A specialist provision which helps primary children on the verge of exclusion has been praised by Rutland's schools forum. 

The Nursery Nest, which is based at Edith Weston School, was set up as a pilot five years ago and since then has helped more than 90 children with challenging behaviours which may have led to them being permanently excluded from school. 

The nest, which has given full time schooling to seven children in the county this year, has also helped 17 Rutland schools with outreach services for a further 29 children. 

A report about the provision went before the Rutland School's forum this month, which said: "The outreach has been hugely successful and supported in a number of situations that would have led to exclusion without the input (data included in the report). On the whole, the schools are responding well to the outreach input and all schools in Rutland are completing the National Nurturing Schools Program Award. This will result in each school having a more skilled staff member who has had direct training through NurtureUK." 

The provision costs just under £190,000 per year to run and is led by a teacher, with a specialist TA. Once the children have had their intervention and are helped with their behaviour problems, which may be linked to trauma or attachment issues, they then go back into mainstream or special school education. 

At the forum, head of Edith Weston Charles Chateris said this year the children who have been in the nest have been on a full timetable, like their peers in mainstream education. 

He said: "If they come here they are full time because we've got to get them ready to getting them back to their home schools and to be getting a full education. I am quite passionate about that." 

Chairperson of the forum Ben Solly, commended the nest on the work it has been doing. 

He said: "There is some really great work going on there – so thank you."