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POSITIVE PLAY

What is Positive Play?

The Derbyshire Positive Play Support Programme is a unique, innovative Early Intervention programme designed to raise the self-esteem and emotional well-being of the shy, timid, disaffected and challenging pupils.

One to One sessions are delivered in a sensory environment using the natural medium of play. Structured sessions are tailored to meet individual needs, assisting in developing children’s listening and communication skills, addressing anger management issues, helping them to deal with the consequences of their actions and engage with their feelings and emotions.

Jill Tucker is our Positive Play worker; she is a skilled practitioner with a wealth of experience and knowledge in supporting the emotional mental health and well-being of children. She delivers structured 1–1 and group sessions, using the natural medium of play and enabling the child to reach their potential in life and raise their aspirations and achievements.

Our Aims and Objectives

• Allow young people a space to express and communicate feelings and difficulties in their lives, through a variety of media in constructive rather than aggressive ways and in a safe non-threatening environment.
   
• Help young people feel good about themselves, and raise self-esteem by providing activities that look at their strengths and by valuing what they do and making it special.
   

• Provide a non-authoritarian, supportive, reliable, safe, unconditional relationship within the school and other settings.
   

• Provide some of the early experiences that may have been missed but which are necessary for formal education and social interaction. 

• Help young people acquire the complex range of life skills needed to achieve their full potential.
   

More Details

Positive Play-Support is designed to equip children and young people with the necessary resilience, social and life skills to manage the issues that confront them thus enabling them to access the curriculum and achieve their potential.

The Boxall Profile Assessment provides a framework for the structured observation of children and young people in the classroom and highlight the areas of need for each individual. Positive Play-Support Baseline’s and Termly Reviews enable Practitioners to evaluate and monitor progress and tailor the structured sessions accordingly.

NURTURE

What are nurture groups?

A nurture group is a small group of 6 to 10 children/young people usually based in a mainstream setting and staffed by two supportive adults. We provide an opportunity for children to experience a structured, supportive programme, that helps develop early learning skills. Children continue to remain part of their class for part of the day and usually return full time within an agreed timescale.

Nurture work is underpinned by an understanding of attachment theory and neuroscience, supporting good mental health and well-being.