London Violence Reduction Programme
The Nurturing London Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) Programme, which began in January 2020, aimed to reduce instances of school exclusion and youth violence in local communities through a whole-school nurturing approach.
The Nurturing London VRU Programme was designed to place the whole-school nurturing approach into the context of violence reduction. Nurture practice empowers education professionals to enable children and young people to engage with missing early nurturing experiences, thereby supporting the development of social and emotional skills whilst also supporting behaviour, wellbeing, attainment and achievement.
As part of the two and a half year programme, schools received training, consultancy, and a subscription on our social, and emotional development assessment tool, the Boxall Profile® Online.
"We have seen that early nurturing intervention has prevented and reduced instances of fixed term exclusions which are usually centred around one or two individuals with complex backgrounds and needs." (London VRU school, 2022)
Over 30 schools across 13 London boroughs completed the programme, with nearly 170 members of staff attending core training courses including the Theory and Practice of Nurture Groups, and the Theory and Practice of the Boxall Profile®. Over 3,000 assessment profiles were completed using the Boxall Profile® and the programme had a nurturing impact on potentially over 24,000 children and young people (based on school population data).
A study evaluating the Nurturing London VRU Programme was published in the paper “The nurtureuk Violence Reduction Unit programme: Exploring a model for reducing school exclusions and instances of youth violence through nurture practice” (International Journal of Nurture in Education, Volume 8).
You can find more information about the Nurturing London VRU Programme in our evaluation and impact report below: