Award for First Base Bury St Edmunds Academy
First Base Bury St Edmunds Academy, a pupil referral unit for Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 children and part of the Raedwald Trust family of schools, have recently been awarded the Marjorie Boxall Quality Mark Award (MBQMA).
The MBQMA is an accreditation scheme from Nurture UK that recognises excellence in nurturing, and is regarded as a real honour for the schools that manage to achieve it.
The award is reflective of the hard work and dedication of the young people and staff at First Base Bury St Edmunds, and is a brilliant recognition of the ‘Nurture Group’ approach to teaching that the school follows.
The ‘Nurture Group’ approach is a hybrid of the home and school environment, designed to bring together aspects of the National Curriculum with a social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) curriculum that addresses any unmet social, emotional and behavioural needs of pupils. There are 6 principles of nurture which underpin the experience the children have at the centre:
– Children’s learning is understood developmentally.
– The classroom offers a safe base.
– The importance of nurture for the development of well being.
– Language is a vital means of communication.
– All behaviour is communication.
– The importance of transition in children’s lives.
The assessment and tracking of the childrens’ progress at First Base Bury St Edmunds ensures that the support they need is put in place – primarily through the use of the Boxall Profile, which identifies a profile of strengths and difficulties, and then through personalised blocks of support which is delivered by the child’s Key Worker.
Karen Walmsley, Teacher and Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENDCo) at First Base Bury St Edmunds and four inclusion support workers worked on the award for six months in order to gather a file of evidence to support the application, which was then submitted to the assessor.
The assessor then spent a day at First Base Bury St Edmunds, working with staff and children. Whilst on site the assessor was able to see the experience the children have through the routines of a normal day at the centre.
Karen Walmsley, Teacher and Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENDCo) at First Base Bury St Edmonds said: “We feel very proud that our centre has been recognised for having the children at the heart of what we do.
“The award acknowledges the strength of the nurture principles that underpin learning at First Base. It also recognises that the routines, structures and paperwork which we use are of a high quality and benefit the children.”
For more information about First Base Bury St Edmunds Academy, including contact details, please click here.
