From nurture group to nurturing community : exploring processes and evaluating outcomes when nurturing principles are consistent between nurture group, home and school

Paper 1: Evidence suggests that Nurture Groups (NGs) are effective in helping children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. NGs recognise the importance of parental involvement and research reveals positive social and emotional outcomes for children when NGs collaborate with parents as respected partners. An implicit power imbalance between NG staff and parents can challenge parental collaboration. This aim of this paper is to explore processes when consistent nurturing principles are being developed between a NG, schools and home. This qualitative study was conducted in a NG in the south west of England and included 3 NG staff, 4 parents, 4 children and a school teacher. An action-research model enabled consultation meetings and VIG to be introduced as an intervention to develop consistent practices. Semi-structured interviews, consultation meetings and a research diary collected data and an interpretative approach was adopted to explore processes, experiences and perceptions shared by participants. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse and interpret the data and produce a set of themes. The importance of effective communication, building of relationships and sharing of practice/ collaboration were identified as significant themes when developing partnership working between settings. VIG enhanced parents’ and the teacher’s communication skills and concurred with a partnership model based on empowerment, solutions and respect. Recommendations for practice include the development of personalised, informal and formal communication systems between settings. VIG can also be used effectively within NGs to develop consistent nurturing practices between settings. In addition, consideration is given to how VIG can be applied to practice more globally and how local authorities can support this process. Abstract: Paper 2 Evidence suggests that Nurture Groups (NGs) are effective in helping children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The importance of parental involvement is recognised within NGs and research reveals positive social and emotional outcomes for children when NGs collaborate with parents as respected partners. An implicit power imbalance between NG staff and parents can challenge parental collaboration. This aim of this paper is to evaluate outcomes when nurturing principles are consistent between a NG, schools and home. A mixed methodology design with interpretative and scientific approaches was employed in an area NG in the south west of England. An action-research model enabled consultation meetings and Video Interactive Guidance (VIG) to be introduced as an intervention to develop consistent practices for the experimental group. Quantitative outcomes from Boxall Profiles and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQs) are compared pre- and post-intervention for an experimental group (4 children and 4 parents) and a control group (4 children). Three NG staff also volunteered as participants. Qualitative measures (observation records, semi-structured interviews (SSIs), consultation meetings and VIG clips) measured outcomes for the experimental group. Data from the Boxall Profiles, SDQs, VIG clips and observations was analysed descriptively. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse emergent themes from the SSIs and consultation meetings. The results revealed the experimental group made greater gains post-intervention as measured by the SDQ and the control group made greater gains post-intervention as measured by the Boxall Profile. The majority of results for individual experimental group children revealed positive social and emotional outcomes post-intervention. It is difficult to draw conclusions when outcomes between the experimental and control group were compared. The majority of measures identified positive social, emotional and behavioural outcomes for experimental group children when parents and schools work collaboratively with NGs. VIG and sharing of practices helped to modify how parents and teachers understood, managed, communicated and related to children. Recommendations for practice discuss the development of personalised, informal and formal communication systems between settings while ensuring minimal anxiety for children. VIG can be used effectively within NGs to develop consistent nurturing practices between settings. Consideration is given to how VIG can be applied more broadly and how local authorities can support this process.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo