The Bridge

The Bridge – Nurture and Pastoral Provision

Nurture Group takes place in The Bridge Room. The Bridge is designed to be a link between home and school; a place where children can feel safe and secure and therefore develop their individual needs. There is a kitchen area within the Bridge where some children can enjoy breakfast and lunch in quiet calm surroundings, several comfy seating areas where children can play games, work collaboratively or sit and read quietly. A   sensory garden leading to our school field adjoins The Bridge and the team have recently welcomed two new arrivals, Henrietta and Rosemary, our lovely chickens!

 

Our Team

The Nurture team provides our children and teaching staff with a complementary collection of skills and knowledge.

Miss R Holden (SENDco)	Miss Holden incorporates her work and experience of mainstream policy and inclusive practice, Specific Learning Difficulties, Speech and Language/communication and Interaction and Nurture Provision along with a good teaching and learning background to lead the SEND Department.
Mr T Humphries (SENDco)	Mr Humphries has a strong understanding and experience of special educational needs, particularly the Autism Spectrum, and has worked within Special Educational Provision for a number of years.
Mrs T Kinge (Nurture Lead)	Mrs Kinge and Mrs McLlvar are our Nurture Provision Teachers and work full time in The Bridge. Both teachers have a specific set of skills that contribute to the effectiveness of our alternative provision. Mrs Kinge is a qualified Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) and Mrs McLlvar is a qualified Theraplay practitioner. Both have a breadth of experience working with children with special needs in specialist settings.
Mrs C McIlvar (Nurture Lead)

 

 

What is the purpose of Nurture Group & its Philosophy?

Our Bridge Groups are typically a small class of pupils (6-8). Its composition is carefully well thought-out to create a balanced and purposeful group. The Bridge is part of the school’s Inclusion and PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) provision. Its purpose is to offer children opportunities to re-visit early learning skills and promote and support their social and emotional development. There is much research and evidence that suggest that children’s learning is most effective when they have a sense of emotional well-being, good self-esteem and a feeling of belonging to their school community. The Bridge is a place where our children have the opportunity to develop their maturity and resilience.

 

The Nurture Group Principles

The philosophy of the Nurture Room is drawn from the principles established by the work of Marjorie Boxall and others, and exemplified by ‘The Nurture Group Network’ (www.nurturegroups.org)

 

Which children attend The Bridge?

Children may attend sessions in the Nurture Group for specific reasons, for example:

• Friendship difficulties – keeping/making friends
• Find it hard to listen to others or join in
• Disruptive towards others and themselves
• Find it hard to accept losing a game, turn taking or share sharing
• Find it a bit difficult to settle into class
• Bullying and being bullied
• Low self esteem
• Poor relationships with adults in school association with adults, something instead of relationships
• Bereavement
• Family illness or break-up separation

These sessions are designed to help our pupils manage situations and increase their skills to become more successful learners and in the long term, more confident and happy citizens in our community.

How long will sessions last for in The Bridge?

School will send a letter with a permission slip requesting that your child access some Nurture sessions in The Bridge. An additional meeting with either the Interim Head (Mr Jeffries), Deputy Head and Safeguarding Lead (Mrs Short) or the SENDco’s (Miss Holden and Mr Humphries) can also be arranged.

After permission has been granted by parents, children will attend on a part time basis for at least two terms, however this can be flexible. Although children will be spending some time out of class, we ensure that they do not miss any special assemblies, PE lessons, guests in school, school trip or anything else that may be different from the normal routine of the week.

 

Are parents and careers involved?

At Amesbury Primary School we value all of our parents and are continually exploring new ways to involve them within our school community. Special event invitations and coffee/tea mornings are held regularly. The Nurture team provide learning resources and specific parent information relating to Nurture, behaviour and emotional/social well-being in order to support our children who access this personalised provision.

A session in The Bridge 

Our children follow a clear routine which includes group listening and speaking, work tasks, individual and shared play and social skills. All sessions are planned and resourced with the following principles at the core:

• Sessions are run on consistency, positive reinforcement and praise as outlined in our behaviour policy.
• Sessions can run on a specific theme that is either planned for a specific group or individual children’s needs.
• Children will have the opportunity to share good news, explore thoughts and feelings and work collaboratively or individually on a task.
• Sessions will be planned to build on children’s current ability and individual needs. After discussions with the class teacher and SENDco’s, specific targets will be created for the child to work on in The Bridge, in class and at home. These will be reviewed and updated by the Nurture Team, and if appropriate the child, when necessary. Parents will be updated and informed on the progress of targets.
• Session length is dependant of the age and needs of the children. For some children a session of 20 minutes is long enough and for some older children, a session can last up to 30 minutes or an hour.

 

Part of our Nurture Provision includes a Breakfast group which runs from 08:50 – 09:30.   The Breakfast group will learn how to share and eat food together as well as learn how to talk and involve themselves appropriately during meal times with other children and adults. For some of our children, The Bridge is also open for lunchtime provision where a quite space is provided to eat lunch and chat with friends with adult guided support. 

 

The Henge

Children are able to access The Henge by using a provided card or by asking their teacher. An adult will guide the child up to The Henge where support will be passed on to an adult in The Bridge. The Henge provision works alongside The Bridge where the Pastoral and Nurture team are always available for pupils if they need to talk, have a catch up or support in a quieter learning environment.

Useful Links

The Nurture Group Network: www.nurturegroups.org

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS):  http://www.camh.org.uk/

National Children’s Bureau: www.ncb.org.uk

Parentline Plus: parentlineplus.org.uk

Young Minds: www.youngminds.org.uk

Wiltshire Local Offer: http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/local-offer

Wiltshire Parent Carer Council Trust: https://www.wiltshireparentcarercouncil.co.uk/en/Home_Page