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Research Section: The effectiveness and rationale of the ‘nurture group’ approach to helping children with emotional and behavioural difficulties remain within mainstream education
Author(s) -
O’Connor Tina,
Colwell John
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
british journal of special education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.349
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1467-8578
pISSN - 0952-3383
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8527.00247
Subject(s) - nature versus nurture , borough , mainstream , psychology , developmental psychology , inclusion (mineral) , pedagogy , social psychology , sociology , medicine , political science , pathology , anthropology , law
Researchers, policy makers and practitioners continue to be interested in the impact of nurture groups on the inclusion of young children with emotional and behavioural difficulties in mainstream schools. Nurture groups were originally established in schools in the London Borough of Enfield in the 1980s and it is now possible to review evidence of their effectiveness in both the short and long term. In this article, Tina O’lConnor, teacher at Oakthorpe Primary School, London Borough of Enfield, and John Colwell, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at De Montfort University, compare scores on the Developmental Diagnostic Profile for a sample of pupils on entry to a nurture group; on exit; and after at least two years of mainstream reintegration. Their work reveals evidence of improvements in both the short and long term. In discussing their findings, the authors call for more in‐depth, longitudinal research into nurture groups and the development and impact of whole school nurturing approaches.