Nurture Group
What is a Nurture group?
Nurture groups address the social, emotional and learning of individual pupils by providing the necessary help to remove barriers to learning.
There is much research evidence that children’s’ learning is at its most effective when they have a sense of emotional wellbeing, good self-esteem and a feeling of belonging to their school community.
Nurture group principles:
- Children’s learning is understood developmentally.
- The group offers a safe base.
- All behaviour is communication.
- The importance of transition in children’s lives.
- Builds a child’s self-esteem and confidence.
- Builds skills for classroom learning.
- To enjoy crafts, games, outdoor activities, snack time and much more.
Our aim is:
- To help children to be confident enough to join in and ‘have a go’.
- To help them settle.
- To enhance listening and concentration skills.
- To encourage and cement friendships with their peers.
- To experience and practice the development of positive relationships.
- To share and take turns.
- To accept losing a game.
- To build friendships with classmates resulting in the making of better learners.
- It gives opportunities to talk about and understand their own feelings.
Finally, it gives the children a chance and helps to encourage a more positive profile among their peers and members of staff.
Why might a child attend Nurture group?
The reasons why a child might attend a nurture group are varied. They can include low self-esteem issues – they may find it hard to listen to others or to join in with class discussions. Some pupils may be experiencing a family illness, break up or bereavement. It maybe that the pupil is quiet, shy and withdrawn and a smaller group of children will encourage them to make friends and maintain relationships. The intention of our Nurture group is to help boost self-confidence and self-regard. We also aim to provide children with the extra skills and independence needed on a day to day basis and in life.
When does the Forsbrook Nurture Group meet?
The group meets every Tuesday and is designed to be a bridge between home and school. It is a place where the children can feel safe and secure, forge friendships and grow. We actively include and encourage our four school values in our weekly sessions as these are the foundations that create our Forsbrook family.
School values
Our school values: Love, Hope, Peace, Joy, Friendship, Compassion, Respect and Courage are also at the heart of everything we do. Promoting these in the weekly sessions ensure that our children treat themselves and others with the respect that they deserve.
Alongside the structured activities the children have snacks and drinks. They also help to prepare these, help to wash dishes and tidy away (parent and carers take note)! This gives them the chance to interact, work as a team and to help friendships grow.
It is our plan, in the summer months, to go outdoors and take our sessions to the wild side. Outdoor learning has a huge range of benefits, including improved health and fitness, concentration, teamwork, emotional wellbeing and independence.
A few of our group members are already committed Eco Warriors and we are hoping that they can help to lead some of the sessions giving them ownership of their learning.
Forsbrook Nurture Group
Operates on Tuesday 10.25am-11am.
It is currently ran by Mrs Holdcroft, Mrs Streeter and Mrs Pickford.
Our nurture group:
- Is a small discrete class.
- Provides a safe and predictable structured environment.
- Gives children opportunities to revisit ‘nurturing’ experiences.
Teaching staff and teaching assistants model positive relationships and there is an emphasis on the development of language and communication skills and a focus on social, emotional and challenging behaviour.