Nurture at Howard Community Academy

Nurture is one of the core values of our school. Nurture means feeling emotionally and physically safe and cared for; and at Howard we aim to provide an environment in which children feel safe, happy and ready to learn. Teachers, teaching assistants and leaders at Howard have taken part in training led by Nurture UK, including the National Nurturing Schools Programme, to better understand how to take a nurturing approach to education.

Nurture UK website says “The nurturing approach considers how a child’s social environment affects their emotional wellbeing, their social skills, and how ready they are to engage at school and in the wider community.”

There are Six Principles of Nurture, which are:

Children’s learning is understood developmentally. This means it is important for adults to understand children’s needs to better support their social, emotional, physical and intellectual development. We use a tool call the Boxall profile to help us do this.
The classroom offers a safe base. At Howard we create environments in which children feel a sense of belonging, where they are safe and ready to learn. Sometimes pupils at Howard share concerns with adults verbally or by posting a note in our ‘Talk to your teacher’ box. They may also use our 5 Point Scale to help them to better express how they are feeling, or our Calm Corners when they need a moment to pause and reflect on their emotions.
The importance of nurture for the development of wellbeing. Everyone at Howard knows how important it is to feel calm, safe and happy which is why we make the time to look out for one another, recognise progress and celebrate achievements. When some children, or adults need additional support to feel well we are there for them. Our trained nurture practitioners, in the Hive, as well as Mental Health First Aiders are always on hand.
Language is a vital means of communication. At Howard we understand that everyone deserves to have the chance to be heard and to have their input. We regularly collect feedback from children, parents, teachers and teaching assistants to better understand how we can continue to improve. We also give children the chance to express how they’re feeling and our Wellbeing Curriculum helps children to better understand how others are feeling too.
All behaviour is communication. When thinking about behaviour, we need to consider that sometimes behaviour might be a means for communicating how someone is feeling. At Howard we take a therapeutic approach to supporting children’s behaviours, which means helping children to reflect on their feelings and how to express their emotions appropriately.
The importance of transitions in children’s lives. Transition is another word for change and we all can benefit from help with change at times. At Howard we think carefully about how we can help children with the small changes in their day (i.e. between lessons, or following break times etc.); and through big life changes such as moving house, changing year group, or transitions to a new school. We do this by creating as much psychological safety as possible, by narrating changes, using visual timetables and pre-empting challenges.

As you can see, Nurture is part and parcel of what we do all day, every day at Howard. But it doesn’t stop there, because we also teach children to be nurturing and mindful of their own and others’ emotions through our Wellbeing Curriculum.

The Hive

The Hive is a dedicated part of our school in which Mrs Spall (our Nurture Lead), Mrs Grundill (our ELSA teacher) and Miss Gillingham (nurture practitioner) work with children who may need some additional support with their social, emotional, physical or academic learning; or they may benefit from taking part in a small-group project.

What is The Hive like?

The Hive has two main teaching spaces. The Lounge is where children come to work with others to better understand their own and others’ feelings. This space contains a wide range of resources which children can use to help them when thinking about emotions, talking about recent or important events and it is a place they can come for quiet, supported reflection. The Classroom is a smaller version of a regular classroom, in which groups of children can work with a member of the nurture team to access their classroom learning at a pace that is developmentally appropriate to them. We also have two open spaces, which can be used for a variety of things; as well as toilets and an office for our team.

What do children do in The Hive?

Throughout their time at Howard most children will come and use the space at some point to support them with their learning, or to better understand how they are feeling about an upcoming transition. Here is just a few examples of what work in the Hive might include:

1:1 sessions for children working with an ELSA (emotional literacy support assistant) practitioner, to build emotional literacy
small group academic lessons, where children can engage in the same type of tasks they would do in the classroom but with less distraction and more support
targeted small-group projects, such as cookery or woodwork, to help build collaboration, communication and teamwork skills
small group support for children in Year 6 who are preparing to get ready for secondary school.
1:1 or small group support for physical development, which can include working on fine or gross motor skills

How do children access support from the team in The Hive?

The Hive is not a formal ‘alternative provision’ nor is it a specialist facility that operates just for children with SEND; and due to the varied nature of support children may access in The Hive there is no set referral process or one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, decisions about which children work in The Hive (and for how long) are made in collaboration between class teachers, nurture practitioners and school leaders. In some cases, children require very short-term support such as a one-off session with an adult. However, other children may benefit from longer-term support lasting several weeks. To support these decisions, at Howard Community Academy, we use the Boxall assessment tool, which you can read more about on the Nurture UK website.

If you would like to know more about The Hive and the nature of the work we do to support pupils at Howard with their social and emotional learning, please get in touch.