Liver Birds

 

 

Our ‘Liver Birds’ Nurture Group is designed to support the personal, emotional and social development of children and is part of our whole school ethos and commitment to nurturing our children at Anfield Road Primary School. 

 

The Liver Birds group is founded on The Six Principles Of Nurture:

 

• Children's learning is understood developmentally
• The classroom offers a safe base
• The importance of nurture for the development of wellbeing
• Language is a vital means of communication
• All behaviour is communication
• The importance of transition in children's lives

 

Liver Birds is founded on evidence based practices of nurture groups and is a short term, inclusive, focused intervention that has an impact on children’s lives in the long term. The sessions run for two hours, four days a week- mornings for Key Stage 1 children, and afternoons for Key Stage 2. Each session is made up of 8 or 9 children and is run by two experienced members of staff, Mrs Harwood and Mrs Envis, both of whom have successfully undertaken the training course, ‘The Theory and Practice of Nurture Groups.’ The children who attend Liver Birds remain an active member of their main class group and spend appropriate times within the nurture group according to their needs. They typically return to their own class full time within two to four terms. 

 

Through Liver Birds, we assess learning and social and emotional needs and provide the necessary help to remove any barriers to learning. There is a great emphasis on language development and communication. The relationship between Mrs Harwood and Mrs Envis, always nurturing and supportive, provides a role model that the children observe and begin to copy. The children learn many life skills and opportunities are created for social learning, including ‘Breakfast’ or ‘Afternoon Tea’. Here the children learn to help each other, attend to the needs of others with time to listen and be listened to. As the children learn academic and social skills, they develop confidence, increase their self-respect and take more pride in achieving. Nurture groups have been working successfully for more than 40 years in the UK and Liver Birds has been running successfully for over 10 years at Anfield Road Primary.