centred, inclusive practice.
Extending to Parents
The next phase of this initiative will empower parents to participate in the same tailored training, reinforcing best practices at home and creating a shared language of well-being and resilience between educators, children, and families.
Conclusion
Telegenz’s innovative, scenario-driven training approach—paired with Professor Sharif’s expert guidance and internationally recognized Happiness Toolkit—has delivered significant, lasting benefits to the Dublin creche community. This model demonstrates how professional development in early childhood care is most effective when truly tailored to the needs of educators, children, and families alike. The result: resilient, happier children, empowered educators, and a thriving, supportive community.
About the Happiness Toolkit
The Happiness Toolkit is available for children, educators, and families seeking structured, evidence-based support for positive mental health. More details and published resources can be found through Professor Farhana Sharif’s website https://www.paediatrichub.com/
If you would like to upskill early childhood educators at your institution, get in touch with us!
