Underpinned by attachment theory, positive psychology and using a trauma informed approach, this project works with schools, parents and the local community to help reduce the incidents of challenging behaviour, reduce exclusions, improve school attendance and raise academic attainment, whilst promoting the mental health and emotional well-being for all students.

Targeted staff at the selected state school undergo three days of training on the Nurture Project, focusing on attachment theory—the psychological foundation of this initiative. Sixth form students from the partner independent school, as well as from the partner state school if applicable, receive three brief training sessions before being thoughtfully matched with pupils at the target state school based on the strengths of the sixth formers and the specific needs of the children. These sixth formers serve as mentors and positive role models, implementing specially designed programmes that address the language, social, emotional, and academic needs of the pupils. The programme runs for one academic year, after which it is evaluated before training a new cohort of sixth form mentors to continue the initiative.