Our Nurture Room

We are a Nurturing school, with whole school nurturing approaches. We also have a ‘Nurture Group’ which is an Early Intervention Initiative supported by Glasgow City Council (See ‘Towards The Nurturing City’ documentation if further details are required).  At Caldercuilt Primary School, our Nurture Group is known as Sunnybrook Station. The Nurture Group is staffed by one full time trained Nurture teacher, a trained Nurture Support for Learning Worker and a Nurture Coordinator. For some children, being a member of a large class in school can be overwhelming. Due to a variety of reasons (including developmental, social, emotional and physical), some children may need a little extra help to settle into school before they are ready to learn through the formal curriculum.

Groups like ours have existed for a long time in the UK and research has shown that children benefit from this nurturing environment which provides a bridge between home–life and school-life to give youngsters a positive start in school.

Infant Children spend an average 60% of their week in Sunnybrook. There is a close liaison between the child’s class teacher, the Nurture Group staff and weekly contact with parents as well. Parents are always consulted before a child joins the Nurture Group, they are informed during our P1 Induction Days of the process and the Nurture Teacher works closely with them on a 1-1 or group basis.

Class teachers, nurture staff and parents work together to monitor, assess and review the needs of each child and devise how best to support them throughout the session. A variety of assessments are carried out, the main one being the Boxall Profile. This was developed in the 1980’s by Marjorie Boxall and is a two-part checklist which is completed by staff who know the child well. The results then give us clear guidelines as to where the child’s development needs lie and the Nurture teacher will plan activities for children to practise the skills required to work well with the aim to re-integrate into their main class full time when they are ready.

The curriculum features exploratory play, practical activities such as baking and tasks to support the children to follow instructions, concentrate & develop their listening skills. There is also a particular emphasis on Health and Wellbeing through building relationships, trust, regulating emotions and building self-esteem and resilience.