Nurture

St Andrew’s Catholic Primary School
Working Towards Becoming a National Nurturing School

The National Nurturing Schools Programme supports schools in developing and embedding a nurturing culture that enhances teaching and learning and promotes improved outcomes for the whole school community. The programme places a strong emphasis on pupils’ social and emotional development alongside their academic learning and has been shown to positively impact attendance, behaviour, and overall wellbeing.

At St Andrew’s Catholic Primary School, we are committed to working towards becoming a National Nurturing School. We recognise that nurturing principles are integral to our culture and ethos and support our relational approach to education.

Social and emotional development refers to how children develop an understanding of who they are, their emotions, and how they interact with others. It includes learning how to form and maintain positive relationships, manage and express emotions effectively, and confidently explore and engage with the world around them.

Positive social and emotional development is vital, as it influences children’s self-confidence, empathy, and ability to build meaningful and lasting relationships. It also helps children develop a sense of belonging, importance, and value within their community. Importantly, social and emotional development underpins and supports all other areas of learning and development.

The Nurture Principles form the foundation of practice within a nurturing school. These principles are underpinned by the essential elements of trust and positive relationships. At St Andrew’s, our practice is guided by the following six Nurture Principles:

Children’s learning is understood developmentally
The classroom offers a safe base
The importance of nurture for the development of wellbeing
Language is a vital means of communication
All behaviour is a form of communication
The importance of transitions in children’s lives

For further information about Nurture, please visit www.nurtureuk.org.

Helping Our Children to Thrive

Our nurturing approach helps ensure that every child feels safe, valued, and understood. Creating this supportive environment is essential for children’s personal development and wellbeing. When pupils feel secure, they are more likely to:

Be confident and willing to try new experiences
Develop belief in themselves and their abilities
Reflect on their feelings, behaviours, and choices

By embedding these principles into daily practice, all staff work closely with pupils to support and guide them in building positive relationships, developing resilience, and strengthening their social, emotional, and mental health and wellbeing.

Zones of Regulation

The Zones of Regulation is an instructional framework used across the school to help create safe, supportive environments that foster learning and wellbeing for all pupils. This approach is embedded within classrooms and supports children in developing emotional awareness and self-regulation.

The Zones of Regulation framework aims to promote:

Increased self-awareness and development of social and emotional skills
A shared language for communication, problem-solving, and understanding emotions
More time focused on learning rather than behaviour management
A positive, healthy, and inclusive school climate

Where appropriate, personalised Zones of Regulation strategies are used to support individual pupils. These help children develop a deeper understanding of their emotions and learn effective strategies to regulate and calm themselves.

Nurturing Spaces

Nurturing spaces are available throughout the school to provide children with safe environments where they can talk, reflect, and receive individual or group pastoral support.

Our outdoor environment also plays an important role in supporting wellbeing. Areas such as our prayer garden and quiet playground spaces provide opportunities for reflection and calm.

In addition, the school provides:

Sensory spaces to support emotional regulation
Calm areas within classrooms where needed
Regulation zones within each key stage to promote positive behaviours and emotional wellbeing

These spaces ensure that all pupils have access to supportive environments that help them feel secure, regulated, and ready to learn.