Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Scottish Government on the effectiveness of nuture groups in Scotland.

Ministers at the Department for Education have not discussed nurture groups with their counterparts in the Scottish Government.

I met with Nurture UK in January 2020 to discuss the use of nurture groups in schools and the evidence they have collected.

In 2018, the Department published updated Mental Health & Behaviour in Schools Guidance, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2. The purpose of this guidance is to help schools to identify pupils whose behaviour may be a result of an underlying mental health difficulty, and to understand when and how to put in place support. It includes links to further sources of practice and advice, including Nurture UK. It is for schools to decide whether a nurture group might be of benefit, based on the evidence of impact and the needs of their pupils.