Meet the Woodpecker team

What is Woodpecker Base

Woodpecker Base is a nurture group.  A Nurture Group is a small class (10 children with 2 adults), which supports children who find it difficult to settle or respond to the demands of daily life in the mainstream classroom.  It looks at the child’s needs as a whole and maximises opportunities for the children to develop their social, emotional and learning skills. 

Nurture groups are set up for children with social, emotional and behavioral difficulties which may be:

• Lack of self-esteem

• Withdrawn

• Unable to share and take turns

• Don’t trust adults/peers

• May lack in mannerism skills

• Disrupts other children in the classroom

• Has behavior issues

• Language skills

• Struggles with the mainstream classroom environment

Entry into the group is carefully considered through a staged referral procedure and the use of a range of assessments over time.

We foremost, focus on:

• Learning skills for example listening carefully and attention span.

• Social skills such as cooperation, collaboration and how to communicate / express ourselves.

• Emotional aspects such as self-confidence, self-esteem, recognising and dealing with our emotions.

We develop and encourage these skills through topics, social sessions and play.  Our curriculum is flexible and adapts continually depending on the needs of the children.  The aim is to enable the children to be ready to learn and maximise their potential.  Children attend a Nurture Group for varying lengths of time, typically 2-4 terms, spending approximately half of their school day in the group, and return to their class full time when they are ready.