Nurture Room

The Nurture Room is a very low demand environment where students from all key stages can access a variety of different activities during timetabled sessions.

Activities range from craft or water play games to watching a DVD, having a chat or just sitting quietly.

We have a quiet room where students can sit and look at the bubble tube, or play with the sound and light ladder, with staff on hand to join in games or to just sit and listen.

The Nurture Room has a number of purposes; we can help take students through the stages of play to aid their social interaction skills, enabling them to become more independent by helping them to make their own choices and allowing them time to reflect. Sessions are entirely student led, so every day is amazing!

At the end of each session, students are encouraged to indicate how they feel the session has gone; there are a number of ways this can be done depending on preference and ability. All sessions are observed by staff, using the traffic light system and A.B.P.I.E.S. (Attendance and Behaviour, as well as Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social) Observations are recorded for review every half term, and data collated is incorporated into the student’s Annual Review.

The Magic Carpet is an interactive floor projection system, images are projected onto a mat, as students move onto or over the area the images move. There are over 50 different apps, each of these can be personalised to suit the student’s needs and personal preference.

Initially, research was undertaken to discover whether students with a particular diagnoses benefitted more than others by using the Magic Carpet. Although the results were inconclusive, there was a definitive divide between girls and boys. Feedback from teachers led to the current research, which is to ascertain whether using The Magic Carpet can have a positive and calming effect on students’ behaviour. Research is focused on four students, who are gradually working through personalised apps.