Nurture Provision

At Watling Street, we work hard to foster a calm, secure, safe and inclusive learning environment, where all of our pupils can learn and thrive. It is our primary aim that every member of the school community feels valued and respected, and that each person is treated fairly and well.

Our school community is built on the strong relationships we have developed with each other, our families and our community and also our school culture, which is based on our school values; Aspiration, Community, Kindness, Learning, Resilience and Respect. These relationships and values underpin our school ethos.

Pathways Nurture Provision at Watling Street Primary School endeavours to ensure that the needs of all learners who attend our setting are met throughout their educational journey.

We believe that in order for our pupils to be able to learn effectively, they need to feel safe in their environment and be both socially and emotionally ready to learn. We understand the importance of holistic development and offer nurturing and enriching experiences to enable the development of the whole child. 

We do however recognise that some of our pupils are not always emotionally ready to learn when they come to School and therefore require an increased level of support to enable them to access the wider curriculum. For this reason, we offer a Nurture Provision for identified pupils to further support their social and emotional development whilst maintaining the high aspirations and fulfilment of potential that we have for all of our pupils.

Nurture groups are an in-school, teacher-led intervention of groups of less than 12 students that effectively replace missing or distorted early nurturing experiences for both children and young adults; they achieve this by immersing students in an accepting and warm environment which helps develop positive relationships with both teachers and peers.

Pathways Nurture provision offers a range of opportunities for children to engage with early nurturing experiences they may have missed possibly due to adverse childhood experiences, resulting in attachment difficulties and development trauma. Our Nurture provision curriculum is based around the 6 principles of Nurture, as well as providing support in relation to the development of Phonics, English and Maths academic skills, whilst also developing pupil’s self-esteem and social, emotional and mental health needs. Our ultimate aim is to give students the skills and strategies they need to continue participating successfully in education.

Our school and it's nurture provision is locally recognised as an example of outstanding practice, achieving the Platinum Standard from Walsall Virtual School. 

National Nurturing School Award

We are very proud to share that we were awarded the Nuturing Schools Award in May 2025.

We wanted to share some of the outstanding feedback we received from the assessor, starting with the opening sentence “This report cannot reflect the hard work that goes on at school every day”

“Through every interaction I had with a wide variety of stakeholders (staff, parents and pupils) it was clear they trusted each other. Trust was a key feature of the relationships and the environment at Watling Street School and it was a delight to watch this in action”

“During the assessment day, the children were able to share their knowledge of the Six Principles of Nurture from Flourish Assemblies. These Flourish Assemblies were clearly having the desired impact”

“The school provides a positive, nurturing and inclusive learning environment for all children, setting high expectations for all with clear and consistent boundaries.”

“’OPAL play has been incredible’, staff shared how the stage not age developmental opportunities OPAL play provided have been so valuable. Children, staff and parents spoke about the positive impact the developmental play opportunities were having on all aspects of the children’s learning and progress.”

“Child voice is captured in a variety of ways across school. Children have created their own child friendly policies and there is a very active junior leadership team. Their ideas are captured regularly. When I spoke to the children, they were articulate and happy to share their thoughts and ideas. The impact of including them in decisions about their education was empowering them to have a voice and understand how to use it.”

“The parents/carers shared how they were communicated with at every opportunity, no decisions were made without them, ‘we as parents/carers are consulted, children are consulted.’”

“Longer, softer transitions have been developed to ensure the needs of all children are understood and met. Enhanced transition provision is made for vulnerable children who may have already experienced significant upheaval or transitions within their lived experiences.”

The assessor also shared some of the lovely quotes from our wonderful children as well –

“When we are worried, we can tell a trusted adult” (child)

“A safe base helps us feel safe and we can’t learn if we feel sad” (child)

“The calm corner helps me feel better, if my learning is tricky” (child)

“School is fun, safe, fair, exciting, positive and happy” (child)