Welcome to the Nurture Group

Wilds Lodge has been offering Nurture provision in school for many years. Recently we have completed a separate provision, on the Wilds site aimed specifically at day students with an aim of a three year reintegration plan working with local schools to return students into mainstream provision. To date we have been successful in this with specific students and are proud to be able to expand this offer with our new building.

Here you will learn more about the fun ways in which we help to raise pupil's self-esteem and to break down barriers to learning via a very nurturing approach.

Children in the Nurture Group are made to feel valued and supported from the moment they walk in the door, and we are constantly offering praise and rewards throughout the day. We have a well planned structure, and predictable routine, which helps the children to feel safe and secure, which is further supported by a visual timetable for the children to refer to when needed.

The Nurture house is beautifully presented and has 5 lovely homely areas, where there are colourful sofas, kitchen areas and even a fireplace depending on the purpose of the rooms. There are also safe and nurturing areas where children do maths and literacy. The outdoor space is therapeutic and is wrapped around on one side by a stream and overlooks the fields with a dedicated play space safely enclosed.

All areas have colourful tables and interactive white boards. The play area within the classroom is where the children can relax and enjoy interacting with each other, learning those essential social skills that are needed as they grow older. The house offers a fun, positive, child­-friendly environment that enables children to learn through play, and revisit earlier stages of development and learning, in order to prepare them for a more formal education in the future.

Snack Time

Snack Time is one of our favourite times of day and is an important part of our Nurture Group. Children enjoy learning about healthy eating and having the opportunity to review and discuss what has been learned earlier in the day. It is an amazing way for the children to work on their social skills and there are lots of opportunities for them to practice their speaking and listening skills too. It is a lovely part of the day that builds on the attachment between the group members and encourages the sense of responsibility and pride as the children have to take turns to set up, clear away and wash up afterwards.

Circle Time

Circle Time is always lots of fun and helps the children raise their self-confidence by being an active part of a group, as well as working on their speaking and listening skills. Activities are chosen that support the children in reaching their individual targets and to help raise self-esteem. We sing, dance, tell stories with puppets, play memory games, work on concentration skills and much, much more. We use our emotions rug to help the children understand how they may be feeling at different times of the day and to help them recognise how others may be feeling too. The children thoroughly enjoy this part of the day and even those that are very shy join in as we have so much fun.

Classwork

Classwork is carefully planned, taking into account the children’s individual needs and possible barriers to learning, as this is often a major cause of anxiety to children with social and emotional difficulties. With this is mind, we always start by introducing work in the form of worksheets that can be quickly and easily completed by the child. By doing this we are able to raise the child’s self­esteem as they instantly gain a feeling of success and achievement, which is confirmed by the way of praise and reward by staff. Once the child has overcome their fear of failure, we start to slowly build up the difficulty of the task and begin to tackle classwork for longer periods of time. This process can have fantastic results and often children feel so proud of themselves that they start to request harder work and become increasingly motivated. 

The Six Principles of Nurture

• The classroom offers a safe base

• Language is a vital means of communication

• The importance of transition in Children's lives

What do parents and carers think of our Nurture Group?

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