What is Thrive?
Thrive is a whole school approach to support children with their emotional and social development to enable them to engage with learning. Early identification of emotional development needs builds resilience and reduces the risk of mental illness.
Through observations and Thrive online, adults in school are able to select age-appropriate strategies and activities to support children’s emotional development. All children will benefit from the Thrive approach, enhancing emotional and social skills, and improving emotional well-being. Some children may not have had the life experiences required to equip them to regulate their emotions. A sudden life-changing event can lead to a child underachieving because of behaviours that cause a barrier to their learning. Thrive activities can be completed as a whole class, in small groups and individually.
Research has shown that how we behave is linked to how we feel and our emotions are linked to how we learn. By teaching children to recognise and notice these feelings and emotions it can help with their development and learning.
Children sometimes need some extra support with their emotional growth and this can be temporary or over a longer period of time.
Thrive promotes their emotional and social growth by building positive relationships between a child and their peers and helps them explore and understand their feelings through various activities.
Why might my child attend a Thrive session?
Many children experience difficulties during their time at school. These may include:
- Difficulties with friendships.
- Getting into trouble at playtime.
- Finding it hard to settle in the classroom.
- Finding it difficult to manage their strong feelings.
- Not knowing who to turn to when feelings are too big to manage on their own.
These situations can lead to many different feelings which may seem overwhelming at times. They might include: anger, frustration, sadness, loneliness, confusion or anxiety.
All these feelings are very normal and happen to a lot of children. The Thrive sessions are to help children learn to manage their feelings and teach them strategies that will help promote their learning at school.
What will happen in a Thrive session?
The session may be on an individual basis or as part of a small group of children. During each session there will be an activity which may include:
- Story telling
- Circle games
- Arts and crafts
- Sand play
- Movement and relaxation
- Hand and foot massage
- Cooking and preparing food
- Role play and puppet work
- Games
The Thrive Vision:
Develop children emotionally so they are able to recognise and distinguish their emotions and learn ways of responding to their feelings appropriately.
We aim to:
- Provide alternative support for children who are experiencing emotional, social or behavioural difficulties.
- Provide a safe and calm environment for children to develop their skills.
- Enable children to take pride in their achievements and enhance self-esteem.
- Help children to manage their feelings and develop skills to enjoy and participate in school life.
- Use positive approaches to manage all behaviours.
More information
For more information about the Thrive approach see the website: www.thriveapproach.co.uk
or contact Miss Kirsty Willis, Lead Thrive Practitioner via the school office
