REPUBLIC OFANNUAL

CONFERENCE2017

THURSDAY 5 OCTOBER 2017 DUBLIN

THE ROLE OF NURTURE IN SUPPORTING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITH ADDITIONAL NEEDS

IRELAND

THE NURTUREGROUP NETWORK

Who we are The Nurture Group Network (NGN) is a charity aiming to break cycles of low achievement by ensuring that an unequal start in life does not mean an unequal chance to engage with learning. NGN works to promote the use of nurturing principles in education, ensuring that every disadvantaged or disengaged child has access to a nurturing intervention, allowing them to develop the skills and resilience they need to make the most of learning and school.

If you are unfamiliar with nurture, take a look at our website www.nurturegroups.org to see what teachers, parents and pupils big and small have to say about it. See quotes straight from the heart of those who have benefitted from nurture and understand how it could help you and your pupils.

What we doEARLY INTERVENTION We help thousands of nurture groups and nurturing schools across the United Kingdom and internationally to develop children’s and young people’s social and emotional skills, build resilience and help form healthy attachments to school.

TRAINING & CONSULTANCY We deliver training and consultancy support to teachers and schools applying nurturing principles across their work.

AWARENESS We organise conferences and campaigns to raise awareness about the importance of nurture, motivating practitioners and policy makers to apply nurturing principles.

IMPACT & EVIDENCE We gather, analyse and use evidence to evaluate and improve the nurturing approach.

Who should attend?The conference is open to nurture staff, education staff, health staff, social workers, foster or kinship carers, police, policy makers, family support workers and all who are interested in effectively supporting vulnerable children and their families.

Keynote speakersKevin Kibble

What can nurture groups do for Irish education?

Kevin has been the Chief Executive Officer of The Nurture Group Network for over four years. Previously Kevin was Chief Executive at Caspari Foundation, an educational psychotherapy charity. With over 30 years’ experience in management, communications and marketing, 17 of which have been in the charity sector, Kevin is passionate about effecting change. In this keynote, Kevin will talk about how nurture and nurture groups can improve wellbeing and performance in schools. Kevin will also talk about the work of NGN, how NGN can support you, and share a vision for a strategic approach to delivery of a nurturing environment for the benefit of children and young people with social, emotional, behavioural and mental health issues.

Marie Delaney

Teaching the unteachable – the RETHINK model

Marie is an Educational Consultant and Educational Psychotherapist, MFL / EFL Teacher, Teacher Trainer, NLP Master Practitioner and author. She is based in Cork and works internationally, offering training, consultancy and individual consultations. She has worked on outside school projects – at DYP a Mentoring and Education programme in Hackney, London - as well as in schools as a Learning Support Unit manager for pupils at risk of exclusion and as Learning Mentor /LSU co-ordinator for primary and secondary schools in the London Borough of Havering. She was also a trainer and moderator on the UK National Training for Learning Mentors and worked as Emotional Literacy Consultant in a challenging secondary school in Essex. She has worked in alternative education centres for students excluded from mainstream in Ireland. In ELT she has been Director of Studies for International House in Poland and Course Director for Teacher Training at Pilgrims, Canterbury, UK. As teachers we have a range of behaviour management strategies which work with most pupils in most classes most of the time. There are, however, pupils for whom the best strategies do not seem to work. What is happening with these children and with us, as teachers, on these ‘bad’ days? How can we find ways to get new insight and understanding into their behaviour and learning blocks? In this keynote, Marie will present the RETHINK model as a way of looking at challenging behaviour and finding new ways forward. It will focus on:

• Why the best strategies sometimes do not work• How we need to manage ourselves to work with

these pupils• Understanding and breaking patterns of

negative• Interaction• Behaviour management vs behaviour change• Understanding and working with the child’s

internal world

Yvonne Monaghan

The National Nurturing Schools Programme

Yvonne is Head of Consultancy at The Nurture Group Network, and has been working with children who exhibit social, emotional and behavioural needs for nearly 30 years within both primary and secondary special school settings. She was previously the co-ordinator for social, emotional, mental health and wellbeing (SEMH) for the targeted education support services working with and supporting mainstream and special schools in the Wigan Local Authority. Yvonne has been involved with developing and supporting nurture groups for many years (a passion that was inspired by Marion Bennathan’s keynote at a conference held 14 years ago). Yvonne also completed her MA focusing on the use of the six principles of nurture. Yvonne will be talking about the National Nurturing Schools Programme (NNSP). The NNSP is a programme that allows staff to develop personally and professionally while embedding a nurturing culture throughout their schools, enhancing teaching and learning, and promoting healthy outcomes for children and young people.

Dr. Seaneen Sloan

The QUB Signature Project

Seaneen is a Lecturer in the School of Education at University College Dublin. Seaneen has an interdisciplinary academic background, spanning health and social sciences, and a professional background in educational and psychological research. Prior to joining UCD in 2016, Seaneen spent 12 years at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) conducting research which focused on improving outcomes for children and young people within the family, school and community context. She remains a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Evidence and Social Innovation at QUB, where she has a number of collaborators. Seaneen’s research interests centre around child development, social and emotional wellbeing, and mental health, especially within the context of schooling and educational attainment. Methodologically, her interests lie in evaluative research. Seaneen was the principal investigator for the independent study: ‘The impact and effectiveness of nurture provision in primary schools in Northern Ireland’, published late last year from the Centre for Evidence and Social Innovation at Queen’s University Belfast. In this keynote, Seaneen will discuss the findings of this report, and what this evidence base means for nurture groups in Ireland.

Niamh Brennan

What is a nurture group?

Niamh Brennan is a teacher, trainer, coach and former nurture group co-ordinator in London. Niamh is now Dublin based, working at Phoenix Park Special School – the first school in the Republic of Ireland currently undergoing the Marjorie Boxall Quality Mark Award process. Upon setting up the Nurture Group in the Eldon Primary School in 2013, Niamh Brennan expanded the nurturing values from 6 pupils to 72 pupils over a three-year period. Children were given an opportunity to access the nurture room at an allocated time with a range of activities and resources over the course of the school day. With each pupil’s emotional wellbeing being at the forefront of the nurture group staff’s mind; circle time, breakfast and relaxation techniques were used to help children gain social skills, emotionally regulate and leave the nurture group with a smile! In this keynote, Niamh will show delegates what nurture looks like in the classroom, showing practitioners what a typical day in the life of a nurture group looks like.

Fiona Boyd & Ann Heffernan

The Marjorie Boxall Quality Mark Award

To recognise the work of nurture groups that have been running for two years or longer, the Nurture Group Network runs an accreditation scheme for excellence in nurturing - The Marjorie Boxall Quality Mark Award. The QMA is a real honour for the schools that own it, reflective not only of the hard work of the students, but also the dedication and professionalism of the staff, providing a hard evidential base for the oft-quoted statement that nurture works. Fiona Boyd is the head teacher at Holy Trinity Primary school in Belfast. Together with the schools’ nurture lead, Ann Heffernan, they will talk about how nurture has benefitted their school. In their outstanding setting, they received the MBQMA in 2015. They will talk about the QMA process and how the Marjorie Boxall Quality Mark award helped them to celebrate all the outstanding work their school does in supporting vulnerable children and young people.

WorkshopsYvonne Monaghan

Engaging parents

This workshop focuses on why parental engagement is so important for a successful nurture group using research and The Department for Education inspectorate guidance to highlight what works and focus ideas. The aim is to highlight ways to break down barriers and build positive relationships with even difficult to reach parents. The workshop looks at the Family SEAL approach and gives practical strategies to develop this to become family nurture. In addition there is an opportunity to look at MBQMA groups and discover what makes best practice for parental engagement within the award.

Claire Eccleshall

New to nurture groups

Are you in the process of setting up a nurture group? Are you unsure of what you need to do or what it should look like? This workshop will give you lots of ideas and information about what your room should look like and how to create a safe and secure environment. It will also help you think about the structure of your day and what kind of learning activities you can use to support the children in the group and strategies for managing transitions in and out of the group and how to set targets and track progress. Filled with top tips and useful ideas to get you going and help you run your group confidently.

Helen Stollery

Understanding sensory issues

“Sensory Integration is the ability of the brain to organise information received from the senses so an appropriate response is made” (Rae, 2016) Children and young people often display considerable difficulties in terms of managing their sensory world both in learning and social contexts. It is vital for practitioners to be aware of sensory differences as it impacts upon learning, social communication skills, memory and the wellbeing of children and young people. This workshop is a brief introduction to sensory integration, how it may impact on everyday life and it introduces Dr. Tina Rae’s resource “60 Sensory Minutes” following on from the successful “60 Mindful Minutes”.Rae, T. (2016) 60 Sensory Minutes: Developing Sensory Skills in the Nurture Group. London: NGN

Claire Eccleshall

Beyond the Boxall Profile

The Boxall Profile and The Boxall Profile for Young People are invaluable assessment tools for any staff working with vulnerable children and young people from early years through to secondary. They provide a framework for systematic assessment of those who may be struggling with a range of social, emotional and behavioural issues in a school, alternative provision or community context.

By the end of the workshop candidates will:

• Have had a brief introduction to the Boxall Profile online resources

• Have had experienced a range of practical sensory/ learning activities for themselves that can be taken back into your own settings

• Learn how to link learning from the themed activities to Boxall Profile assessments targets

• Learn how to keep planning simple!

The Nurture Group Network exists to promote the development of nurture groups and to ensure the continuing quality of their delivery through accredited training programmes, research on effective practice, relevant publications and information exchange. Its aim is to make the nurture group approach available to all pupils who need it and also to ensure that the connections between learning and early development are understood throughout education.

Booking formAll booking forms should be sent to Gillian Fewins, Nurture Group Network, 18A Victoria Park Square, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PB T: 020 3475 8980 E: conferences@nurturegroups.org

Closing date Friday 29 September 2017Please return this form with payment or call our office to pay using a credit or debit card

A Nurture Group Network Conference: Nurture Groups – working together to improve the lives of children, young people and their families

The Helix, DCU campus, Collins Avenue, Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland

Price: €110+VAT 10% off for NGN membersThursday 5 October 2017

Please choose one workshop for the different time slots that you would like to attend by ticking appropriate boxes:

Engaging parentsUnderstanding sensory issues

13:30–14:30

Cheque made payable to: The Nurture Group Network Limited 18A Victoria Park Square, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PB £

Address for invoicing

Tel Email

Purchase order number

Name of delegate/s Please print

School/organisation

Telephone/email of delegate

1 2

Special requirements(please give any special requirements including dietary)

www.nurturegroups.org

DELEGATE1 2

New to nurture groupsThe Boxall Profile and beyond

Are you a member?: Yes No Membership no.

14:30–15:30

3 4

3 4

Conference programmeRegistration

Kevin Kibble – What can nurture groups do for Irish education?

Dr Seaneen Sloan – The QUB signature project

Marie Delaney – Teaching the unteachable – the RETHINK model

Break

08:30 – 09:30

09:30 – 10:00

10:00 – 10:30

10:30 – 11:00

11:00 – 11:30

The venueThe Helix, DCU campus, Collins Avenue Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland

LocationFor further details on directions and public transport, visit: www.thehelix.ie/visit/car-parking-public-transport

Niamh Brennan – What is a nurture group?11:30 – 12:00

12:00 – 12:30 Fiona Boyd & Ann Heffernan – The Majorie Boxall Quality Mark Award

Lunch & poster sessions

Workshops

Workshops

Yvonne Monaghan – The National Nurturing Schools Programme

Conference ends

12:30 – 13:30

13:30 – 14:30

14:30 – 15:30

15:30 – 16:00

16:00

R108

/nurturegroups

A charity registered in England and Wales 1115972 and in Scotland SC042703

THE HELIX

DUBLIN CITY UNIVERSITY

R108

R103

R103

@nurturegroups

Cancellation policy Prior to 5pm 60 days before event: Full refund excluding 10% administration fee5pm 59 days prior to the event: 50% refundAfter 5pm 30 days prior to the event: No refundExceptional circumstances are considered at NGN’s sole discretion and will result in a credit note, not a refund.

fill_14: Address for invoicing 1: Address for invoicing 2: Tel: Email: Purchase order number: 1: 2: 3: 4: Schoolorganisation: Telephoneemail of delegate: Special requirements: Are you a member: OffMembership no: Group3: 0Group4: 8Group5: 3Group6: 2Group7: OffGroup8: OffGroup9: OffGroup10: Off