Include Me!
The Nurture Group Approach
Dr David Colley,
Oxford Brookes University
Objectives
www.nurturegroups.org
What do we already know?
Introduction to Attachment Theory
Nurture groups: theory and practice
Criticisms
Research evidence
Assessment through the Boxall Profile
Resources
What do we know already?
Key Players
Attachment Theory and its critics ..
Attachment Theory:
the key ideas
The ‘self’ emerges from the earliest childhood
relationships
The root of human personality lies in earliest childhood
relationships
Children require a warm, intimate, continuous
relationship with a primary care giver, bringing
satisfaction and enjoyment.
Such experiences promote healthy brain development
Quality of attachment predicts future relationships
Key theorists
Bowlby, J. 1969. Attachment and Loss Volume I Attachment. London: The Hogarth Press.
Bowlby, J. 1973. Attachment and Loss Volume II Separation Anxiety and Anger. London: The
Hogarth Press.
Bowlby, J. 1980. Attachment and Loss Volume III Sadness and Depression. London: The Hogarth
Press.
Ainsworth, M. D. S. 1989. Attachments beyond infancy. American Psychologist, 44, pp709-716.
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E. and Wall, S. 1978. Patterns of attachment: A
psychological study of the Strange Situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Holmes, J. 1993. John Bowlby and Attachment Theory. London: Routledge.
Main M. and Solomon J. 1990. Procedures for identifying infants as disorganized/ disoriented during
the Ainsworth Strange Situation. In Greenberg M.T., Cicchetti D. & Cummings E.M. (Editors),
Attachment in the preschool years (pp121-160). Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Secure attachment
Evolutionary component – instinct to survive and stay
close
The safe base ‘contains’ or helps manage that fear and
anxiety
Safe base develops through prompt, consistent and
appropriate response to needs
Access, availability and joy
Safe base allows safe exploration (learning)
Bowlby’s ‘Internal Working Model’
Nurture Groups accept all these theoretical assumptions
Task 1
In pairs or groups, complete the Successful cycle task (a)
Successful cycle
1. Safe base
6. Agency,
knowledge,
2. Exploration
5. Success
3. Uncertainty,
not knowing,
frustration
4. Reassured
Fearful cycle
A base
Survival
responses
exploration
Anxiety
increases
Uncertainty, not
knowing,
frustration
No reassurance
“Classic” nurture group model:
NGs acknowledge the successful and fearful cycles
Focus on relationships as the foundation of learning
Social and emotional growth as the priority
2 staff
Professional training (www.nurturegroups.org)
Mainstream school – but now also found in alternative
provisions
Short term, part time and time limited
Assessment through the Boxall Profile or the Boxall Profile
for Young People
Following the 6 principles of nurture group practice
The Six Principles of Nurture Groups:
1. Children’s learning is understood developmentally
2. The classroom offers a safe base
3. The importance of nurture for the development of
self-esteem
4. Language is a vital means of communication
5. All behaviour is communication
6. The importance of transition in children’s lives
Task 2
A Typical Nurture Group
Classroom
The Room
Sofa Area
Kitchen
Table
Role Play Area
Quiet Area
Criticism of NGs
Cooper and Whitebread (2007): Various models identified –
“classic” NG but also new variant NGs/ groups informed by NG
principles/ Aberrant NGs
Bailey (2007): children in deficit; requires ‘vulnerability’; implies
parental deficits; are NG staff suitably trained?
Craig (2010): the focus on self and feelings encourages narcissism
and self obsession; weak empirical evidence; a psychological
experiment that could backfire.
Are NGs value for money? (£40-50k FT; 20-25k PT)
NGs and inclusion? NGs segregate; NGs label children (and families)
Task: In pairs or groups, answer the following question:
‘Are Nurture Groups inclusive?’
When NGs succeed..
• Ofsted 2011: “When the nurture groups were working
well, they made a considerable difference to the
behaviour and the social skills of the pupils who attended
them.” (Ofsted 2011 - Supporting children with
challenging behaviour through a nurture group approach.)
• Glasgow City Council has 68 nurture groups running
across the city (Reynolds, S. MacKay, T. & Kearney, M.
2009.)
• Research evidence supports the impact of NG provision
in schools (see Binnie, L. and K. Allen. 2008; Cooper, P.
and Whitebread, D. 2007; Scott, K. & Lee, A. 2009; SethSmith 2010)
• 1500 NGs nationally (NGN 2015)
DC: NG practice
PRU Head teacher 2000-2005 – NGN training, NGN
membership
SEBD Adviser/NG lead: 15 NGs in IOM
PhD (Leicester) ‘The development of NGs in
Secondary Schools’
Secondary SEND manager (Including NG)
Nurture Groups and Parenting Programmes see:
solihullapproachparenting.com
Solihull Approach to Parenting
‘Understanding your child’s behaviour’ course
10 week course - 2 hours per session
E.g. How are you and your child feeling?
Tuning in
Self regulation and anger ..
Improvement in child behaviour and a reduction in parental
stress (Bateson 2008)
Parents increased their knowledge of strategies and solutions
for responding to children’s behaviour, they improved their
interactions with their children and were better able to
recognise and respond to their own and their children’s
feelings. (Johnson 2012)
The Boxall Profile
Pen portrait
Developed by NG practitioners
Framework for structured assess-plan-do review
Section 1: Skills needed to be successful in class
(Developmental Strands)
Section 2: Barriers to success in class (Diagnostic
Profile)
Rating scale 0-4
BP Handbook
Bailey, S. 2007. So what’s all the fuss about nurture groups? Conference
Paper. British Educational Research Association Annual Conference. Institute
of Education. University of London.Bennathan, M. 2004. How cost effective are Nurture Groups? London:
Nurture Group Network.
Bennathan, M. and Boxall, M 1998. The Boxall Profile: A Guide to Effective
Intervention in the Education of Pupils with Emotional and Behavioural
Difficulties. EaSt Sutton, Maidstone: Association of Workers for Children with
Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties.
Bennathan, M. and Boxall, M. 2000 Effective Intervention in Primary Schools.
(2nd edition). London: David Fulton Publishers.
Bennathan, M., Boxall, M. and Colley, D. 2010. The Boxall Profile for Young
People. London: The Nurture Group Network.
Binnie, L. and K. Allen. 2008. Whole school support for vulnerable children:
The evaluation of a part-time nurture group. Emotional and Behavioural
Difficulties, 13(3), pp201–16.
Bishop, A. and Swain, J. 2000a. Early Years Education and Children with
Behavioural and Emotional Difficulties: Nurturing Parental Involvement.
Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 5(4), pp26-31.
Bishop, A. and Swain, J. 2000b. The Bread, Jam and Some Coffee in the
Morning. Perceptions of a Nurture Group. Emotional and Behavioural
Difficulties, 5(3), pp18-24.
Bishop, S. 2008. Running a Nurture Group. London: SAGE.
Colley, D. 2009. Nurture Groups in Secondary Schools. Emotional and
Behavioural Difficulties, 14 (4), 291-300.
Colwell, J., & O'Connor, T. 2003. Understanding nurturing practices - a
comparison of the use of strategies likely to enhance self-esteem in nurture
groups and normal classrooms. British Journal of Special Education, 30, 3.
119 - 124.
Connolly, M., Hubbard, S. and Lloyd, L. 2008. Evaluation Summary: Nurture
Group Pilot Study: Year 2. West Dumbartonshire Council.
Cooke, C. Yeomans, J. & Parkes, J. 2008. The Oasis: Nurture Group Provision
for Key Stage Three Pupils. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 13 (4),
pp291-303.Cooper, P. and Tiknaz, Y. 2007. Nurture Groups in School and at Home.
Cooper, P. and Whitebread, D. 2007.The Effectiveness of Nurture Groups on
Student Progress: Evidence from a National Research Study. Emotional and
Behavioural Difficulties, 12 (3), pp171-190.
Cooper, P., Arnold, R. and Boyd, E. 1999. The Nature and Distribution of
Nurture Groups in England and Wales. Cambridge: University of Cambridge
School of Education.
Cooper, P. Arnold, R. and Boyd, E. 2001. The Effectiveness of Nurture
Groups: preliminary research findings. British Journal of Special Education, 28
(4), pp160-166.
Craig, C. 2007. The potential dangers of a systematic, explicit approach to
teaching social and emotional skills (SEAL). Glasgow: Centre for Confidence
and Well-Being.
Reynolds, S. MacKay, T. & Kearney, M. 2009. Nurture Groups: a Large-Scale,
Controlled Study of Effects on Development and Academic Attainment. British
Journal of Special Educa
Scott, K. & Lee, A. 2009. Beyond the ‘classic’ nurture group model: An
evaluation of part-time and cross-age nurture groups in a Scottish local
authority. Support for Learning, 24(1), pp5–10.
Seth-Smith, F. Levi, N. Pratt, R., Fonagy, P. & Jaffey, D. 2010. Do Nurture
Groups Improve the Social, Emotional and Behavioural Functioning of At Risk
Children? Educational and Child Psychology, 27 (1), pp21-34.!tion, 36 (4), pp204212.