Nurture Group
Brief History
Nurture groups were started in London in 1969 by Marjorie Boxall, an educational psychologist employed by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA). The groups spread rapidly and quickly gained official approval, demonstrated by the highly influential ‘Warnock’ report, 1978. Presently, Nurture groups are an integral part of many primary and secondary schools all across the United Kingdom , helping children to develop and reach their full potential.
MISSION STATEMENT
‘Joining the pieces together to help children reach their full potential’
The Nurture Group in St Michael's CE Primary School is run by Abbie Stickland and Ella Entwistle who are directly accountable to Nick Wills (SENCo)
OUR LIGHTHOUSE
Our Lighthouse has been carefully arranged to have the best of both classroom and a home environment. It is designed to be warm, and welcoming in order to provide a consistent, predictable and safe space for children. Therefore, the children are supported within Lighthouse to raise their emotional well-being, self-esteem and have a sense of belonging to the school community.
We follow the six principles of Nurture:
- Children’s learning is understood developmentally
- The classroom offers a safe base
- Nurture is important for the development of self-esteem/wellbeing
- Language is understood as a vital means of communication
- All behaviour is communication
- The importance of transition in children’s lives
An afternoon in the Lighthouse
The children come out of their class for five afternoons a week where they enjoy structured activities which include group listening, social skill activities, work tasks based on their classroom topics or emotional literacy. The Lighthouse also offers ‘snack time’ where children are encouraged to take turns talking around the table, listen to each other as well as sharing their daily news. The group runs on consistency, positive reinforcement and praise. The adults' role is to ascertain any gaps in development, to engage with the children at their stage of development with emotional acceptance and focused teaching.
How the Nurture group will help with your child:
- To engage
- To share and take turns
- To build on friendship skills
- Gives opportunities to talk and understand their feelings
- To work on curriculum based activities from their classroom
- To form positive relationships within school
- Enable positive social skills
- Build on their fine motor skills
- Promote positive behaviour within the home and classroom