The Nurture Group Network (NGN) would like to extend a warm welcome to everyone with an interest in children’s mental health and wellbeing, special educational needs and nurture research to NGN’s second international research conference on nurture in education.

The theme for our second research conference is promoting and nurturing resilience in children and young people. Over the years, as nurture groups have expanded and spread globally, NGN’s goal has always been to ensure that every disadvantaged or disengaged child has access to a nurturing intervention to equip them with the skills and resilience they need to make the most of learning and school.

Since its inception NGN has been committed to supporting evidence-based research to assess, evaluate and improve the nurturing approach and is proud to count more than 60 academic studies focusing on nurture and nurturing interventions. In recent years, two main research projects have gathered strong evidence to support the benefits and impact of nurture. Last year the Centre for Evidence and Social Innovation at Queen’s University Belfast released an independent report, measuring the impact and cost-effectiveness of nurture groups in Northern Ireland. The study examined 30 nurture groups over a two year period. Additionally, in 2015, NGN commissioned researchers at Lancaster University to carry out case study research on seven schools in the North West of England.

Five schools had traditional nurture groups and two schools were practicing nurture principles throughout the whole school. These two research projects have provided us with valuable evidence on the effectiveness of nurture principles. We will be joined by the researchers of both of these studies to discuss their recommendations and address delegates about evidence-based, good quality practice. NGN’s second international research conference provides a stimulating forum for practitioners, policy makers and academics to come together and discuss ongoing best practice and research of nurture groups from a breadth of different disciplinary perspectives. We will explore and discuss nurture; focusing on the context, mechanisms and outcomes that nurturing interventions have on pupils. We will be joined by highly experienced experts and practitioners, coming together to advocate for nurturing principles and demonstrating the impact they can have on the future of children and young people. The conference is highly participative, promoting the dissemination and exchange of ideas through keynote speeches and Q&A’s. Delegates will also experience elements of nurture, with a mindfulness experience and poster sessions.