Objectives The objectives are: first, to inform the audience about Nurture Group provision, a short-term, focussed, early intervention to address barriers to learning arising from attachment-related social, emotional and/or... [ view full abstract ]
Objectives
The objectives are: first, to inform the audience about Nurture Group provision, a short-term, focussed, early intervention to address barriers to learning arising from attachment-related social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties (SEBD); second, to present the results from a quasi-experimental trial which assesses the effectiveness of this intervention, in particular in relation to young children in care.
Method
There were four stages to the research, and this paper largely reports on stages 1 and 2:
• Stage 1: an analysis of data for 529 children from 30 primary schools who had previously attended Nurture Groups to assess their progress;
• Stage 2: a quasi-experimental trial involving 384 children in total and comparing the progress of those currently attending Nurture Groups in the 30 primary schools (during the 2014/15 school year) with children in 14 matched schools with no Nurture Group provision;
• Stage 3: a cost-effectiveness analysis and economic review of Nurture Group provision;
• Stage 4: a qualitative process evaluation involving interviews as well as observations of the Nurture Groups in practice.
Measures
Social, emotional and behavioural development: The Boxall Profile (Bennathan & Boxall, 1998) and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 1997) both teacher-rated, were used to measure pupils’ social, emotional and behavioural outcomes.
Enjoyment of School: Pupils self-reported their own enjoyment of 11 aspects of school. Pupils rated each aspect on a 5-point scale by pointing to or putting a circle around one of a set of 5 ‘smiley faces’.
Data analysis
At Stage 1 and to allow for direct comparability of the size of the changes experienced, the standardised mean difference between pre- and post-test scores was also calculated (Cohen’s d). Regression models were estimated for each of the main outcomes to identify factors which may impact on the amount of progress made. At Stage 2, baseline differences were explored between pupils in the intervention and control group (in terms of core characteristics and baseline scores on social, emotional and behavioural functioning, enjoyment of school, attendance, and academic attainment in literacy and numeracy). For the main analysis, data were analysed in a series of multi-level models for each outcome. Effect sizes (Hedges’ g) were calculated as the standardised mean difference in outcomes between the intervention and control groups, adjusted for any differences at pre-test.
Results
The presentation will present the results from Stage 1 and Stage 2, on the impact of nurture provision on social, emotional and behavioural development, and enjoyment of school. It will also discuss the findings in relation to particular subgroups of pupils, such as looked after children.
Implications
We intend to explore further the effectiveness of interventions for young primary school children in care in a context where we know that early intervention can make a difference to longer term outcomes.
Mental health of children and young people in care , Education and qualification of children and young people in care
