Pawlett Primary School Academy has adopted a whole school approach called the ‘Thrive Approach’ to help us support all of our pupils with their emotional health, well-being and social skills; all of which form a solid foundation for learning to take place.

Thrive is based on up-to-date brain science and research into child development and this knowledge supports all staff in school to adapt their approach to individual children to build self-esteem, well-being and positive behaviour.  At the heart of the Thrive Approach lies the understanding that children’s behaviour represents a form of communication.  If we re able to recognise and meet those needs then children are able to flourish and learn.

The  process begins with a whole class screening,  staff answer a series of questions about each child, these are linked to the age and developmental stage of the children.  Our Licenced Thrive Practitioner, Sally Jeffries, is then able to use the  screening to identify any children who would benefit from a more detailed assessment, which in turn suggests ideas, fun activities and strategies to support the individual child using a comprehensive 1:1 programme.  The activities may include: sand play, cookery, painting, model making, exploring difficult situations through role play and comic strips, playing strategy games or projects focussing on the child’s own interest. The screening also identifies if there are areas to focus upon as a whole class.

We have been awarded with the title “We’ve embraced Thrive in our setting”. This is because we demonstrate our on-going practice of the Thrive Approach through:

1.  Active use of Thrive-Online, as the basis for emotional and social developmental screening, assessment and action planning
2.  At least one member of staff is trained to the level of Thrive Licensed Practitioner and  are available within the school on a day to day basis, to work with, and support, children with emotional and social developmental needs
3.  Ensure all of our staff always work with the Thrive Approach in mind

All our staff have received training to support the delivery of the Thrive programme. At Pawlett Primary School Academy, this means that we have Thrive embedded within our whole school ethos. We passionately believe that this supports us to deliver a creative curriculum which builds children’s social and emotional resilience.

If you would like more information about the Thrive Approach please come and speak to Sally Jeffries or

Visit Thrive Approach

Family Thrive

We are very excited to now be able to offer Family Thrive courses to our families at Pawlett Primary School Academy. We feel that this will enhance our use of the Thrive Approach within school and give parents and carers an understanding of the Thrive approach and why we have chosen to use it.

What is Family Thrive?

Our Family Thrive Programme is a 6-week course created to help parents and carers to learn about their young person’s brain through childhood, and to help support their emotional development. It is designed to help build confidence in parenting abilities to support a young person and to advocate their needs.

What is the impact?

By understanding the social and emotional development of a young brain, we can deliver support to help our children become confident, curious, and engaged with both life and learning.

This helps to build positive relationships and supportive strategies within the family unit and beyond, for the wellbeing of each and every family member.