One of Scotland’s leading children’s care and education charities has secured a prestigious new award which recognises its commitment to embedding “trauma-informed and nurturing approaches” across its services.
The Nurturing Schools Award has been presented to Kibble, a specialist organisation offering care services for children and young people who have experienced serious trauma and adversity. The charity, which can trace its history back more than 165 years, delivers integrated residential care, education, secure care, fostering, community-based support, and therapeutic services designed to help young people build stability, confidence and positive futures.
The award, which is presented by NurtureUK through the National Nurturing Schools Programme (NNPS), has been described as a “significant milestone” for Kibble in recognition of the progress being made as part of a Strategic Improvement Plan for Education. The charity is one of a small number of accredited organisations to operate across multiple schools in a single campus.
Assessors praised the impact of Kibble, stating that its education settings “may be small in size, but are huge on impact.”
Open to both specialist and mainstream organisations, the Nurturing Schools Award focuses on three key areas of stakeholders, delivery, and leadership and management, with a total of 37 standards taken into consideration. Kibble’s application was deemed to have met all required standards, including recognition of the social and emotional needs of pupils, clear expectations for how all adults relate to children, pupil involvement in developing and evaluating their learning, effective preparation for transition stages, and more.
The report confirming Kibble’s achievement of the award noted that young people are “met with curiosity rather than judgement”, and know who their “trusted adults” are, leading to a feeling of safety. This was recognised as particularly important given that many of those cared for and education by Kibble have suffered traumatic experiences during the formative stages of their lives.
The overall environment of Kibble was also praised in the report, which highlighted that “great care, thought and intention have gone into creating spaces where children feel safe, valued and genuinely at home.”
Staff at Kibble hope that their organisation’s achievement can now “inspire others to adopt trauma-informed, relationship-based approaches” for the benefit of vulnerable young people.
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Jackie Blair, Head of Education at Kibble, said: “It is a huge privilege to receive this report and recognition. Over the past three years, we have worked collectively to ensure trauma-informed and nurturing approaches are not just strategies, but part of who we are as an organisation. This award reflects the dedication and skill of our staff and the progress of the young people we support.”
“The programme was led by Kibble’s ‘Nurturing Approaches’ specialists, Rachel Francis, Jennifer Stewart and Chloe Coulston, who worked with teams across the organisation to drive forward the Six Principles of Nurture. These include understanding children’s development, creating safe environments, recognising behaviour as communication, and supporting transitions. These principles are visible across the campus, from classrooms and one-to-one learning environments to induction programmes, refresher training and even dining spaces.
“Every member of staff plays a role in creating a nurture-first environment. From classroom assistants building daily connections, to chefs who use food as a way to nurture and connect, we believe we have built environment where relationships are central to learning, and wellbeing.
“What makes this truly special is that nurturing approaches are embedded in every person and every service. It’s about building bonds, understanding what works for each young person, and creating a safe, supportive environment where they can thrive.”
The environment at Kibble was referenced throughout the report as being well considered as part of the approach to nurturing within the campus; ‘it was evident that great care, thought and intention have gone into creating spaces where children feel safe, valued and genuinely at home. Each setting is sensitively adapted to suit its context, resulting in environments that are not only purposeful but nurturing in every sense.’
Arti Sharma, CEO, nurtureuk said: “Kibble's achievement of the National Nurturing Schools Award is a powerful demonstration of what truly inclusive education looks like in practice. Their settings welcome some of the most vulnerable children and young people; those who have experienced significant trauma, disrupted education and difficult transitions, and ensure every one of them feels safe, valued and genuinely at home.
“Meeting all 37 standards of the National Nurturing Schools Programme is a remarkable achievement, but what sets Kibble apart is that inclusion is not a policy here; it is a way of being. Every adult, every space and every shared meal sends the same message to young people: you belong here. Nurtureuk is proud to recognise Kibble with this award, and we hope their approach inspires settings across the country to consider how nurturing principles can transform outcomes for the children who need it most."
Referrals can be made to Kibble through social workers, local authorities, partner organisations and professional partners including education services and health professionals.
For further information about Kibble’s offering of residential care, specialist intervention services, education and secure care, visit: Kibble - Specialist Services & Support for Young People Facing Adversity.
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