The Nest - nurture provision

The Nest is the brainchild of Mrs Blyth as a response, in part, to the COVID crisis. It was recognised that some of our children were negatively affected by lockdown and found the transition back to school difficult or that they weren't thriving in school.

Our school motto is SHINE with the N standing for Nurture. Fourfields is already a school that provides Nurture but we have now taken the bold step to dedicate staff and a room to Nurture.

The Nest is a Nurture room, it's a space that mimics both home and school. The central feature is the dining room table which is where we will have Nurture groups have 'tea' and toast daily. We aim to provide experiences that may not have been offered by home or a child wasn't able to fully engage with the experiences. We will learn to turn take but also to lose through playing games. We will learn to share experiences through meeting around the table. We will learn different forms of meditation to help focus our minds, yoga to align our minds and bodies, visualisation to help us think positively and mindfulness to increase our well-being.

There are 6 principles of Nurture:

Children's learning is understood developmentally.
The classroom offers a safe base.
Nurture is important for the development of self-esteem.
Language is understood as a vital means of communication.
All behaviour is communication.
Transitions are significant in the lives of children.

We hope to be able to involve parents in the Nurture experience by inviting them for tea and toast. If you visit the school please do pop into The Nest and say hello and see how we aim to support our children to fly high, SHINE and thrive.

The booklet below explains in more detail how The Nest works and what our children can achieve using this invaluable space:

nest booklet final.pdf

Please see below for a photo gallery of the children spending time in The Nest:

The Nest

STEPS - A Therapeutic approach to behaviour

As part of our approach to seeing behaviour as a form of communication (Nurture Principle) we use STEPS as a holistic and restorative process to support our children. Please see below for the guide.

steps parent carer guide september 2023 1 .pdf