Nurture

Nurture is an enhanced provision that supports the academic, social and emotional requirements of students with additional needs in KS3. The Nurture classes are important to bridge the gap between Primary and Secondary education whilst equipping those students with additional needs to cope with navigating secondary school life. Students with an EHCP are prioritised for this intervention although, not all students are suitable for Nurture, and access to this intervention is based on information gathered from, previous school SENDCOs, current teachers, parents and other professionals. The Nurture class sizes are kept deliberately small to enable a more tailored provision.

Students attend Nurture for up to 17 out of 25 hours per week for Maths, English and Humanities lessons. These lessons are taught by a combination of specialist SEND teachers which follow adapted subject schemes of work. Currently, students attend mainstream lessons for Science, PE, Art/Design, Music, Drama and PD. Nurture lessons offer a broad, balanced, engaging and accessible curriculum, bespoke to the needs of the most vulnerable students. This leads to greater independence and builds on developing skills. In addition to academia, Nurture facilitates an enriched curriculum whereby we promote progress through active learning activities.

Nurture is an achievable stepping-stone pathway that enables students to access a mainstream curriculum at a pace that suits their learning needs. Students are suitably challenged to allow rapid progress. Nurture aspires to make students feel valued members of the St Peter’s School community within which they can develop as confident, successful learners whilst becoming prepared as young adults for society beyond school.

It is not intended to be a low level stream but rather to produce accelerated progress.

Nurture supports those students with speech and language difficulties to achieve their full potential. These students do not have impaired IQ but without appropriate support will not achieve in line with their peers.

The nurturing approach offers a range of opportunities for young people with SEND, often with EHCPs, 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. We are able to support students with EHCPs more effectively than in a withdrawal model of support. We are able to support ‘soft’ skills and meet the legal requirements of EHCPs.

Our aim is that students make rapid progress in the basic skills that their peers have already mastered. This takes into consideration students who are developmentally working at KS1/2 academically, socially and emotionally. Gradual transition into mainstream aids students’ confidence and success as well as supporting the mainstream teachers. Extra training is offered to teachers with regards the needs of students transitioning into mainstream lessons.

Nurture can be summed up in 6 principles: