Present: Alison Smith – Chair (Children’s Services), Tracey McPhee (Westbourne Primary), Chantelle Mavor (Westbourne Primary), Asrar Qayum (Lapage Primary), Tom Nawakowski (Whetley Primary), Danielle Ainsworth (Whetley Primary), Suhaib Khan (Whetley Primary), Tracie Cerny (Fearnville Primary), Jo Dooling (Fearnville Primary), Jenny McGuinness (St Joseph’s Primary, Keighley), Angie Crossley (St Joseph’s Primary, Keighley), Helen Pattinson (SEN EIT Pre-5), Dawn George (Lower Fields Primary), Carli George (Lower Fields), Sue Fox (Lower Fields Primary), Gillian Dyson (Oxenhope Primary), Dominic Sheard (Killinghall Primary), Sannah Malik (Lapage Primary), Helen Birkinshaw (Brackenhill Primary), Helen Foakes (Brackenhill Primary), Liz Midgley (Ingrow Primary), Josie Maude (Ingrow Primary), David Neen (Holybrook Primary), Karen Goldthorpe (Holybrook Primary), Dawn Peacock (Parkland Primary), Sue Lawrance (Sandy Lane Primary), Lisa Knight (Sandy Lane Primary), Carolyn Depledge (Hollingwood Primary), Janice Hiley (Hollingwood Primary), Elaine Woodley (CCST), Lorraine Hawksworth-Quill (CCST), Kelly Booth (Oakbank School), Caroline Hall (Oakbank School), Linda Whittingham (Children’s Services – taking minutes).
Apologies: Gail Sutcliffe and Lisa Heath (Greengates Primary), Lorraine Hawksworth-Quill (CCST), Claire Speed and Sam Poulton (St Anne’s Primary, Keighley), Maria Penney (Dixons AA), Amy Dent (Lister Primary), and Ruby Hussain (Iqra Primary).
Item / Notes1 / Introductions and welcomes
Janet Berry, the Deputy Head at Hollingwood, welcomed everyone to the school and said how passionate they were about nurturing. Their Nurture Room is call the Busy Bees and everyone was welcome to visit the room after the meeting. The Nurture meeting was held in the Community Room. She also added that she could see how invaluable everyone found the Nurture Group meetings for interlinking with colleagues in other schools.
Alison Smith said how delighted she was to again see a lot of new faces at the meeting. She introduced herself as the Head of the SEBD Team in Children’s Services. Alison thanked Hollingwood for hosting the meeting and having such a warm, nurturing environment, which secondary Heads would do well to imitate. Alison asked that everyone sign the attendance sheet, noting if they were new or had a new e-mail address which made it much easier for Linda (Nurture Group Admin). We again went round the room with everyone introducing themselves and saying how long their Nurture Group had been running:
Brackenhill Primary – 5 years for KS2 which is being re-launched and first year for KS1 / Lower Fields Primary – 5 years
Fearnville Primary – first year / Oxenhope Primary – going for Quality Mark
Hollingwood Primary – 2nd year / Parkland Primary – 4th year and going for Quality Mark
Holybrook Primary – 3rd year / Sandy Lane Primary – 1 year
Ingrow Primary – 3 years / St Joseph’s Primary, Keighley – second year
Killinghall Primary - / Westbourne Primary – 3rd year
Lapage Primary – 3 years / Whetley Primary – 3 years
Lorraine Hawksworth-Quill introduced herself as the Team Manager from Social Care, Asbergers and Sleep Disorder Team.
2 / Linking with colleagues at Hollingwood; how are things going?
Alison stated that returning after the long holidays had presented many challenges and encouraged everyone not to get disheartened.
Hollingwood said that they felt they had been the only constant amongst a lot of changes in the school. Carolyn said that Hollingwood’s Nurture Group had started some 18 months ago in a small room but had now progressed to a purpose-built classroom without an outdoor area. Carolyn felt that the nurturing ethos was now permeating outwards into the whole school. Indeed, it had been said by the Headteacher that the Nurture Group was “the heart of the school”.
Alison felt that it was very important to develop “nurturing classrooms” with quiet areas where children can withdraw to, if necessary. Food and drink should be available and other staff should be able to be challenged about their approaches. Some children may need to work in a small group with intensive support. It can be a good idea for teachers/new staff from mainstream to observe for themselves how the Nurture Group works, such as visiting for snack time or to observe a lesson.
Alison asked for photographs of Nurture Rooms to be sent in to Linda so that they can be put into a collection of photos on the Nurture Group page of BSO.
Whole staff learning is very important for successful re-integration of children who have been in a Nurture Group. Some schools can do this themselves but Alison Smith’s team can support, if necessary. It also important that this learning is repeated when staff change as there can be a lack of understanding from new colleagues. Colleagues should link around what will work for a particular child when back in a mainstream classroom and Boxalls when repeated at regular intervals will show what progress has been made.
Alison reminded everyone about the half-day Nurture Group Training on 10 October 2013 at Future House which still had places available. This course is intended to give an overview of Nurture Groups and is ideal for Senior Leadership Teams (SLTs). The 3-day Accredited Nurture Group training is on 18/19 November 2013 and 20 January 2014 and there are still places available. Booking through Quality First (link at foot of Linda’s e-mails).
3 / The effects of developmental trauma – Alison Smith
Alison handed out some sheets which showed part of the first chapter of a book called “Inside I’m Hurting” by “Louise Bombèr”. Alison had been to a conference where Louise was giving a talk. This is just one of three books which Louise has published – another useful book is called “What About Me?”
The book is very ‘readable’ and this particular chapter gives practical strategies for dealing with behaviours. It helps us to understand why children are behaving as they are ie underlying conditions, experiences that the child has had, etc, and the consequences this might have. It is not the answer for everything but is a “taster”.
Trauma Tree
Gives details of brain development and physical development. It can be more fruitful to give work in small chunks if a child is struggling or give them a “start” as their memory can sometimes only cope with one thing at once; break it down. Planning and organisation are key as children can become overwhelmed. Transitions throughout the day can be problematic and some children need to be warned about change or they cannot cope. They need to be helped/taught to manage their frustrations and regulate their emotions.
Question: Can a child’s progress sometimes be impeded by “over-parenting”. Alison said that this was an interesting question and it was possible to be over-controlling and stifle a child’s progress. There can be a fine line between comfort and pain for some children and they can display risky behaviour. We need to be hyper-vigilant.
Question: How is it possible to differentiate whether a child is on the autistic spectrum or has behavioural problems for other reasons, as they present very similarly? The key is to give it time – a child with behavioural difficulties will improve given the right environment but the child who is on the autistic spectrum will not show any progress over time and the basic behaviours will remain; however they will still benefit from a Nurture Group environment. Their time in the Nurture Group will allow in-depth assessment as it becomes a “goldfish bowl” and enables you to see exactly what is happening whereas this is not possible in the classroom. There can be ‘hyper’ and hypo’ responses.
Psychological development
The ability to form secure attachments can be a problem for some children. There is a need to build trust and act in an age-appropriate way. Some children can suffer from “toxic/pervasive shame” whereby they cannot move on when they have made a mistake.
Alison said that Nurture Groups function well when they have an “open door” policy whereby children can come back when they feel the need (such as birthdays, etc) or just for snack time for instance when they are feeling vulnerable. Gradually, the need will become less as they begin to feel more secure. Safety is paramount for vulnerable children and they need to have a secure base. Sometimes, a tour of the building and reassurance can be all that is needed to help them settle. Permission to seek out a safe place is also a good strategy for some children when they are troubled; this should be practiced when the child is feeling OK so that they know exactly what to do when they are now feeling OK. A risk assessment may be necessary regarding the safe place. Reference is made in the book to John Bowlby and the ‘internal working model’.
The ‘Big Ask’ – everyday challenges in school
The handout shows a list of some of the everyday challenges children face in school. It is all about us understanding whey certain behaviours are displayed and this can be empowering for both staff and pupil. Some children are not in a place to conform and we can help give them the skills to enable them to do this.
Alison made reference to a resource which one of her team had developed from the Maslow’s hierarchy. It shows a wall of bricks with some of the bricks missing and it is our job to try to re-build the wall and put the bricks back for that child. The resource will shortly be placed on the Nurture Group oage on BSO.
4 / Good news? New ideas? Good practice to share?
Kelly Booth (Oakbank School) who is a Nurturing Practitioner has now been appointed to the Senior Leadership Team at the school.
Caroline Hall has recently joined the Nurture team at Oakbank. She was previous at a primary school and is finding the role both challenging and exciting.
Alison stated that there are now to be new age groupings:
0 to 7 years
7 to 14 years
14 to 25 years
Alison stated that she is running a course on 25 October 2013 called “Understanding Behaviour to Manage it Well” which is aimed at Senior Leaders in secondary schools. Booking again through Quality First.
Alison has visited Samuel Lister School (secondary) who have a Nurture Group which has made a big difference to the school, which is very positive.
5 / Questions to share with colleagues
· One school said that they have a couple of children who have been with them for four terms but are not yet ready to be re-integrated back into the classroom. Alison said that after 2 – 3 terms, if a child is not showing any progress, then the question has to be asked why? What is or is not happening in the classroom which is preventing that child from returning? Observations need to be carried out in the classroom setting to ascertain this. Be “scientific”. Get the Class Teacher “on board” and do planning with that teacher. They “own” the child and it is part of their responsibility to plan with you that child’s re-integration. You are providing additional support for them. Four terms is a good guide but does not have to be strictly adhered to – use your discretion. Staff training is a key factor.
It was felt that it was crucial to have both the SLT and Classroom Teacher on board and supportive of what the Nurture Group is about and trying to achieve. The classroom may need to make adjustments to accommodate a re-integrating pupil. The pupil will need a key adult in the Nurture Group. Should the child need to be put forward for Statutory Assessment, any assessments you have done previously within the Nurture Group will be invaluable.
· Liz Merrick, one the SEBD Team’s Specialist Teachers, is doing a training day on 28 March 2014 called “Creative Approaches to Learning and Nurturing”. Booking again through the Quality First brochure. Flyers will be coming out to schools with other courses which the SEBD Team offer and these will also be posted on BSO.
· The ethos of one school was to challenge each teacher to create a calm corner in their classroom with toys, etc. Everyone did it and it was surprising that the ones who were the most sceptical about the idea were the first to do it. Now all teachers are “on board” as it has made a difference.
· Alison asked that everyone spreads the word to other schools – use physical links. Liz Midgley is running a Nurturing Hub in the Keighley area. It can be helpful for schools in a locality to support each other such as Parkland/Holybrook are doing. If you need any contact details for a neighbouring school, please contact Linda.
6 / Dates of future meetings
A list of dates for future meetings was quickly filled up with volunteers as hosts!
Date / Time / Place
Friday 6 December 2013 / 09.30 – 11.00 am / Sandy Lane Primary School
Friday 7 February 2014 / 09.30 – 11.00 am / Fearnville Primary School
Friday 21 March 2014 / 09.30 – 11.00 am / Parkland Primary School
Friday 16 May 2014 / 09.30 – 11.00 am / Ingrow Primary School
Friday 27 June 2014 / 09.30 – 11.00 am / Whetley Primary School
*The next meeting will take place at Sandy Lane Primary (situated between Cottingley and Allerton); the school has limited parking facilities. Attendees are advised to park in the side streets further away and walk to the school as the road on which the school stands is very narrow. It would also be advisable to get to the school after 9.00 am to allow parents bringing children into school to disperse.
There was the usual opportunity to stay on after the end of the meeting to network with colleagues/ask questions/consider assignments, etc. There was also the opportunity to visit the Busy Bees Nurture Room – which is fantastic!
Bradford Nurture Group Contact: Alison Smith - Mobile 07718025014