Promoting emotional wellbeing and positive behaviour through Nurture
The Derbyshire Nurture Team (DNT) is part of the Engagement Service. We are a team of specialist Nurture trained teachers and teaching assistants with extensive skills and experience of working in Derbyshire schools and academies to promote positive behaviour and emotional wellbeing.
We provide an opportunity for children to experience a structured, supportive programme that helps develop early learning skills.
We work in schools, directly with pupils, staff and parents to set up and run Nurture Groups.
The Nurture Group provides a unique opportunity to facilitate the development of confidence, self-esteem and social skills in a secure, caring environment. Children who would benefit from being in a Nurture Group are identified jointly by school and DNT staff and present a range of needs that limit their progress in school, from anxious and withdrawn, to acting out.
We are a service offering consultation, advice and support to schools as part of the graduated response to identify, assess and meet the underlying Social, Emotion and Mental Health (SEMH) and behavioural needs of children and young people. We deliver training to support the development of practice, including Boxall Profile which is a widely used assessment tool specially developed for Nurture Groups. Our aim is to improve outcomes for learning, social and emotional well-being and build the capacity within schools to promote positive behaviour and reduce exclusion.
Schools are increasingly drawing on funding to purchase services that close the gap in achievement and attainment for children displaying challenging behaviour as a result of SEND and SEMH difficulties, and now Covid.
Nurture UK celebrated 50 years of Nurture in 2019, demonstrating the continuing impact of this provision and has been positively recognised by Ofsted, and more recently mentioned in the Timpson Report 2019 and the Recovery Curriculum in 2020.
A nurture group is a small group of 6 to 10 children or young people usually based in a mainstream setting and staffed by 2 supportive adults. We provide an opportunity for children to experience a structured, supportive programme, that helps develop early learning skills. Children continue to remain in their class for part of the day and usually return full time within an agreed timescale.
Children who will benefit from the nurture approach:
- anxious, shy children
- non speakers
- those lacking confidence
- children with attention difficulties
- children who have suffered loss
- children who find it hard to make choices
- children who are angrier than others
- children with low self esteem
- children too dependent on adults
The sending instructions detailed on the Nurture Referral form are still correct. Nurture referrals are still being picked up in the BSS Perspective Lite inbox. All other referrals to ISAS must be made using the form linked on their referrals page.