We love celebrating the nurturing journey of our schools! We understand the commitment and hard work that is needed to implement a new culture and ethos that puts the social, emotional and mental health needs of pupils at the heart of education practice. That’s why at nurtureuk we’ve created two awards to recognise outstanding nurture provision: the National Nurturing School Award (NNSA) focusing on a whole-school approach, and the Marjorie Boxall Quality Mark Award (MBQMA) celebrating nurture group provision.
Our National Nurturing School Award celebrates schools who have completed the National Nurturing Schools Programme (NNSP) and have successfully created a nurturing culture that responds to the social, emotional and mental health needs of its pupils. Assessed against the NNSP standards in areas such as stakeholders, delivery, and leadership and management, successful schools retain the award for three years, after which they have to reapply.
Pupils attending a National Nurturing School benefit from a whole-school approach that places their strengths and needs at the heart of practice, enabling them to flourish and be the best they can be. The culture helps to grow their confidence whilst improving their attendance and attainment. The award also demonstrates to prospective parents, school inspectors, and the local community the school’s commitment to developing an inclusive ethos where every voice counts.
“The whole process of achieving the [National Nurturing School] award has not been a chore, it’s been a celebration every step of the way.” – Virtual School Kent, 2022
Our Marjorie Boxall Quality Mark Award celebrates outstanding ‘classic Boxall’ nurture group provision. The award was established and refined by key figures in the development of the nurture group model, including Marjorie Boxall herself. The award recognises the dedication and specialist skills of the nurture group staff, and their commitment to supporting children and young people.
Schools delivering the Boxall Nurture Group® are assessed against a set of quality standards derived from the Six Principles of Nurture and linked to the use of the Boxall Profile® assessment tool. As with the National Nurturing School Award, the MBQMA highlights to external stakeholders the positive impact of a nurture group on pupils who, for a variety of reasons, may be struggling to access the curriculum in a mainstream classroom.
“It was a very positive experience and it gave us the opportunity to celebrate nurture throughout the whole school. The children were eager to talk about their nurture journey too. I know there will be lots of nurture teachers eager to apply for the reaccreditation and I will be highly recommending it to them all. We are overjoyed to receive this award!” – MBQMA school, 2023
As increasing numbers of schools are turning to nurture interventions to respond to the decline in school attendance, attainment and behaviour, it is vital that we celebrate nurture provision that responds to the social, emotional and mental health needs of all pupils, enabling them to access the education they deserve.
You can find all our current award recipients on our Awards page. If you’re interested in applying for one of our awards, you can find out more via our website.