St Mary’s C of E Primary School

Thrive Approach



For everyone at St Mary’s Church of England School, our first priority is to care for every child in a secure, friendly environment enabling them to enjoy friendships, relate well to others and be ready and able to learn.

As part for our caring role, we support children's emotional and social learning throughout their time at school. We do this during lesson times, break times and through activities such as sport and extra-curricular activities. We also use the Thrive Approach across the school.


What is the Thrive Approach?

The approach is based on the most up to date knowledge about the way our brains develop, about child development and attachment issues and it strongly promotes the use of creativity and the arts.

Central to the approach is a computer programme that helps us, alongside families, to identify any ‘interruption’ in a child’s emotional and social development. Together it supports us by giving clear, simple strategies to use with the child to support them to do the emotional learning that may have been missed. If these strategies are used repeatedly at home and at school, they can accelerate brain development and help the child with relationships and their learning.

By using a Thrive approach to help us improve children’s emotional and social development. You may see improvements in their confidence, their friendships and their behaviour as well as their learning.


Why do we need Thrive?

There are all sorts of unavoidable things that happen in family life that can affect and sometimes slow down a child’s readiness to learn. These might include bereavement, moving to live in a new place, family illness, separation, a frightening accident, or sometimes a child might have an anxiety about something that seems small but to the child seems very big. What is needed then is understanding and support to get them back on track. Thrive gives us lots of strategies for helping a child through these difficulties and traumas.

Parents will be invited to help plan the best possible programme for their child. Sometimes this will include individual and/or small group work.




What extra support can St Mary’s School offer?

Children who need a little bit of extra support are identified by class teachers, or through communication with families or outside agencies. Working closely with parents and class teachers, our Thrive Co ordinators; Mrs Hope and Mrs Taylor will carry out full assessments to identify children's social, emotional and behavioural needs. This helps us to build a bespoke Thrive Action Plan of activities to support their needs.


What is a Thrive Action Plan?

A Thrive Action Plan is a plan of activities tailored to support a child's identified social and emotional learning targets. The activities are one-to-one and small group relational, play and arts- based activities designed to help the child feel better about him/herself; become more resilient and resourceful; form trusting, rewarding relationships; be compassionate and empathetic; and/or be able to overcome difficulties and setbacks. They might include playing in the sand, puppets, cooking, painting, model making, exploring difficult situations through role-play or comic strips, playing strategy games or projects focusing on the child's own interests.

Action Plans are shared with parents and they are encouraged to do some of the activities at home. These are reviewed regularly to see the progress children have made.


So who gets Thrive?

Everyone gets class Thrive activities (although they might not realise it); we recognise the impact a child’s emotional development has on their overall achievement. As a school we are continuously working towards common values alongside helping children to learn how to understand their emotions, regulate and manage their own behaviours. If your child has been identified as needed a little extra support using the Thrive approach this can be either, one-to-one or in a small group. You will of be consulted and asked for your input into their assessment and Action Plan.


What makes St Mary’s School a Thrive school?

At St Mary’s School we consider Thrive to be a whole school approach not just to be an intervention for just a few children. We all believe that all behaviour is communication and that communication needs to be understood and supported - not "dealt" with. Thrive feeds into everything we do; celebration assemblies, getting to know everyone and their families, sharing all achievements not just academic ones, celebrating our diversity and our collective spirit.

If you want to know more about Thrive, do visit the Thrive Approach website, or speak to Mrs Hope or Mrs Taylor