Mrs Rachel Carrick
Parent and Pupil Support Adviser and Thrive Practitioner
Mrs Wendy Wheeler
Thrive Practitioner
What is Thrive?
Thrive supports children with their emotional health, well-being and social skills, all of which are needed to enable learning to take place. Children cannot always put their needs into words, but the way children behave can tell us a lot about how they are feeling. For some children there may be an obvious reason why they need extra support. This might be due to bereavement, family break down or an identified condition such as ADHD. For others, there may not be any obvious trigger as to why they are finding some aspects of school and/or home life difficult.
The Thrive Approach draws on the latest research from neuroscience, attachment theory and child development, in order to help us to understand the needs being signalled by children's behaviour. Working with parents and class teachers, our Thrive practitioner carries out assessments of identified children's social, emotional and behavioural needs which help us to build an Action Plan of targeted strategies and activities to help children re-engage with learning and life.
The Thrive Approach is based on growing evidence that the brain develops through personal and social interaction. The relationships that children have with significant adults are fundamental to their development. Our brain is built through trillions of brain-cell connections made by sight, sound, smell, touch and movement. Positive experiences and interaction enhance brain connections, and sustained negative experiences can restrict them. Through simple, repeated activities over time, within a safe and caring environment, Thrive aims to compensate for interruptions in emotional development, when they affect a child's ability to enjoy life and learn.
A Thrive Action Plan is a plan of activities tailored to support children's gaps in social and emotional development. The activities are play and arts based activities, delivered one-to-one or in small groups. They might include sand tray work, baking, messy play, den building, gardening, playing strategic games and exploring difficult situations through role-play or puppets. Assessments are made every six weeks, using an online tool, and new action plans are created.
If you would like further information on The Thrive Approach, you can visit: www.thethriveapproach.com
The qualified Thrive Practitioners in our setting are Rachel Carrick and Wendy Wheeler.
.jpeg)
