The Nuture Curriculum



Principles and practice of the nurture curriculum
Nurture groups are developed around six principles. These principles are all fortified by the essential components of trust and relationships.
1. Children’s learning is understood developmentally: Teachers and teaching assistants in nurture groups respond to children in terms of their developmental progress assessed through the Boxall profile, a basis for the observation and assessment of children’s behavioral, social and cognitive engagement in the nurture class. Children are treated without prejudice or intimidation. (The Nurture Groups Network, 2015)
2. The classroom offers a safe base: The nurture group is organized in a way that it focuses not only on achieving academic goals but it places paramount priority on emotional literacy.         The staffs in the nurture room ensure that children follow a predictive daily routine to help the students settle easily. (The Nurture Groups Network, 2015)
3. Nurture is important for the development of self-esteem: Children are encouraged to constantly express themselves in a nurture room. Staffs have frequent conversations with the children to make them feel their thoughts and opinions count and they can be heard.  (The Nurture Groups Network, 2015)
4. Language is understood as a vital means of communication: Developing communication skills is a vital part of the nurture room since children in nurture groups have a tendency to internalize their feelings rather than express them. Children are urged to use more verbal expressions than actions or gestures. (The Nurture Groups Network, 2015)
5. All behavior is communication: Nurture staffs do not only pay attention to what a child says verbally, they listen for what the child is trying to communicate through the behavior. This is the major strategy that is used to respond to children’s challenging behavior. A child’s difficult behavior can be diffused if he knows or perceives that his feelings are understood by the adults around him.  (The Nurture Groups Network, 2015)
6. Transitions are significant in the lives of children: There are different transitions that a child goes through within the school. This ranges from going from one room to another for diverse activities or having different adults around for each new activity. This can be unsettling for vulnerable children and can cause them to misbehave. The nurture approach helps a child manage transitions with preparation and support. (The Nurture Groups Network, 2015)
The practice of the nurture group involves children attending sessions in a room that is different from their main stream class throughout the week. Whilst they are in the nurture room, the children participate in a range of activities which include, emotional literacy session, group activities, turn taking games, sharing of news, breakfast and formal learning tasks. The progress of the students is measured periodically by a framework called the Boxall Profile. These children are expected to return back to mainstream education after three or four terms of being in the nurture group (Pupil Engagement Team, 2010).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Unsung Heroes

  I have never considered myself a poet nor a spoken word artist but the touching experience of going on a slavery tour during a teacher's fellowship at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello inspired me to tell a different story of enslaved people. Through the lens of the IB Learner Profile, I wrote and delivered a poem to celebrate the resilience of the enslaved people at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. This poem is dedicated to the loving memory of the enslaved people at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello: mothers who took the lash so that their children wouldn't have to; separated families; the people who loved and committed to one another amid pain and torture; children who sought creative ways to learn how to read and write; the people who lived and worked right where I stood to read my poem before other educators and tourists at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello - UNSUNG HEROES. We must continue to resist slavery in all forms because it degrades humanity and imposes the sub...
Read more

Language Development in Early Childhood

Image
  How a child learns to speak and understand the spoken word is a mysterious process. As long as a child is exposed to some language in his/her early life, s/he will almost always learn to speak. We don’t entirely understand why, but we know this to be true. She will learn the vocabulary that she is offered. We can do much to enrich these offerings, to give the child a greater wealth of words at her command, but we can not make her learn to speak. That occurs in a way that, at present, remains a mystery. But the same can not be said for writing or reading. These, we teach. Montessori believed that language is innate and it is in the nature of humans to express themselves both orally and through the written word. The Montessori Language Arts curriculum, therefore, starts the moment the child first enters the environment. Montessori Language: Ages 0-3 Montessori believed that the sensitive period for language begins at birth and continues to about six years of age....
Read more

How to revise for the IELTS Speaking Test

Image
  Here are some tips that can help you ace the IELTS speaking test: 1.         Practice makes perfect – practice speaking in English whenever you can. 2.         Always try to express your opinion on a range of topics by giving examples to justify your views on any subject. 3.       Reading articles about your chosen profession or university courses can help you speak more confidently about your own work and study experiences. 4.       Become familiar with relevant language by listening to radio or watching TV programs. 5.          Practice speaking in English for a sustained period of time (2 – 4 minutes) before a selfie camera. Playback the recording and identify ways you can improve. 6.          Practice using hesitation devices in English Language rather than your local language when you are searching for words to use. E.g. Well |The thing is… ...
Read more