Nurturing Solihull Programme

We were commissioned by Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council to deliver the National Nurturing Schools Programme to 54 schools across the region. The programme was delivered across four cohorts from 2024-26.

The council funded schools to participate in the programme, utilising their Delivering Better Value in SEND grant from the Department for Education. 

This followed a successful pilot programme with three Solihull schools who started the National Nurturing Schools Programme in January 2023.

The programme aimed to improve whole school approaches to social, emotional and mental health needs, with a specific focus on improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND. It was designed to complement two other strands of work to deliver on the council’s inclusion strategy.

The programme has had a positive impact on children and young people's social and emotional wellbeing and mental health with Solihull Council saying:

Two girls laughing together at school

The work completed to date has enabled some senior leaders to be brave and to put nurture at the heart of what they do. It has also aligned very well with the attachment aware and trauma informed training run by Solihull’s Educational Psychology Service.

The impact of gaining the award has been particularly noticeable across the whole school community, especially within the participating schools. These schools now consistently reference the nurture principles on their websites and in other communications.