ABSTRACT
Chapter 16 is a case example of a nurturing infant school taken from the words of the assistant head. The chapter considers how understanding attachment and unconscious processes as a whole school can feed into thinking and working together, and into developing a relationship-based approach that supports both children and staff.
The chapter touches on the use and value of the school’s nurture groups (including inviting parents in to ‘help’), creating a safe base including the availability of consistent and reliable attachment figures, training and clinical supervision for all staff and embedding the nurture principles into the way the school operates on a daily basis. The journey towards becoming a nurturing school is vividly described, illustrated by case examples of teachers’ developing work with children, and the slow appreciation of the relationship-based approach.
The crucial importance of a supportive head and of selecting new staff with a probationary period and inducting and supporting them through the beginning stage, is emphasised. The chapter also highlights how the school was awarded nurtureuk’s National Nurturing Schools Award and Flagship Status Inclusion Quality Mark, leading to many visitors and much interest in the school from outside.
