An in-depth examination of extant literature pertinent to nurture groups and an exploratory study, using grounded theory methods, of young people’s views and experiences of a secondary school nurture group

Harriss, Barlow and Moli (2008) recognise that a considerable number of children and young people in the United Kingdom are attributed with having social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBDs). The Department for Education and Employment (DfEE, 2001) explain that children, who experience SEBDs outside the normal range for their age or gender, are at increased risk of experiencing mental health disorders. With these points in mind, Nurture Groups, an in-school intervention aimed at meeting the needs of children and young people experiencing considerable SEBDs is the conceptual domain explored throughout this Volume of work. The Volume comprises four chapters. Chapter one focuses on the structure, content, remit and rationale of work in the Volume. Chapter Two presents an in-depth examination of extant literature pertinent to Nurture Groups. Key issues are identified and relevant research is explored with critical analysis of a range of sources and suggestions for further research made. Chapter Three presents a research study which uses grounded theory methods (Charmaz, 2006, Strauss and Corbin, 1990) to explore secondary aged pupils’ experiences and views of a secondary school Nurture Group. The study found that the young people involved in the research valued their time in the Nurture Group and theoretical categories which describe what they valued are explored. Chapter Four offers reflections on the work in this Volume