1. Introduction
On 22 June 2026, Essence International School hosted an in-house professional development workshop for its teaching staff, conducted by Ms. Sanjana Thakur and Ms. Neeru from NGN Learning. The session introduced the NGN SEEL framework — Social, Emotional, Ethical, and Logical Learning — a preventive mental health care platform designed for children and teenagers.
NGN Learning describes itself as a platform that creates, curates, and distributes content, tools, and courseware for schools, parents, and pediatric behavioural health counselling centres, teaching and supporting children through the SEEL model. The framework blends five domains aligned with globally recognised social-emotional learning (SEL) standards with four additional proprietary domains — Positive Childhood, Cognitive Skills, Problem-Solving Skills, and Social Communication — to form a nine-domain approach to student well-being.
The workshop positioned SEEL as a preventive and promotive framework: one that builds emotional strength, resilience, and ethical and logical thinking in students before difficulties arise, rather than only responding after issues surface.
2. Alignment with National Frameworks
A key theme of the training was the role of the teacher in delivering Social-Emotional Learning in line with national education policy. The session referenced the following frameworks as the basis for embedding SEEL within everyday classroom practice:
- National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020)
- CBSE guidelines
- NCERT frameworks
The facilitators emphasised that SEEL is designed to work alongside — and in the case of some schools, to replace — traditional moral science instruction, giving teachers a structured, skills-based way to address students’ behavioural and emotional development within the existing curriculum.
3. What SEEL Actually Builds
The trainers outlined four broad capability areas that the SEEL framework is intended to build in students:
- Social skills
- Emotional skills
- Ethical decision-making
- Logical thinking
These four pillars — Social, Emotional, Ethical, and Logical — give the framework its name (SEEL) and form the foundation for the nine specific skill domains covered in the next section.
4. The Nine SEEL Skill Domains
The core of the training was a detailed walkthrough of the nine developmental domains that make up the SEEL curriculum. These domains are designed to be delivered progressively across grade levels:
| # | Domain / Skill | Description |
| 1 | Self-Awareness | Guiding introspection and helping students explore their emotions, thoughts, and identity with clarity. |
| 2 | Self-Management | Developing the ability to regulate emotions and behaviour for confident, effective decision-making. |
| 3 | Positive Childhood | Building a foundation of secure, positive early experiences that support healthy emotional growth. |
| 4 | Social Awareness | Understanding and appreciating the perspectives, needs, and feelings of others. |
| 5 | Social Communication | Strengthening the ability to express oneself clearly and interact effectively with others. |
| 6 | Relationship Skills | Building and maintaining healthy relationships, bonds, and boundaries with family, friends, and society. |
| 7 | Cognitive Skills | Sharpening memory, attention, concentration, critical thinking, and reasoning. |
| 8 | Problem-Solving Skills | Applying logical thinking to analyse situations and arrive at rational, sensible solutions. |
| 9 | Responsible Decision-Making | Making ethical, values-based choices that reflect sound judgement and accountability. |
5. Practice and Classroom Application
The workshop also covered how SEEL is intended to be practised in the classroom rather than simply taught as theory. Teachers were introduced to a structured activity-based approach:
- Discuss and Debate — a dedicated activity format for students to engage with SEEL themes through open discussion and structured debate.
- Frequency — one period per week has been suggested for this practice-based component, so that SEEL is reinforced consistently through the school term rather than as a one-time session.
This practical component is designed to move SEEL beyond a set of concepts into a regular, lived classroom habit — giving students recurring opportunities to apply self-awareness, social awareness, and decision-making skills in a guided setting.
6. Attendance
The training was attended by teachers from Essence International School. Ms. Sanjana Thakur led the session on behalf of NGN Learning, with Ms. Neeru co-facilitating.
7. Gratitude
We express our heartfelt gratitude to our Director Mr. Vijay Menon, Director Dr. Hema Menon, Respected Principal Mrs. Beena Menon, and Esteemed Quality Coordinator Mrs. Jayshri Sastri for their constant guidance, encouragement, and unwavering support in making this Teacher Training Programme a success. We also extend our sincere thanks to the resource persons, Ms. Sanjana Thakur and Ms. Neeru from NGIN Learning, for conducting such an insightful and enriching session. Their expertise and valuable guidance made the programme highly meaningful and beneficial.
8. Conclusion
The 22 June 2026 workshop gave Essence International School’s teaching staff a working understanding of the NGN SEEL framework — its nine skill domains, its grounding in NEP 2020, CBSE, and NCERT guidelines, and a practical weekly structure (Discuss and Debate) for bringing it into the classroom. The training equips teachers to take on an active role in supporting students’ social, emotional, ethical, and logical development as part of regular school life, in line with NGN Learning’s preventive mental health care approach.