When I joined Beacon View Primary Academy in July 2021, I encountered a school community where trust was low and relationships needed to be fostered and strengthened. Some parents voiced deep frustrations, shaped by past experiences and a sense of disconnection from the school. The school was seen as a place of authority and, in some cases, exclusion rather than as a shared community resource. There was limited understanding between groups, and children often struggled to express their emotions or navigate boundaries. These challenges reflected a wider absence of shared expectations and relational trust. It was clear that rebuilding connection would require listening, partnership, and a commitment to recognising and nurturing the strengths already present in the community.
In September 2022, Beacon View — as part of the United Learning Paulsgrove Cluster — was given the opportunity to join the Reach Foundation’s Cradle to Career programme, alongside the other two United Learning schools on the same road. We jumped at the chance. It was through this initiative that I met Peter Leonard, CEO of The Centre for Emotional Health (then Family Links). I was thrilled. I had heard about The Nurturing Programme before, and when the opportunity arose to train and deliver it at Beacon View, I didn’t hesitate. I even organised training for a team including seven colleagues across the Paulsgrove Cluster and staff from our wider United Learning network.
The training was transformative. I learned so much about myself — how my own experiences shaped my values and leadership style. The programme blew my mind. It gave me tools, language, and insight that I was eager to bring into our school community.
Since completing the training, we’ve run several cohorts of The Nurturing Programme, and the impact has been profound. Relationships — between staff, children, and families — have strengthened in ways that touch every aspect of school life. Parents have shared how they’ve reclaimed personal power: several now make time to go to the gym, many have reset expectations at home, and one mother reframed her family’s experience of homelessness as an adventure to help her children cope with uncertainty. Families have adopted school resources like Zones of Regulation and behaviour expectations to support their own household routines. We’ve even used the “family rules” framework to set expectations for staff and our afterschool club.
The ripple effect has been extraordinary. Every parent has gained something — whether in confidence, emotional insight, or practical strategies to support their children. We’ve also adapted our learning from the programme to develop staff training focused on building positive relationships with families. Simple changes, like how we greet parents on the phone or in person, have made a big difference.
Four years on, in the final week of term — and my final week as Principal — we were visited by Ofsted. The word that came up repeatedly was relationships. These improved relationships have positively impacted every corner of school life — from behaviour and attendance to parental engagement and staff morale.
The Nurturing Programme hasn’t just helped us support the parents who have engaged with it; it’s helped us rebuild trust, foster empathy, and create a culture where everyone feels seen and valued. It’s become a cornerstone of our ethos, and its legacy will continue to shape Beacon View long after my departure. I’ll still be delivering the programme once a year for Paulsgrove — I couldn’t stop, I’d miss it too much — and I have the flexibility, within my new role in United Communities, to support with delivering an evening course and to introduce other United Learning schools to the Nurturing Programme.
Written by Sally Hodgson
Senior Development Lead for United Communities (subsidiary Charity of United Learning) and former Principal at Beaconview Primary School, Paulsgrove, Portsmouth
Written by Guest. Last updated: September 18, 2025