The Nurture Room is an invaluable resource at St. Cross Catholic Primary School. It provides a bridge between home and school; a place where children can feel safe and secure to explore their emotional and social wellbeing, learn about themselves, develop and grow.

The ‘Sunflower Group’ is an essential part of the school’s inclusion and PSHE provision. Research shows that children’s learning is most effective when they have a sense of emotional wellbeing, good self-esteem and a feeling of belonging. The Nurture Room provides children with this opportunity, helping to develop maturity and resilience. The Nurture Room is a place of learning.

The philosophy of the Nurture Room is drawn from the six principles established by the work of Marjorie Boxall and others.

• Children’s learning is understood developmentally
• The classroom offers a safe base
• All behaviour is communication
• The importance of nurture for the development of well being
• Language is a vital means of communication
• The importance of transition in children’s lives.

Nurture Sessions

Our highly experienced staff are specifically trained to work with individuals or small groups. Sessions are fun and informative, using activities and resources to motivate, engage and support the children. Before children attend nurture provision, parents are informed by letter and given the opportunity to discuss the group with the Headteacher.

Which children attend Nurture Group?

Children may attend sessions in the Nurture Group for specific reasons, for example:

• Friendship difficulties – keeping/making friends
• Quiet, shy, withdrawn
• Find it hard to listen to others or join in
• Disruptive behaviours within school
• Poor relationships with adults in school
• Bereavement
• Family illness or break-up

How will Nurture Group help my child?

Nurture Group will boost confidence and self-esteem and provide children with the extra help sometimes needed to improve social skills and independence for example:

• To join in
• To settle down and listen
• To develop concentration levels
• To share and take turns
• To build up resilience
• To build up friendships with their classmates
• It gives them a chance and helps to encourage a more positive profile among their peers and members of staff.

A typical session in Nurture Group

Children follow a structure and routine which includes group listening and speaking, work tasks, shared play and social skills. The group runs on consistency, positive reinforcement and praise.   

A typical session in the Nurture Room would revolve around a theme or topic, with some focus work on basic skills linked to the national Curriculum.

All pupils would understand what they were going to learn and have individual targets to work on during that session. Children have the opportunity to share good news, explore thoughts and feelings and work collaboratively on practical tasks.

Children work with new peers regularly, encouraging cooperation and confidence. Within the sessions, opportunities are tailored to the needs of the particular group and age range. Outdoor learning is an important part of the sessions.

Children learn to share a snack together and the opportunity is given to choose and try new foods; even baking them first! Children learn to share and talk together with peers and adults. The children return to their own classes at the end of the session – before the end of the school day.

Pupil Voice Autumn Term:

J. Year 6

I will always remember the time I met and named ‘Big Dave’, the cuddly bear that I used when we did story making. He gave me joy and the others in the group. Sunflower group was like going home, I will miss it.

M. Year 5

I will miss everyone in Sunflowers. It has given me lots of fond memories. Role-play was my favourite as it gave me the chance to act out different characters. It gave me confidence to speak up and use my imagination. I will always remember the funny stories from the other members of the group.

E. Year 5

I will miss Sunflower Group because when I walked into the room I could act out and listen to everyone else’s stories and get to tell them mine. This was good because sometimes in a big class, people cannot always have a go to say something. I will miss the games, the colouring and activities. I will remember the cloud rules and arm trees that we made. I felt comfortable there, the role play gave me confidence. 

B. Year 4

I really enjoyed making my tree hand. It has helped me to be more focused and less stressed because I get a headache from being in the class sometimes.

A. Year 4

I really enjoyed the role-play games we did. I feel like it helped me because after feeling stressed, I would go into the Sunflower group and it would really calm me down.

B. Year 2

I enjoyed the role-play, because we got to make up our own actions. It helped me to do role plays at home.