Howard Community Academy recognised with National Nurturing Award

Howard Community Academy, part of Anglian Learning, has been awarded the National Nurturing Schools Award by Nurture UK.

Following a rigorous assessment process, the academy was praised for a longstanding commitment to the social and emotional mental health of its pupils.

The National Nurturing Schools Award is a prestigious accolade for schools that create a nurturing culture for children and young people. Schools are assessed across three key areas: Stakeholders, Delivery, and Leadership & Management.

For the majority of standards, Howard Community Academy was judged to be ‘enhancing’. This means that the school goes above and beyond to embed nurturing principles into its practice.

Alison Weir, Headteacher at Howard Community Academy, expressed her delight at the school’s achievement: “It is a privilege to receive an award that celebrates a happy and caring learning environment. This award perfectly encapsulates our ethos and core value of nurture; it is part and parcel of what we do all day, every day.

“The recognition belongs to our brilliant staff who work tirelessly with our children to make sure they feel safe, valued, and inspired to learn. Through our Wellbeing Curriculum, we empower our children to take an active role in our culture of care, teaching them to be nurturing and mindful of their own and their peers’ emotions.”

Over the past few years, Howard Community Academy has woven The Six Principles of Nurture into the centre of its approach. This journey has seen teachers, teaching assistants, and leaders take part in specialist training led by Nurture UK, helping them to look beyond a simplistic view of behaviour and continue to develop a more empathetic understanding of teaching and learning.

By adopting these principles, staff are better equipped to identify and support each child’s individual needs. Classrooms are safe spaces designed to encourage every pupil to feel a sense of belonging, where they can share their concerns with adults either verbally or through tools such as the school’s “Talk to your Teacher” boxes. The report celebrated that this support is available for adults, too, offering “staff reassurance that their well-being matters and their voices are heard.”

Further supporting the whole school community, Howard Community Academy has trained nurture practitioners, developed a dedicated support space known as The Hive and continued to ensure Mental Health First Aiders available for both children and adults who may need additional support.

The Assessment Report specifically lauded The Hive, stating that it is “a significant part of” the six principles of nurture. The “specialist provision initially designed to support children with social, emotional and mental health needs is now staffed by three Nurture Practitioners and is accessible to any child who may benefit from additional relational support. The Hive operates both as a targeted provision and as an integral part of the school’s wider universal offer. This ensures that nurture is not confined to a single space or cohort but is experienced consistently throughout the school.”

Nurture UK recognised this, stating our “predictable routines create consistency and reassurance.”

One pupil said, “I know if I have a problem, I can come to anyone,” whilst another reflected: “We get to know how kind our teachers are; they help us learn.”

Parents also shared positive feedback about the positive relationship they have with the school and ability to join in a wide range of “classes, workshops, and supportive opportunities” as a family. As one parent expressed, “I’m alone in my parenting journey, but I have school to depend on if I need to.”

Alison explained: “Nurture is a universal offer, with emotional literacy and wellbeing threaded throughout everything we do. By prioritising this environment, we are providing children with the emotional resilience they need to flourish both in school and in the wider world. We are that light in the middle of the community, for children, families and staff.”

Rachael Johnston, Director of Primary Education at Anglian Learning, said: “Achieving the National Nurturing Schools Award is a well-deserved milestone for Howard Community Academy, especially as nurture sits at the very heart of its vision. Seeing this recognised at a national level is absolutely wonderful.

“Across Anglian Learning, we are proud of our Belonging by Design strategy; creating schools and communities where every pupil feels they genuinely belong. For us, inclusion is about all pupils having access to excellent educational and social opportunities whilst feeling deeply connected, valued, and respected in their school communities. I have seen firsthand how The Six Principles of Nurture have become embedded in everyday practice at Howard Community Academy.

“The award celebrates the hard work of the entire school community, including a brilliant leadership team who maintain an open door policy, dedicated staff who recognise pupils as individuals, and children who take on a range of responsibilities with confidence.”

To learn more about Howard Community Academy’s nurturing approach, visit https://howardacademy.org/nurture/.