Dickens Heath Community Primary School - a National Nurturing School  

The National Nurturing Schools Programme helps schools to develop and embed a nurturing culture, enhancing teaching and learning, and promoting better outcomes for the whole school community. It focuses on pupils’ social and emotional needs and development alongside their academic learning and can improve attendance and behaviour. We became a National Nurturing School in December 2024.

Social and emotional development is how children develop understanding of who they are, their feelings and how to interact with others. It includes learning how to form and sustain positive relationships, how to manage and express emotions and how to explore and engage with the environment.

Positive social and emotional development is crucial as it influences self-confidence, empathy, the ability to develop meaningful and lasting friendships and relationships and the sense of importance and value to others. Children’s social and emotional development also influences all other areas of development.

The Nurture Principles are the core principles that individuals base their practice on and are key to any Nurturing school. These basic principles are underpinned by the essential components of trust and relationships.  Our Nurture principles are: 

1. Children’s learning is understood developmentally
2. The classroom offers a safe base
3. The importance of nurture for the development of wellbeing
4. Language is a vital means of communication
5. All behaviour is a form of communication
6. The importance of transitions in children’s lives

For further information about Nurture, please visit www.nurtureuk.org

Helping our children to thrive

Through our nurture approach ensures children feel safe, valued, and understood, which is essential for their personal development. When pupils feel secure:

• They are more willing to be brave and try new things
• They develop confidence in themselves and their abilities
• They learn to be reflective, understanding their emotions and behaviour

By putting these principles into action all staff relate to and coach children to help them form positive relationships, build resilience and improve their social, emotional and mental health and wellbeing. 

Our nurturing approach is characterised by emotionally available adults, predictable routines, emotion coaching and restorative conversations.

Our Nurture principles are explored by each class as they transition into their new year groups and classes to discuss and decide upon what the principles mean to them as a class community to ensure that happy, safe and trusting environments.

Zones of regulation are an empowering instructional tool to build safe, supportive environments that foster learning and well-being for all that are evident in each classroom throughout school. Zones of regulation are intended to promote:

-Increased self-awareness and social and emotional skills

-A common language for communication, problem solving, and emotional understanding

-More time spent on learning instead of on behaviour management

-A healthier, more inclusive school climate

Where required, personal zones of regulation are utilised for identified children in school to aide their personal understanding of their emotions and calming strategies for self.

Nurture spaces are in place throughout school to allow children a safe space to talk and work on individual or group pastoral support.  Our outdoor environment is also an integral part of the safe spaces that we have around school with many children having timetables opportunities at the farm, forest school or playground spaces.  Sensory spaces are designated to support regulation, calm zones are evident in classrooms where required and regulation zones in each key stage to promote positive behaviours.

Explore the alignment of how our Jigsaw PSHE curriculum supports/enhances the work of Nurture UK in schools: