Archive for 2023
The Six Principles of Nurture
Nurture is a way of coaching children and young people to help them form positive relationships, build resilience and improve their social, emotional and mental health. When used in school, nurture improves attendance, behaviour and attainment, and ensures every child is able to learn. A solid understanding of The Six Principles of Nurture is crucial for education professionals looking to implement nurture in their settings.
1. Children’s learning is understood developmentally
“I was previously told that he could not learn in a school environment and certainly not work unsupported, this has been proven to be untrue as I have never known him to talk and share so much about what he’s learned but also is working unsupported in many areas."
– Parent of North Somerset pupil
Children are at different stages of development - socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually - and need to be responded to at their developmental level in each of these areas. Responding to children ‘just as they are’, with a non-judgemental and accepting attitude, will help them to feel safe and secure.
Social, emotional and behavioural development tools such as the Boxall Profile® help staff to assess and track a child’s needs and put strategies in place to support positive development.
2. The classroom offers a safe base
"By creating a safe and welcoming environment for all of our students, we are able to foster a culture of learning and growth that will serve them well throughout their lives.”
– Headteacher Sonia Potter, Norbury Manor Primary School
A classroom environment is inviting and nurturing for all. The classroom offers a balance of educational and social, emotional and mental health experiences aimed at supporting the development of children’s relationships with each other and with staff. Adults are reliable and consistent in their approach to children and make the important link between emotional containment and cognitive learning.
Where possible, predictable routines are explained and practised, and there are clear expectations and positive models of how all adults in school relate to children and young people, both in and out of the classroom. Consider whether your setting is a safe place - physically and emotionally - for your pupils, staff, parents and carers. How do you promote structure and predictability? It is also important that your classroom or nurture space has quiet zones and reflections of home.
3. The importance of nurture for the development of wellbeing
"It has helped to highlight children that may have otherwise slipped under the radar regarding SEMH, and has allowed us to even more precisely track the interventions and support strategies that are being put in place for our more vulnerable pupils”
– Teacher
Nurture involves listening and responding; everything is verbalised with an emphasis on the adults engaging with pupils in reciprocal shared activities. Children respond to being valued and thought about as individuals. In practice this involves noticing and praising small achievements - nothing should be hurried.
Strategies should be put in place that promote the welfare and wellbeing of children and young people, as well as staff welfare and wellbeing. Consider how achievements and attainments are celebrated, and what structures are in place to promote the pupils’ voice.
Need help implementing The Six Principles of Nurture?
We work with schools, local authorities, multi-academy trusts, and corporate partners. Find out more about working with nurtureuk.
4. Language is a vital means of communication
“I have seen a major improvement in his communication and being in nurture has helped him shine."
— Parent of child attending nurture provision
It is important for children and young people to be able to understand and express their thoughts and feelings. It is also crucial for adults to understand the importance of their own language towards children and young people, and how this can impact them. Children often ‘act out’ their feelings as they lack the vocabulary to name how they feel. Informal opportunities for talking and sharing are just as important as more formal lessons teaching language skills. This enables words to be used instead of actions to express feelings, and imaginative play can be used to help children understand the feelings of others.
It is helpful to provide opportunities for pupils, parents and staff to express their views, and that adults model how to share feelings and experiences. Pupils’ voices should be valued, and language should be assessed, developed and embedded in all aspects of the curriculum at the appropriate level for the child or young person.
Consider how children are taught to recognise emotions and name them in your context. Are they taught to recognise early warning signs of anger or anxiety and use strategies to de-escalate? How do daily routines allow for conversation and sharing of experiences?
5. All behaviour is communication
“I genuinely think, if we hadn’t done this when we did it [implemented nurture], at least two of my [year 10/11] boys would be in prison now.”
— Holly Woollcott, Designated Safeguarding Lead, Fulston Manor School
People communicate through behaviour. It is the adult’s role to help children and young people to understand their feelings, express their needs appropriately, and use non-threatening and supportive language to resolve situations. Our first responsibility in dealing with difficult or challenging behaviour, after safety, is to try to understand what the child is trying to tell us.
The outward behaviour is often the ‘tip of the iceberg’, and so it is important to consider the immediate environment and what occurred just before the incident happened. School events, the time of year, and home circumstances can also give us clues. Adults need to be calm and consistent, and understand that children may communicate their feelings in different ways. Children and young people need to be encouraged to reflect on their behaviour, and understand how to express their emotions appropriately.
This does not excuse the behaviour, but helps us to ask why the behaviour is occurring. Given what we know about this child and their development, what are they trying to tell us? It helps staff to respond in a firm but non-punitive way by not being discouraged or provoked. A quiet area to help students become calm and give them space before a discussion can often help, as well as recognising potential triggers and anxieties that could be avoided or reduced.
6. The importance of transitions in children’s lives
"My eldest really struggles to come to school in the morning as she has problems when there’s transitions. The nurture side of the school is just amazing. They are safe being able to continue with their education - mentally safe, physically safe, happy - so that they can grow healthy and happy in education and at home as well."
– Parent of Inclusive MAT pupil
Children and young people experience many transitions throughout their lives, and on a daily basis; transitions from home to school, between classes and teachers, from breaktime to lessons, or moving from primary to secondary school. Changes in routine are invariably difficult for vulnerable children and young people, and school staff need to help the child to transition with carefully managed preparation and support.
Pupils should be included in the planning of support, as well as parents and carers where possible, and information should be shared at key transition points.
Staff need to understand the emotions that may be triggered by both small and large changes, and children should be pre-warned or reminded about changes in routines, using visual timetables to emphasise this.
Consider periods of transition for your children; is there inexplicable behaviour just before the end of the day? Do staff feel frustrated by pupils who cause disruption as they move around the school? Children and young people may feel calmer if time can be made to discuss how they feel when things change, in an open and honest way, to help them put coping strategies in place.
The importance of the Six Principles of Nurture
These six principles help staff to focus on the social and emotional needs and development of children and young people, ensuring all pupils are ready to learn. They form the basis of nurture groups - a short-term intervention for pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties which make it harder for them to learn in a mainstream class - and can also be applied through a whole-school approach.
Want to know more, or need help implementing nurture in your school? Take a look at our range of training courses.
Let’s Connect: The power of nurture groups in building connections
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a significant rise in the number of mental health issues that children and young people are facing. According to the Mental Health Foundation, 75% of children and young people who experience mental health problems aren’t getting the help they need. It is impacting their learning, with many children and young people experiencing social, emotional and mental health difficulties. This is why it is more vital than ever that we shine the spotlight on the importance of children and young people’s mental health and to look at ways we can support them.
Today marks the start of Children’s Mental Health Week. Since it first launched in 2015, Children’s Mental Health Week has become a nationally recognised event with hundreds of schools, colleges, children, parents and carers taking part across England, Wales and Scotland. The awareness week is run by Place2Be and it runs until Sunday 12th February. The theme for this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week is “Let’s Connect”.
Building positive connections with others can help children and young people to adopt healthier thinking habits, reduce stress and manage anxiety. These connections make children and young people feel good, and as a result they are more likely to stay connected by continuing to communicate with others and joining in with classroom discussions. The more children and young people communicate with friends and family, the more they feel loved, appreciated and valued. There are plenty of ways we can help children and young people to feel good about themselves and encourage them to stay connected with others; one of these methods is to set up a nurture group at school.
At nurtureuk, we are dedicated to improving the social, emotional, mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. We’ve been at the forefront of the nurture movement for over 50 years and we know first-hand the positive impact that the nurturing approach has on children and young people. Nurture groups in particular, have helped children and young people to develop vital social skills, confidence and self-respect. The environment in nurture groups is warm and accepting, which helps pupils to develop meaningful connections with both teachers and peers.
First and foremost, nurture groups focus on supporting pupils to form attachments to loving and caring adults at school. This unconditional positive regard is the most powerful mechanism for change and it can help to improve children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. The relationship between the two nurture practitioners, always nurturing and supportive, provides a role model that pupils observe and begin to copy. In nurture groups, pupils are given ample opportunities to understand and manage their emotions, reflect on their behaviours in a non-judgmental way, and develop positive friendships. Food is shared at ‘breakfast’ or ‘snack time’ with much opportunity for social learning, helping pupils to attend to the needs of others, with time to listen and be listened to.
Nurture groups led by trained practitioners offer an effective intervention both in primary and secondary education. They have been powerful in enabling emotionally vulnerable children to develop their skills and resilience to engage in, and benefit from, mainstream education. It is evident that nurture groups have positive mental health outcomes across a wide range of areas, for pupils themselves and also for teachers, the school community and beyond.
Reducing exclusions through a whole-school nurturing approach
We know that a nurturing approach can have an incredible effect on the lives of children and young people, and we love to hear about the real-life impact it has in the schools we work with. The following case study was from a school on our Nurturing London Violence Reduction Unit Programme which finished in 2022. The storyteller is a Senior and Safeguarding Lead of a large secondary and sixth form community school situated in North-East London.
____________________________________________________________
Before we joined the programme, nurture practice was not really recognised as a legitimate approach. Normal school processes – assessments, data, numbers, results and targets – guided teachers’ decisions more than a pupil’s wellbeing needs. We never gave the time to meaningfully ask a pupil how they were and want to know the answer. The Covid-19 pandemic helped to change this prevailing attitude as it demanded a wider societal recognition of trauma and meeting needs. All levels of society were made to reflect on what really matters to people and schools had no option but to witness the partial breakdown of society and social norms whilst we were all being affected by the pandemic.
At the start of the programme, my knowledge of nurture practice was quite good, but now it is completely embedded in my practice. All decisions affecting a young person in our school are now made with a nurture focus, and relationships with staff and the way I frame conversations with them has also changed. Since adopting a more nurturing approach I feel that I have more support from our local authority services around social, emotional and mental health and I think that since the pandemic, there is a greater recognition of these needs from other agencies too. We may have arrived at this point regardless, but the programme allowed us to embed nurture practice earlier so that we could respond to the needs created by the pandemic at an earlier stage.
The school leadership recognised that if we continued our previous approach, we would continue to see the same results, so our school completely changed our behaviour system at the start of this year, moving away from exclusions and moving towards creating a space where young people build and rebuild relationships with staff across the school. We have numerous pupils who have not been excluded because nurture has changed the way we meet their needs. Now we check-in more, make space for them to voice their needs and make more reasonable adjustments and we find that we are managing them, they are managing themselves and they are staying in mainstream education. The unseen work of the nurturing approach is reaching across the school and our pupils are aware that things have changed. They have more faith in the system in which they find themselves in, and if they have made a mistake or are in trouble for something, now they don’t question that they aren’t punished or excluded – they trust that there will be a conversation or a reflection, rather than a sanction.
The PATTERN partnership programme afforded us the opportunity to have inspiring young people come in and work with our young people. Having adults that pupils could relate to, speak to and be honest with became such an important outlet for these vulnerable young people who were on the cusp of exclusion or big educational changes. They were made to feel secure and at ease which made them want to turn up! The pupils attending were at risk of truancy, but they attended consistently each week and enjoyed the sessions. I was constantly asked each week if the sessions were taking place and what the topic of discussion might be! These pupils already have excellent English teachers, but I think they got so much more from the PATTERN sessions than they were from their English classes.
The staff training offered by the programme really resonated and has helped us to spread the message of nurture and the importance of building relationships across staff teams. The networking meetings that I attended were excellent and really valuable for my own development. The toolboxes we received were well used during lockdown and have now been embedded into the curriculum for next year.
We will continue to move the school further in the nurturing approach because of the impact of the programme. The small things we have done and changed as a result of this programme – those small things have moved mountains for our young people and for the school.
____________________________________________________________
We are delighted to have been commissioned by the London Violence Reduction Unit to deliver a new programme alongside delivery partners Tender. The Inclusive and Nurturing Schools Programme aims to tackle school exclusions across 70 schools in seven London Boroughs. For more information, please visit our website.
The Boxall Profile®, leading tool to assess the SEMH needs of children
The Boxall Profile® is a unique online platform used to assess the social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) of children and young people. The Boxall Profile® enables educators to develop a precise and accurate understanding of individual children’s social and emotional functioning, and to plan effective interventions and support activities to combat barriers to learning.
It is a highly regarded tool that was cited by the Department for Education (Department for Education, 2018, Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools Guidance) and is the most popular measurement used in schools to understand the wellbeing and support needs of their pupils (Department for Education, 2017, Survey: supporting mental health in schools and colleges).
Why is the Boxall Profile® so powerful?
The Boxall Profile® is a powerful tool that can help education professionals to understand what lies behind a pupil’s behaviour, providing an accurate and precise insight into their mental health and wellbeing as well as identifying the level of skills they currently possess to access learning.
This unique assessment tool is powered by over 50 years of rigorous, evidence-based research – tracking and managing children’s social, emotional and mental health needs.
Tiffany Dunworth, a teacher at Laurance Haines School, has described her own experience of using the Boxall Profile® and explains how useful it is in her role:
“This year was my first time doing Boxalls and I found it incredibly insightful. I found that it made me think more deeply about individuals and the results were interesting. For some children, choosing an answer was immediate, for others it took a little bit of thinking time. Conversations after the completion of the Boxalls were helpful and allowed me to understand why children are the way they are and what we can do to support them best. I was initially worried about doing the Boxalls as it was my first time, but I enjoyed the process and found the questions clear and understandable. I feel that I have a better understanding of how to support my pupils with their social and emotional wellbeing.”
Who benefits from the Boxall Profile®?
- Children and young people – the Boxall Profile® gives a voice to children and young people’s behaviours that otherwise go unexplained or often overlooked. It provides an early identification and assessment of needs so children and young people can get the specific support they need at school.
- Practitioners and teaching professionals – the Boxall Profile® increases practitioner’s confidence as they learn the underlying reasons for a pupil’s difficulties and how to overcome them. It offers education professionals a wide range of suggestions about relevant resources and strategies that they can use to support their pupils.
- Schools and educational settings – the Boxall Profile® provides schools with a framework for the systematic assessment of pupils. It also helps them to develop an evidence based, whole-school approach that promotes positive mental health and wellbeing across the school.
- Local authorities and governments – the Boxall Profile® produces quantitative evidence to explore and better plan targeted approaches aimed at supporting social emotional wellbeing. It also helps to measure the impact of mental health support offered to pupils with particular needs, across a whole local authority or whole country.
Why is the Boxall Profile® needed in schools in 2023?
With the effects of the pandemic still taking its toll, many children and young people are concerned about the lasting impact on their education and futures – and these concerns may lead to drastic behaviour changes. According to a recent study by YoungMinds and Beano Brain, the cost of living crisis has also had a negative influence on young people’s mental health as they have become increasingly anxious with concerns about money. It is vital that schools use the Boxall Profile® to identify what may be behind a pupil’s challenging behaviour and what their needs might be.
The need to nurture children and young people’s wellbeing and prevent the escalation of more complex mental health problems has never been more apparent. Schools should monitor the SEMH needs of all pupils and address them at an early stage. The best way to do this is to use the Boxall Profile® – it allows teachers to understand a child’s social and emotional competencies, and to plan effective interventions and support activities where needed.
By understanding and responding to children’s behaviours and the social and emotional pressures they are under using the Boxall Profile®, schools can de-escalate situations which might otherwise lead to exclusion. With the right support and training, many of these issues can be dealt with in a mainstream school setting.
Visit our Boxall Profile® website to learn more about the tool and why it’s important to complete an SEMH Assessment for each of your pupils.