Our Nurture Room takes place in The Den and runs 2 afternoons a week. It was set up in November 2013 and is staffed by Mrs Price and Ms Burke. Ms Burke is a qualified Emotional Literacy support assistant and Mrs Price is a fully trained Nurture Group practitioner. Mrs Price is qualified in ‘The Theory and Practice of Nurture Groups’.

What is a Nurture Room?

A Nurture Room is a warm and welcoming space which provides a consistent, predictable and safe place for our children. It is set up to be a bridge between home and school, where missed learning opportunities are addressed according to the individual profile of needs.

The Den is therefore set up with a table which can be used for sharing snacks as well as art and group work, a carpeted area for sharing games together, a book area for quiet reading, a home corner, a kitchen area for easy preparation of tea-time/ breakfast snacks and resources suitable for a variety of age ranges. There are also two comfortable sofas where we sit together for group chats and story reading. The Den also has access to a playground which is used and enjoyed by the children if the weather is fine.

The purpose and philosophy of Nurture provision

The Den is a small class of between six and ten pupils. Its composition is carefully thought-out to create a balanced and functional group. The Den is part of the school’s Inclusion and PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) provision. Its purpose is to offer children opportunities to re-visit early learning skills and promote and support their social and emotional development. There is much research evidence that children’s learning is most effective when they have a sense of emotional well-being, self-esteem and a feeling of belonging to their school community. The Den provides children with this opportunity and so helps to develop their maturity, resourcefulness and resilience. It also enables children to experience positive relationships with their peers and additional adults. It is a place of learning.

Which children attend Nurture Group?

Children may attend the Nurture Group for a number of reasons, for example if they:

• are quiet, shy, withdrawn,
• find it hard to listen to others or join in,
• find it hard to form positive social relationships with peers,
• find it difficult to settle into class,
• have low self-esteem,
• have poor relationships with adults in school,
• have had a bereavement,
• have experienced family illness or break-up.
• find it difficult to enter the classroom in a calm orderly manner

How will the Nurture Group help my child?

Coming to The Den will boost confidence and self- esteem and provide children with the extra help sometimes needed to improve social skills, independence and the ability to be able to transfer these skills into their class. The children learn to:

• join in a variety of activities and games

• settle and get ready for the session
• listen to the adults and their peers
• concentrate
• share and take turns
• build up friendships with their classmates
• communicate and verbalise their thoughts and feelings in a positive manner.
• have a calm start to the day

How long do the children attend The Den for?

Children attend on a part-time basis for a period of 2-4 terms. However, we ensure that the children do not miss special assemblies, guests in school, outings or anything else that may be different from the normal routine of the week. The Senior Teacher Leading Inclusion, the class teacher and nurture staff work closely together to monitor the children’s progress and plan reintegration programmes to ensure a smooth transition back into the class.

Are parents/carers involved?

The staff in The Den encourage dialogue between themselves and parents/carers about their children’s progress or any concern they may have. Furthermore, we like to consider that our door is always open and therefore welcome parents and carers to visit and join in sessions. Event invitations are also sent out to join us on a regular basis, for example: open afternoon or end of term afternoon tea-party.

For further information, please contact Mrs Morris (Senior Teacher Leading Inclusion) or Mrs Price (Nurture Room Leader).

What the children say:

 “I like having toast and colouring and playing.”

“You learn to be kind.”

“I like cooking and I enjoyed it when we decorated biscuits.”

“You get to play with all kinds of toys.”

“I love it in here.”