This week Lord Morrow used Private Member’s Business at the Northern Ireland Assembly to welcome a new report by the Centre for Evidence and Social Innovation at Queen’s University Belfast on 'The Impact and Cost Effectiveness of Nurture Groups in Primary Schools in Northern Ireland’.

Dr Fiona Lynn, Lecturer in Maternal and Child Health in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, worked with colleagues in the Centre for Evidence and Social Innovation on the project, which was commissioned by the Department of Education to undertake an evaluation of nurture groups and examine the impact of the 30 groups then funded by the Department.

The motion was debated in the Assembly and the following motion agreed:

“That this Assembly welcomes the report by the Centre for Evidence and Social Innovation at Queen’s University Belfast, entitled 'The Impact and Cost Effectiveness of Nurture Groups in Primary Schools in Northern Ireland'; welcomes the commitment of the Minister of Education to continuing to fund the 32 nurture units across Northern Ireland; and, as recommended in the report by Queen’s University, calls on the Minister of Education to ensure that a sustainable funding model is put in place for the longer-term viability of nurture group provision, to plan the further expansion of nurture provision in each primary school sector targeted in the areas of greatest need, to develop appropriate training for staff and to conduct research into models for the delivery of nurture provision.”

Pictured with the Education Minister, Mr Peter Weir, are members of the research team (left to right): Aideen Gildea, Dr Karen Winter, Dr Seaneen Sloan (Principal Investigator) and Dr Fiona Lynn.

Further details on the launch of the report, which was attended by the Education Minister, Peter Weir, can be found here.

URL: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/cesi/News/EducationMinisterWelcomesNewCentreReportonNurtureProvisioninNorthernIreland.html   

The full report can be downloaded from the Department of Education's website.

URL: https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/articles/nurture-provision-primary-schools