Boxall Profile

The Boxall Profile assesses the early developmental learning that typically takes place from birth to age 6: the skills and behaviours that support engagement, exploration, and self-organisation in a school setting. For children who have experienced adversity, attachment difficulty, or developmental disruption, this early learning is often incomplete, and shows up later as the social and behavioural difficulties teachers see in primary and secondary classrooms.

The Developmental Strand has two sub-strands. Organisation of Experience: the child's ability to make sense of and engage with the school environment (gives purposeful attention, participates constructively, connects up experiences). Internalisation of Controls: the capacity to regulate behaviour, manage impulses, and respond to social expectations (is emotionally secure, is biddable and accepts constraints, responds constructively to others).

The Behavioural Strand maps the behaviours that interfere with learning, grouped into three diagnostic profiles: self-limiting features, undeveloped behaviour, and unsupported development. Together, the strands produce a profile that points to specific nurture group targets, for example a child with low scores on "gives purposeful attention" and "connects up experiences" needs structured short tasks with explicit linking.

In a primary school running a nurture group, the Boxall Profile is the entry-and-exit assessment. A profile completed before placement establishes baseline; a re-profile after 2–4 terms measures change. Significant gains (typically 30–50% on Developmental Strand scores) are common in well-implemented nurture groups, supporting reintegration to full-time mainstream.

In an EHCP for SEMH or attachment-related need, the Boxall Profile is often referenced in Section B to describe the developmental gaps and in Section F to specify the nurture group provision.