Nurture

What is it?

A nurturing approach is at the heart of our core vision, values and ethos in the Scottish Borders. This is crucial for learning, wellbeing and ensuring positive relationships are a hallmark of our communities. Scottish Borders Council has a twin-track approach. Whole-school or setting nurture approaches are applied universally, ensuring relationships are enhanced and inclusive practice is supported. Nurture groups provided a targeted intervention approach for children with significant emotional difficulties.

“At the heart of nurture is a focus on wellbeing and relationships and a drive to support the growth and development of children and young people…”

(Applying Nurture as a Whole School Approach, Education Scotland, p. 6)

“All staff have a responsibility to take a child-centred approach which promotes and supports wellbeing, inclusion, equality and fairness. This entitlement to universal support for all children and young people is rooted in the environment in which they learn – along with its related ethos and relationships.”

(Supporting Learners, Education Scotland)

The nurture aims are to provide children with attuned interactions and a developmentally appropriate curriculum, which facilitates language and communication development within a safe space.

There is a mandatory expectation that all practitioners engage in the pre-recorded nurture presentations and self-evaluation at both a personal and setting level (SBC Includes: Introduction to Nurturing Approaches, Nurture Principle 2 and Nurture Principle 5).

Key messages:

“The concept of nurture highlights the importance of social environments – who you’re with, and not who you’re born to – and its significant influence on social emotional skills, wellbeing and behaviour. Children and young people who have a good start in life are shown to have significant advantages over those who have experienced missing or distorted early attachments. They tend to do better at school, attend regularly, form more meaningful friendships and are significantly less likely to offend or experience physical or mental health problems.

The nurturing approach offers a range of opportunities for children and young people to engage with missing early nurturing experiences, giving them the social and emotional skills to do well at school and with peers, develop their resilience and their capacity to deal more confidently with the trials and tribulations of life, for life.”

(Nurture UK)

The 6 Nurture Principles were developed by educational professionals Eva Holmes and Eve Boyd (1999; cited as Nurture UK) and support best practices. They can be accessed below.