Based in Kent, Luke oversees both the Solihull Nurturing Schools Programme and Surrey Nurturing Schools Programme. As Programme Manager, he supports over 150 schools to embed nurturing interventions.

Before joining nurtureuk, Luke worked a variety of roles in research, charity and educational settings. Most recently, he has supported organisations to build partnerships and enhance their delivery of large programmes, working with non-profits in both the democratic engagement and financial education sectors. Luke is also a qualified Secondary English teacher, having worked as both a teacher and subject leader. His commitment to nurture emerges from his time as a teacher, where he saw the impact of the classroom offering a safe base and the importance of all young people developing the social and emotional skills they need succeed.

Luke has a first degree in Cultural Studies, a Masters in Methods of Social Research, and has a background in social research and education policy.

What does nurture mean to you?

It means recognising context and valuing all that children bring to the classroom. For me, nurture involves always leading with compassion and empathy, and ensuring that children and young people feel valued and thought about as individuals in a meaningful way.

What do you enjoy about working at nurtureuk?

I really enjoy the way nurturing principles guide everything we do at nurtureuk. We are an inclusive and warm team. I am proud to work alongside like-minded colleagues who are so passionately committed to sharing knowledge of nurture.

Louisa joined nurtureuk as Head of Income and Partnerships in April 2024. Previously she has worked in various charity sector and educational settings, often with vulnerable adults and young people and most recently as Director of a mental health charity in Bristol. Supporting SEMH needs has been a strand that has run throughout Louisa’s career and she’s very excited to be working in the nurtureuk team and joining the vision to ensure no child is limited by lack of nurture in education.

Outside of work, Louisa loves to cook (and eat), be creative, and spend time outdoors, usually camping.

What does nurture mean to you?

To me, nurture means having a safe and comfortable space to explore, learn and be myself, in the company of people I know care for me, accept me and empower me. I truly believe that nurture is absolutely fundamental to healthy development and ability to learn and enjoy learning.

What do you enjoy about working at nurtureuk?

I love the fun and inclusive atmosphere at nurtureuk. We celebrate each other’s achievements and everyone passionately collaborates to achieve our mission. We are mission led and making nurture the norm informs everything we do.

Katharine is the Programme Coordinator for the Solihull Nurturing Schools Programme and the Surrey Nurturing Schools Programme. They are here to support over 150 schools in their nurturing journey.

Katharine has experience in customer service across the not for profit sector as well as working in education. They are driven by their desire to help people, listen and provide a safe space. Working in a school, they learned of the challenges faced in education and recognised the need for a nurturing environment.

In their free time they enjoy writing and performing poetry, painting and playing football.

What does nurture mean to you?

Nurture is an approach that helps us understand ourselves and others. It leads with empathy and kindness recognising the importance of everyone in the classroom and beyond. I see it as a way to overcome inequality at a crucial stage in a young person’s life.

What do you enjoy about working at nurtureuk?

I enjoy working towards a goal that aligns with my core values allowing me to engage authentically with the subject. The team is welcoming and supportive and I feel valued. Seeing the outcome of what we do and the difference it makes to the lives of children, young people, staff and the community is a hugely rewarding experience.

Rhian is a member of the Customer Support Team. Her passion for the charity was ignited by personal experience, as a close family member greatly benefitted from a nurture group in their school.

Prior to her role with nurtureuk, Rhian worked for her Local Authority as a Contact Tracer for NHS Wales Test Trace Protect Service. Within this position, she held responsibility of “education liaison”.

Outside of her professional endeavours, Rhian finds joy in crochet and other arts and crafts. Rhian also has a passion for travel and hopes to one day travel the world.

Rebecca leads on income generation for nurtureuk by developing partnerships with schools, multi-academy trusts, local authorities and all other organisations looking to improve the social, emotional and mental health of children and young people.

In 2018, Rebecca was awarded a doctorate in History. She is excited to combine her love of education with her many years experience of business development in the charity sector to support nurtureuk to achieve its vision.

Rebecca spends her spare time either cooking new recipes or reading fiction curled up on the sofa with her dog Remy.

What does nurture mean to you?

To me, nurture means being empathetic and encouraging so that people can achieve their very best – whether that’s the educators we deliver training to, our local authority and MAT partners, or my colleagues at nurtureuk.

What do you enjoy about working at nurtureuk?

All my colleagues, so many of whom have experience of working in schools. There is a real belief in nurture and everyone works well together because of the impact we know we can have on children and young people.

Jerina is nurtureuk’s Customer Support Manager, based in Staffordshire, leading the team who are the first point of contact for our customers.

Before joining nurtureuk in March 2023 Jerina worked as Customer Support Manager at a fintech start-up focused on reducing financial inequalities in the credit system and prior to that was Senior Broadcaster at INRIX, reporting on the travel news for local BBC and many well known national radio stations for 13 years.

Jerina is passionate about addressing inequalities in society and is excited to be able to support the staff who provide the nurture provision that makes such a positive difference to the lives of so many young people.

Outside of work Jerina loves spending time with her family and practising yoga.

What does nurture mean to you?

To me nurture is acknowledging that everyone’s experience of life is completely unique and that results in advantages and disadvantages in life chances and outcomes which are often completely out of an individuals control. From that place of acknowledgement an understanding develops that when a person is challenging or does not meet our expectations socially or emotionally we need to look beyond that to the full context of their life and instead of judgement and punishment or shutting down we need to be open and nurturing and extend care, support and friendship.

What do you enjoy about working at nurtureuk?

I love the people at nurtureuk, everyone has the children and young people that the charity exists to benefit at the forefront of their minds in everything they do. They are a great bunch of people who look out for each other, care for each other and enjoy a laugh!

Ebony joined the nurtureuk programmes team as Senior Programmes Officer in 2023, and she is responsible for managing the charity’s small to medium sized programmes. She has come from a similar role in a grant making organisation, where she managed national grant giving programmes.

Ebony has a passion for education, and has undertaken various mentoring, tutoring and volunteering roles in educational settings, as well as a research project for her BSc degree in Natural Sciences in the field of science education.

In her spare time, she can be found reading, in the gym or outside in nature.

What does nurture mean to you?

It means understanding and empathising with the perspectives and experiences of children and young people, and using that as the foundation of your interaction with them. Nurture is not about turning a blind eye to complex and challenging behaviour, it is about firmly but empathetically working with that student to improve their educational outcomes.

What do you enjoy about working at nurtureuk?

nurtureuk as an organisation truly embodies it’s vision and ethos, with a warm, welcoming and nurturing culture and I very much enjoy being a part of the team!

Jo is nurtureuk’s Senior Digital Product Manager, based in Cheshire, managing the Boxall Profile® Online.

Before joining nurtureuk in 2022, Jo worked as a Marketing Manager at a leading supplier of Print Technology solutions and prior to that held roles in both Marketing and Product Management, working in many industries including Education and Manufacturing.

Jo has a degree in English Literature and Applied Social Studies, a CIM Professional Diploma in Marketing and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. She is a volunteer with the Girls Out Loud Charity, involved in the Big Sister program and is passionate about empowering children and young people to reach their potential.

In her free time, Jo enjoys spending time with her family and friends, loves to run & cycle and is at her happiest when by the sea.

What does nurture mean to you?

Nurture means supporting children and young people’s skill development, promoting positive wellbeing, and removing barriers to learning so they can achieve their full potential.

What do you enjoy about working at nurtureuk?

I love working with purpose, developing digital solutions that make a real difference and being part of a team of passionate colleagues who are committed to ensuring that nurture is the norm for our children and young people.

Zoe joined nurtureuk in 2019 and has undertaken various roles during her time here, she then became part of the VRU team in early 2021.

Alongside being a Mum of a teenage daughter and an almost teenage son, Zoe has spent most of her adult life working in Health and Social care roles, having realised how rewarding these roles are. This has progressed to a keen interest and passion for mental health and as a result of this, Zoe recently worked towards and achieved a degree in Psychology.

When time allows, Zoe loves to spend it with her children, walk the dog listening to podcasts or watch football.

What does nurture mean to you?

Giving (someone or something) the care, kindness and protection needed for healthy, safe and secure development.

What do you enjoy about working at nurtureuk?

Knowing that the work we are doing is having an impact on the lives of children and young people who might be struggling, for various reasons, at school which in turn could help improve their life trajectory. Working with such incredible colleagues who also share similar values.

Joe is a member of the customer support team focused on the Boxall Profile® Online.

He has worked in and been involved with nurture groups from a young age and hopes to bring that experience to his role. After years of working in hospitality, Joe is excited to bring his customer service knowledge to a charitable organisation.

In his spare time Joe enjoys running Tabletop Roleplaying games for his friends or newcomers at public events.

What does nurture mean to you?

Nurture has been a part of my family for a long time, I’m very happy to be working here after years of seeing its values from the outside.

What do you enjoy about working at nurtureuk?

Nurtureuk is a great place to work, the values we teach are kept internally too. All the staff here are approachable and welcoming people.