ABSTRACT
Nurture groups are school-based interventions, taking the form of small classes staffed by a teacher and an assistant, which seek to address the underlying causes of emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) while supporting students in a natural, mainstream school environment. Nurture groups focus on the quality of the relationships between adults and children, with staff seeking to offset the children’s early attachment difficulties and providing experiences that match each child’s developmental stage. After time in a nurture group-usually between a term and a year-the social skills of many children with EBD have developed, as has their emotional security, allowing them to be re-included into their school’s regular classrooms.
