Children with behavioural problems benefit from being involved in nurture groups in early primary school.
That is the conclusion of a study carried out into improving the skills of children, particularly those from difficult and deprived backgrounds.
The results were revealed at the British Psychological Society's annual conference in Glasgow.
They showed gains in self-esteem and achievement among children taught in classes of no more than eight pupils.
A nurture group caters for pupils aged between five and seven years old who are vulnerable and have behavioural problems.
"There was not one negative finding for those attending the nurture groups"
The children stay in groups of between six and eight under the supervision of a teacher and classroom assistant for up to three terms before returning to mainstream education.
The study looked at 179 schoolchildren in primary one and two in Glasgow.
Half of those monitored attended nurture groups in 16 schools.
The other control group had a similar level of deprivation but went to 16 schools where nurture groups were not run.
'Significant improvement'
All the children were scored beforehand on how they interacted with others, their self esteem and self-image, emotional maturity and basic attainment levels.
The research, carried out by a team led by Sue Reynolds, area principal psychologist in Glasgow, found the nurture groups led to a "significant" improvement in the children's scores in every single category.
The nurture group children overtook children in the control group in terms of basic attainment, despite having lower scores to start with.
Ms Reynolds said: "There was not one negative finding for those attending the nurture groups.
"The children became appropriately socially involved with their peers, were able to take adult direction without responding negatively, showed increased self-esteem, both at home and at school, and displayed those signs of readiness for learning such as interest and motivation to learn."
Glasgow City Council currently has 58 nurture groups across the city.
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