Nurture Room

At Moston Lane Primary School, we are in the process of applying for the National Nurturing Schools award.  The award is intended to support Quality First Teaching and Learning and promote healthy outcomes for children and young people, focusing on emotional needs and development alongside academic learning in a whole-school environment.  A nurturing school’s practice is underpinned by the six Nurture Principles.  In the autumn term, we set up a Nurture Room, where the principles were introduced to the children and used to inform all activities planned by staff.  From the spring term, we have, through staff training and a range of activities for the children, introduced the principles to the whole school. Interventions are informed by our use of the Boxall Profile, which identifies a child’s specific social and emotional needs. We are developing our wider-scale use of the Boxall Profile in order to develop more general, class-based targets for each team across the school.

Children’s learning is understood developmentally.

Child Friendly Definition: We all learn in our own way and in our own time.

Through this principle, practitioners understand that children develop at their own pace and in their own ways. It promotes a child-led approach by understanding a child’s stage of development and responding appropriately.

At Moston Lane, we:

• Use IEPs to identify the specific needs of and set targets for children on the SEN register
• Use Boxall Profiles to track the progress of children’s social and emotional development

 

The classroom offers a safe base.

Child Friendly Definition: Our school is a safe place to be.

The classroom and school offer a safe place for children where they feel secure and anxiety is contained. Children feel comfortable in their surroundings and there is a consistency of approach between staff in the school.

At Moston Lane, we:

• Offer breakfast for the children
• Use ‘teams’ instead of ‘classes’
• Develop child-led team charters
• Classroom environments are carefully planned with designated calm spaces

 

The importance of Nurture for the development of wellbeing

Child Friendly Definition: We believe in ourselves.

Schools foster an ethos that celebrates children to build self-esteem. Self-esteem can be developed in children by making each child feel valued and praising their achievements.

At Moston Lane, we:

• Have a Nurture Space to develop social and emotional skills and improve self-esteem
• An Oasis room which uses weekly sessions to support pupils who are struggling with a range of social, emotional and mental health issues
• Place 2 Be provide mental health support in school through one-to-one counselling
• Have a staff wellbeing team

 

Language is understood as a vital means of communication.

Child Friendly Definition: We use our words to talk about how we feel.

Language is understood to be vital as a way for children to communicate their feelings and emotions. Children should be supported in developing emotional literacy to help develop their skills in communicating how they are feeling, rather than acting out emotions in potentially inappropriate ways.

At Moston Lane, we:

• Have an Inclusion Manager who is ELKLAN trained
• Have a speech and language therapist who works in school one day a week

 

All behaviour is communication.

Child Friendly Definition: Our behaviour can show how we are feeling.

An understanding that challenging behaviour is often a child’s way of trying to communicate their emotions in some way. They could be displaying their frustration, anger, tiredness or excitement, for example. Understanding this principle is important for understanding how to respond to challenging behaviour in a supportive and restorative way.

At Moston Lane, we:

• Use communication charts to show our feelings
• Use restorative justice within our behaviour policy

 

The importance of transition in children’s lives.

Child Friendly Definition: We can cope with changes in our lives.

Understanding that transitions can be challenging times for children. This includes the big transitions from starting nursery to moving on to school and then secondary school, but also giving consideration to the small everyday transitions that children experience. This could be as small as moving from one activity to another, moving from learning time to break time or a change in teacher.

At Moston Lane, we:

• Use visual timetables in every classroom
• Have transition days for new school years, where there is close communication between the current and new class teachers for each team
• Use the Three Keys programme

 

What this means for your child:

Teachers or Behaviour Leads meet with children after they have made an unhelpful choice and discuss why this happened and what they could do next time

Teachers plan whole-school emotional literacy units once a term

All staff use positive reinforcement and always try to ‘catch children making the right choice’

Staff act on the pupil's voice through questionnaires, class discussions and PSHE lessons

It is understood that children learn and develop at different ages and stages and this is reflected in our curriculum and approaches

 

Some of the things happening at Moston Lane:

Reinforcement of all positive behaviours

PHSE curriculum that focuses on emotional wellbeing

We are developing an emotional scale to support children to understand emotional vocabulary

 

Ways you can work with us to support your child:

Attend your child’s review and share your ideas

Ensure that we have up to date contact information so we can communicate with you about your child

Join us for school events such as assemblies

Encourage your child to tell you about their learning and what they enjoy at school

Talk with your child about their feelings

 

We Nurture Parents:

We make visitors feel safe when they are in our school.

We work with parent, carers and other agencies to support the family around the child.

We will keep you updated regularly about your child’s progress and development in school.

 

We Nurture Staff:

We recognise the importance of nurture for the development of wellbeing and are therefore developing a staff wellbeing team. Staff are split into teams, which address different areas of staff wellbeing.