Nurture
Nurture is designed to be a bridge between home and school; a place where children can feel safe and secure and therefore develop their individual needs further.
Nurture is part of the school’s Inclusion and PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) provision. Its purpose is to offer children opportunities to support their social and emotional development. There is much research evidence that children’s learning is most effective when they have a sense of emotional well being, good self esteem and a feeling of belonging to their school community. Nurture provides children with this opportunity and so helps to develop their maturity and resilience.
Before children attend nurture provision parents are informed by letter and requested to sign a permission slip.
Nurture provision for every child
Nurture support is not limited to specific individuals or groups, as we embed nurturing principles and practice at a whole school level, providing appropriate support for all pupils attending our school. We utilise strategies to overcome difficulties through the provision of a social and emotional curriculum in every year group. This aims to develop their social skills and understand their emotional needs. This enables many children to be successful in their academic learning.
Which children attend small group/individual nurture sessions?
Children may attend sessions for specific reasons, for example:
Friendship difficulties – keeping/making friends
Quiet, shy, withdrawn
Find it hard to listen to others or join in
Disruptive towards others
Find it hard to accept losing a game
Find it hard to share and take turns
Find it a bit difficult to settle into class
Bullying
Low self esteem
Poor relationships with adults in school
Bereavement
Family illness or break-up
How long will my child be in the Nurture group for?
Each child’s needs differ from their peers. Children attend for a 4-6 week cycle before reassessment and then further discussion and planning. However the children remain an integral member of their mainstream class and we try to ensure that they do not miss break times, lunch with their class, some PE sessions, some assemblies, guests in school, outings or anything else that may be different from the normal routine of the week.
Useful Links
The Nurture Group Network
www.nurturegroups.org
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
National website for CAMHS
www.camhs.org.uk
Young Minds
The children's mental health charity
www.youngminds.org.uk
Parentline Plus
National charity working with parents. Has a free confidential helpline
parentlineplus.org.uk