First Published in 2001. Nurture groups are spreading rapidly throughout the UK. This fully updated second edition is written in response to the support given by the DfEE to the Nurture Group project and the recognition by every major special needs policy document that they provide effective early intervention for children showing signs of emotional and behavioural difficulties.
This book is a bible for nurture group enthusiasts and should be essential reading for anybody who has the desire to make a significant impact in the area of social change.
′[This] resource would have enormous value for all who are considering developing nurture provision within their school, as it provides a clear overview of the practical considerations involved and provides guidance on the tools that need to be devised. This well thought out resource will reduce the workload for all those setting up groups and be a real confidence giver to all Nurture leaders′ - SNIP ′What an excellent book! ′Running A Nurturing Group′ does exactly what it says in the title and much more. The layout and framework must make it one of the most accessible books ever. Every chapter states its intention, unfurls – and then is concisely summarised at the end. Then we have questionnaires, tick lists, case studies and PowerPoint presentations; just what tired teachers need to take on a new body of knowledge. There is a wonderful balance of practical suggestions and theory – at all the times you feel you are in the hands of a dedicated, researcher and practitioner.′ Jenny Mosley, Founder of Quality Circle Time `Running a Nurture Group is a worthwhile book full of useful ideas and resources for nurture group practitioners. Simon Bishop is a skilled nurture group practitioner and he links his contemporary, practical experience to the wider range of ideas and thinking that inform and underpin nurture group work in a helpful and accessible style. I am delighted to commend this important addition to the increasing literature on nurture groups - Jim Rose, Director, The Nurture Group Network Setting up and running a Nurture Group in your school is an effective way to improve the quality of educational provision for every child, not just for those with special educational needs. This practical book is especially useful for those new to the idea of Nurture Groups. It offers a clear structure for making a Nurture Group work effectively, and provides tried and tested photocopiable resources to support the whole process. The author: o explains how and why Nurture Groups work o shows how all children′s social, emotional & educational development improves o gives practical advice on setting up and running a Nurture Group o tells you how to assess and monitor the children′s progress o supplies materials to use when leading INSET sessions with colleagues o provides lots of photocopiable resources on an accompanying CD Rom. An inspirational read for all teachers and support staff, this book will appeal to anyone working with children who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.
The authors present evidence of the success of nurture groups, and examine what factors affect the success of the group. From this they draw key messages for effective practice, including the importance of recognising a child's emotional needs and meeting them, and the role of the relationship between the teaching staff co-ordinating the group.
Unique in its field, the second edition of this respected book continues to underpin teaching in a positive, structured, and proactive manner. Sylvia Lucas revises and expands on the original work of Marjorie Boxall. It includes: - A new chapter on nurture groups and pedagogy, child development theories and brain research. - Updated examples such as the Every Child Matters agenda, an inclusive curriculum and schools′ responses, ′and a practitioner′s physical contact with the child - A Case study from an international Nurture Group Written in an accessible style this book will be useful to school managers, SENCOs, educational psychologists and teachers and therapists in specialist settings. Marjorie Boxall originated the concept of nurture groups and was a founding member of the Nurture Group Network. The NGN runs accredited courses at Cambridge University, Leicester University and London University. Sylvia Lucas is a founding member of the Nurture Group Network and now coordinates the work of the University CPD Group. She undertakes a range of consultancy in primary practice and school leadership both in the UK and abroad.
`In her book, Marjorie Boxall makes an eloquent case for establishing nurture provision. Her book would be invaluable for teachers, governors and other interested parties in helping them to provide more appropriately for such children' - Young Minds Magazine `This book should be essential reading for Government ministers. The author pioneered the setting up of nurture groups in Inner London in the early 1970s as a response to social deprivation and its consequences for children in school. The book describes why and how, drawing on those early experiences and later projects in the London Borough of Enfield. It is salutary to note that the concept of nurture group is now well over thirty years old and as yet there are still very few of them in existence. Hopefully Marjorie Boxall's book will help to change this situation. As she says: 'Our capital of good nurture is diminishing fast and the fabric of society is at risk, for with each generation there are fewer people...to provide good nurturing, and more children who have been deprived of it.' Nurture groups provide children with social and emotional experiences that are necessary as a pre-requisite for formal school learning. Marjorie Boxall describes how such children are functionally below the age of three, due to having missed out on essential experiences, which are normally provided through mothering. Adults who work in a nurture group setting provide a variety of structured experiences: for example, how to play with toys, how to share a meal, so that the children 'catch up' on their social and emotional development and can then rejoin mainstream education. This is a very practical and readable book that serves as a comprehensive introduction to the subject. This book is a bible for nurture group enthusiasts and should be essential reading for anybody who has the desire to make a significant impact in the area of social change. Copies, please, to Tony Blair, Estelle Morris and to every Chief Education Officer in the United Kingdom. They ignore it at their peril' - Nurturing Potential `Marjorie is the originator of nurture groups. Her book is full of wisdom about the work of nurture groups, why people do what they do, how to think about the situation children are in and what nurture group staff can do about it. This is an authoritative practice manual, clearly informed by years of reflective practice and experience. Insights into childhood and school life abound. If your main interest is as a practitioner or directly supporting those who work with children, you will find it full of interest and richness. Marjorie's book fills the gap between theory and the reality of doing the job. Applied psychology at its best. An essential addition to the nurture group bookcase' - Marion Bennathan, Director, Nurture Group Network 'This powerful and immensely positive book describes the rationale and practice of nurture groups for children who cannot cope with the demands of mainstream primary school' - Jennie Lindon, Nursery World `If your school is thinking of setting up a nurture group, this book is clearly essential reading. It is also likely, however, to be of interest to a wider readership, especially since a commitment to social inclusion is at the heart of current policy on early education and childcare in Britain' - Margaret Bryson, International Journal of Early Years Education `This book is not only a useful resource to the NG practitioner; it is also a document that tells us a lot about what of value has been all but lost from the educational agenda in recent years, and more importantly, something about one of the ways we might go about restoring the loss. The emphasis throughout is on dealing with pupils as whole persons. This involves meeting the pupils on their own terms and acknowledging and meeting their needs, with particular emphasis on the emotional underpinning of effective early learning' - Paul Cooper, Early Years Nurture groups are increasingly recognized as an effective method for schools needing to help children who show emotional, behavioural and learning difficulties. The groups are effective for children whose early development has been hindered by adverse circumstances, providing the learning experiences usually bound into a close relationship with an attentive and responsive parent or carer. This book gives an inside view of nurture groups in action, and shows how children's skills and concepts develop, and how their self-esteem grows, as well as their disposition to care about others. Essential reading for schools thinking of setting up a nurture group, this book deals with preparation, and the issues involved, the organization of the group within the school, and its relationships outside the school. In addition the author sets out guiding principles of assessment, selection and monitoring of children; as well as practical details of the facilities and equipment needed. This book will be helpful to school managers, SENCOs educational psychologists and teachers, as well as teachers and therapists working with children with special needs of all kinds. Marjorie Boxall originated nurture groups and is a founder member of the Nurture Group Network, which runs accredited courses at Cambridge, Leicester and London universities. She is the author, with Marion Bennathan, of Effective Intervention in Primary Schools and The Boxall Profile: Handbook for Teachers.
In times of increasing pressure on schools and teachers, it is essential that teachers are equipped to understand the emotional and relational factors in learning and teaching. Vulnerable and disaffected children need understanding and nurture rather than reactive management, which can easily exacerbate their difficulties, leaving them unheard and defensive, and even undermine teacher confidence and effectiveness. Understanding, Nurturing and Working Effectively with Vulnerable Children in Schools offers a comprehensive and accessible exploration of the difficulties faced by teachers and schools from at-risk and disaffected children, including repeated trauma and insecure attachment patterns. The book describes how a thoughtful ‘relationship-based’ approach can both alleviate such difficulties and offer a second chance attachment experience, enabling students to discover it might be safe to let down their all consuming defences a little; thus freeing them to begin to learn. It offers: practical suggestions in note form – making them easy to use, refer to and assimilate; numerous case examples and teacher friendly theoretical background material; a wealth of ideas for ways forward, including differentiated responses to children in the light of their particular patterns, developmental stages and unmet needs. Written from extensive professional experience, this is an essential handbook and resource book for trainers, schools, teachers and school staff, and also for educational psychologists and those in children’s services working with vulnerable children in pre and primary schools, as well as those in special schools and units.