School Nurture Groups

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 7:32 pm on 10 June 2009.

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Photo of Diana R. Johnson Diana R. Johnson Assistant Whip (HM Treasury), Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Children, Schools and Families) (Schools) 7:32, 10 June 2009

I congratulate my hon. Friend Mr. Reed on securing the debate, and I thank him for his very kind words at the start of his speech.

I know from my hon. Friend's eloquent speech this evening that he shares my commitment to excellence in education and is dedicated to ensuring the very best provision for the children and young people of his constituency. The topic of this debate is of the utmost importance to this Government, because we have made a promise that we are going to make this the best country in the world for children to grow up in. That means not only offering young people the best education possible, but ensuring their welfare at every stage.

As we outlined in Every Child Matters, we want children's lives to be happy, healthy and safe. That is why our Department is revolutionising the way that children are looked after in and out of school. This is crucial not only to a child's broader development, but to their educational attainment. If a child feels happy, secure and safe, they are more likely to come to school ready to learn. Schools now work more closely with health services, police and the voluntary sector than ever before to make sure that every aspect of children's well-being is supported. Importantly, Every Child Matters gave the opportunity for children and parents to have their thoughts and concerns heard by the Government, so we could construct the safest and most effective ways to meet the needs of every child and every parent. Putting the voice of the child and young person at the heart of the debate so it informs everything we do is absolutely essential if services are truly to meet their needs.

The children's plan has taken that even further, setting out a vision for greater partnerships between schools and children services. We now have more than 3,000 Sure Start centres, offering practical advice and support for both families and children. More schools than ever before are offering extended services to meet the wider needs of children, including breakfast clubs, study support groups and easier access to specialist services for those who need extra support. We want to meet the needs of every child, to help them achieve their best. The Labour Government have a proud record on this, which stands up to independent scrutiny and will certainly be under threat if there is a change of Government.

We know that what happens to a child in the first few years of life has a huge effect on their future development and life chances, so making sure that every child's needs are met as soon as they start primary school is of utmost importance. When children are experiencing difficulties, early intervention is vital. As my hon. Friend set out so effectively, nurture groups support children who are showing signs of behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. They are a place where pupils can spend all or most of the day, normally over a period of no longer than a year. They can create a predictable and secure environment for children to engage with their learning and to overcome their behavioural problems. As they begin to improve, they will gradually spend more and more time in mainstream classes until they can be fully integrated again into a typical classroom.

Nurture groups are not new, and indeed the Department has recognised their valuable contribution to the well-being of pupils for some time. The 1997 Green Paper "Excellence for All" set out a programme for improving special educational needs provision. In particular, it said that nurture groups offer a promising approach to the education of children with learning difficulties. Since then, the groups have flourished all over the country, and we have heard this evening about those in my hon. Friend's constituency.

As my hon. Friend mentioned, nurture groups were an essential part of Sir Alan Steer's final report on behaviour, published in April this year, in which he recognised the importance of early intervention in raising behaviour standards in schools. He recommended that we undertake an assessment of the impact of nurture groups in areas of high deprivation. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made a commitment to act on all the recommendations in Sir Alan's report, and we intend to publish our detailed implementation plan later this summer. I hope that that answers the particular question that my hon. Friend posed at the end of his speech.

There are, of course, other effective ways that behavioural and emotional problems can be addressed across the whole school, so that all children can understand the importance of managing their behaviour. That is because behavioural problems can have a knock-on effect on all students and staff, not just the individuals concerned. Students need to learn to be able to value and respect their teachers and one another so that good manners can go beyond the classroom, out into the corridor and into the playground.

Our social and emotional aspects of learning programme—or SEAL—develops the social and emotional skills of all pupils through a whole-school approach, across the curriculum. It is designed to develop pupils' sense of self-awareness and the ability to manage their feelings in a constructive and positive way. By developing empathy, social awareness, motivation and social skills, it enables them to get along better with others and to become more responsible citizens. SEAL helps schools to create a safe and emotionally healthy school environment where pupils can learn effectively. Through well-crafted assemblies, informed lesson plans and colourful source material, primary schoolchildren are able to identify with their emotions and understand that the way in which they express their feelings can affect their fellow pupils. Its effects can be felt in the corridors as well as the classroom.

If we get children off on the right foot at the very start of their school careers, their emotional well-being can develop in parallel with their educational achievements. These skills are an important component of personal, social and health education, helping pupils to become responsible citizens. Such an approach has worked well for many schools, and about 80 per cent. of primary schools now use the SEAL programme. My Department is committed to ensuring that such skills are addressed in every school, and we provide £10 million a year to local authorities to fund training in SEAL for school staff. We have also decided to make personal, social, health and economic education—PSHE—a statutory subject to be taught to all children, including primary schoolchildren.

Children will one day leave school and start work in the wider world, where social skills are the glue that holds down a good job, rewarding friendships, a roof over their head and a steady source of income. Teaching PSHE in the classroom allows pupils to see the benefits of applying these skills to their current lives, and puts them on the right track for life. I hope that that goes some way to persuading my hon. Friend that we are not complacent when it comes to effective ways to improve pupils' behaviour and social skills.

My hon. Friend asked specifically about direct funding. As I have explained, money is already provided for the SEAL programme, but there is no specific central funding for nurture groups. By law, local authorities must of course provide a fair and equal education to all children in their local area, regardless of their social and economic background, but it is for each local authority to decide how best to meet that duty. Local authorities receive money from the Government through the dedicated schools grant for school funding, which takes into account issues such as social deprivation. We have committed to supply £28.9 billion of funding this academic year to local authorities through the grant, and Cumbria's share of the funding was £258.7 million.

I know that Cumbria local authority have provided pump-priming funding and infrastructure support to schools looking to develop nurture groups, as well as professional development and support for school staff. As we have heard tonight, the groups are having a positive effect on the behaviour of pupils. There is no reason why other local authorities that want to support nurture groups cannot follow the good example of Cumbria.

We encourage local authorities to discuss their ideas with schools, governors and parents to decide what is best for the schools in their local area. That is what our Department means when we talk about the 21st-century school: a community coming together to work out the best way to reach the needs of their local pupils.

It is for each local authority to determine what provision best meets the needs of the children in their local area, together with parents, teachers and pupils. Nurture groups have a real role to play in getting children back into the classroom, back into learning and back on track, but they are not the only answer and local authorities need the flexibility to make decisions about where they direct their funding to the benefit of all children in their area.

It is not just the responsibility of the local authority to ensure that children's well-being and wider development are supported, that they have the right support around them from education and children's services alike, and that they have the right sort of support. That is everybody's responsibility—it is the responsibility of central Government, local government, children's services professionals, teachers, heads, parents and even pupils. By working together in partnership to make the most of every resource our communities have to offer local children and parents, we will realise the vision of a world-class education system, first-class children's services and a generation of adults who are skilled workers, responsible citizens and well-rounded individuals.

Finally, I would be delighted to meet the Nurture Group Network. I would also very much like to visit my hon. Friend's constituency and to see nurture groups in operation.

Question put and agreed to.

House adjourned.