Schools are seen as having a central role to play in the "Every Child Matters" (ECM) effort, which many are finding somewhat challenging, an additional pressure and something of a departure from their usual role. One way forward may be to help schools make links between ECM and other activities with which they are starting to engage but with which they may not necessarily have made connections. This paper will, therefore, explore the links between the ECM agenda and efforts being made to develop work on social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools and suggest that SEL is absolutely central to the achievement of ECM and share some fundamental principles and concerns with it.