– in the Scottish Parliament on 10th March 2011.
2. To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is giving to nurture classes across Scotland. (S3O-13226)
Nurturing approaches in schools and pre-school establishments are a practical example of early intervention under the early years framework and curriculum for excellence, to enable children and young people who have not experienced consistent parenting and secure attachments to improve social and emotional development, attainment and communication skills so that they are ready to learn.
The Scottish Government’s positive behaviour team is promoting and supporting the implementation of nurture groups and approaches across Scotland through national training, networking and capacity building, and through its work locally with local authorities and schools.
Is the door still open for nurture groups to become a standard feature of the development of the curriculum for excellence?
I have a long-standing commitment to the promotion of nurture groups. I first raised the subject in my previous life, as convener of the cross-party group in the Scottish Parliament on mental health, back in 2003, and I spent a lot of the previous session of Parliament lobbying Peter Peacock on the benefits of nurture groups, so I am certainly interested in ensuring that children who require such a service have access to it.