TCES Nurture Primary
Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 (year 7)
At TCES Nurture Primary, we are proud to provide a highly specialised and inclusive environment for children aged 7-12 with complex SEND needs. Our commitment is rooted in understanding each child’s unique profile and creating a ‘Nurture’, evidence-based approach alongside therapeutic and relational practices that prioritise emotional safety and trust-building. TCES Nurture Primary ensures students’ needs are met first, as a result students feel safe, understood and empowered which leads them into being able to positively and activity engaging in education.
Students arriving at TCES Nurture Primary may have been out of education for a period of time and have often experienced exclusions or ‘managed moves’, resulting in gaps in their learning.
60% of our TCES Nurture Primary students receive early help support, child-in-need support or child protection support, through specific statutory plans. Students stay with TCES Nurture Primary until the end of Year 6 or 7, depending on their needs and their ability to access the next stage of education.
OfsteD: We are an "outstanding' School
Referrals
To make a referral, click here.
Pupil profiles
Our school cohort includes students with a wide range of needs, often shaped by early life experiences and neurodevelopmental differences.
- Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) Needs Including diagnosed mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and PTSD.
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC)
- Significant Challenges and Complexities Often linked specifically to their diagnosed or undiagnosed needs. Our staff are trained to recognise and respond to the diverse ways neurodiversity presents, using flexible, child-led strategies.
- Relational and Developmental Trauma many of our students have experienced adversity, including disrupted attachments and trauma. Our therapeutic curriculum and trauma-informed practices help children build resilience and self-esteem.
- Sensory Processing Difficulties Students may struggle with sensory integration, leading to heightened anxiety or dysregulation. We embed sensory diets and calming routines into the school day to support regulation and comfort.
- Severely Absent Issues many our students arrive at TCES Nurture Primary with persistent or severely absent issues.
- Children Looked After (CLA) We provide a stable, consistent educational placement for CLA students, with a strong emphasis on no exclusions. Our nurturing ethos ensures that every child feels a sense of belonging and continuity.
our extended cohort 2025-2026
In response to growing demand and the evolving needs of our community, we have expanded our provision by adapting one of our school buildings to open two new classrooms, with a capacity of approximately 10–12 students.
This new cohort includes children with:
- Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) Our specialist ASC provision offers small class sizes, highly trained staff, and tailored environments that reduce anxiety and promote engagement.
- Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) We support children with expressive and receptive language challenges, using visual aids, structured communication systems, and targeted interventions.
- Sensory Processing Challenges These students benefit from personalised sensory routines, quiet zones, and adaptive equipment to help them feel grounded and ready to learn.
- Mild to Moderate Learning Disabilities We provide differentiated teaching, scaffolded learning experiences, and a curriculum that builds on strengths while addressing gaps in education.
Our Approach: Beyond Behaviour
At TCES Nurture Primary, we don’t just manage behaviour, we understand it. Our approach is holistic and therapeutic, focusing on:
Personalised Routines Tailored daily schedules that provide predictability and reduce anxiety.
Sensory Diets Integrated sensory activities that support regulation and focus.
Structured Environments Calm, low-arousal spaces designed to meet individual sensory and emotional needs.
The Nurture Approach
TCES Nurture Primary is underpinned by the Six Principles of Nurture:
- Meeting social, emotional, and cognitive needs
- Considering how we communicate
- Reflecting on behaviour, developmental needs and our own practice
- Building positive self-esteem and self-identity
- Feeling emotionally safe
- Celebrating diversity and inclusion
Nurture International Partnership 2024
Research proposes that nurture groups are most effective when implemented within a culture of universal nurture.
TCES has partnered with Nurture International, whose focus is on linking nurture practices throughout learning by using neuroscientific knowledge, attachment theory and sensory integration to enhance teaching and learning.
TCES Nurture Primary has been underpinned by the Six Nurture Principles for Learning since opening in 2021, delivering a holistic curriculum to small classes of up to six pupils. Each teacher is supported by Therapeutic Education Practitioners (TEP), all trained in the holistic Nurture approach.
This partnership reaffirms TCES Nurture Primary and its drive to integrate nurture throughout the school to its highest level as an antidote to trauma and unmet needs.
Benefits of the nurture approach
A nurturing approach supports better emotional regulation in pupils, improving their cognitive functioning and ability to learn. Pupils begin to understand the importance of positive relationships and how to work and play together cooperatively. As their confidence develops, they learn how to speak in a group and express their ideas and make positive choices.
Book a call
To book a call with our referrals team, click here.
To find out more about TCES Nurture Primary, please download below.