Thrive Approach
About Thrive at New Heights Key Stage 3
THRIVE supports young people with their emotional health, well-being and social skills, all of which are needed to enable learning to take place. Young people cannot always put their needs into words, but the way they behave can tell us a lot about how they are feeling.
For some there may be an obvious reason why they need extra support. This might be due to bereavement, family break down or an identified medical condition such as ADHD/ASC. 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 current neuroscience, recent attachment research, current studies of effective learning and current models of child development, in order to help us to understand the needs being signalled by our student’s behaviour.
THRIVE is based on growing evidence that the brain develops through personal and social interaction. The relationships that we have with significant adults is fundamental to who we grow up to be.
Our brain is built through trillions of brain-cell connections made by sight, sound, smell, touch and movement. Positive experiences 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 young person’s ability to enjoy life and learn
The Thrive Assessment
Our THRIVE practitioner carries out assessments of identified young people’s social, emotional and behavioural needs which help us to build an Action Plan of targeted strategies and activities to help our students re-engage with learning and life.
A THRIVE assessment helps us to identify emotional developmental needs as early as possible, in order to support and meet those needs on an individual basis. As well as offering new ways of dealing with challenging behaviour, THRIVE also offers both teaching staff and parents useful approaches to working with and helping any young person who is experiencing emotional upheaval, whether short or long term.
This is not a quick-fix, it takes time and commitment to see results. However, from research it is clear that early intervention to support young people’s needs is the most effective approach to preventing issues becoming more problematic in later life.
Action Plans are shared with all staff, to make them aware of the individual student’s needs. Action Plans are reviewed regularly to monitor the progress our students have made during their time with us.