The impact of nurture group interventions : parental involvement and perceptions.

This study sets out to explore parents'l experiences of part-time nurture groups within
three primary schools in a large urban authority in the North of England. Six parents
were interviewed using a semi-structured narrative approach, to explore their
experiences, perceptions, expectations and feelings about the nurture group intervention.
A discussion of the findings using interpretative phenomenological analysis offers
insights into the nature of relationships between parents, nurture group staff and
children, and the impact of the intervention and its influence on parents' behaviour. Key
themes which emerged from the data concerned the parents' relationships with nurture
group staff. They perceived staff to be friendly, caring and trustworthy. They were
encouraged by the individual, personalised attention given to their child and felt positive
about the holistic, caring nature of the intervention. The gains that parents perceived
their child had made included a positive attitude to school, engagement with learning
and the development of constructive relationships with school staff and children. Key
areas of concern centred on aspects of withdrawal/re-integration and limited information
sharing with parents, and communication between nurture group staff and teachers.
Findings were related to the theoretical notion of 'educational attachment' and
collaborative models of parent partnership. The study concludes by identifying ways in
which schools could further develop effective collaborative practice with parents of
children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Future research issues are
also highlighted.