A pastoral approach aimed at early identification of needs used by thousands of schools helped to reduce exclusions and improved the wellbeing of pupils with SEND, an evaluation has found.
The Thrive approach, which has been implemented by 2,800 schools, aims to “help schools understand and respond to pupils’ emotional needs in a developmentally informed and preventative way, promoting inclusion and engagement”.
Participating schools identify “thrive practitioners”, usually staff working in pastoral roles. They take part in a 12-week course learning about the reasons behind dysregulated behaviour.
These licensed practitioners then use an online platform – Thrive Online – where staff members can create different types of plans for pupils.
Different levels of plans
Classroom teachers can create a whole class plan, which gives them an overview of needs and interventions. They can then create specific behaviour plans for individuals in their class, which gives them action points.
Finally, a licensed practitioner can create a plan for pupils with unmet needs or persistent behavioural issues. These will be “intensive” plans with action points to give teachers both in-depth pupil profiles and an overview of class needs.
Staff can also participate in training on how to use the platform, which gives strategies and activities for individual pupils.
Thrive runs networks for participating schools to interact and get support from experts, and a family programme which creates action plans specifically for use in the home.
A two-year independent evaluation of 2,600 participating schools by ImpactEd found a 27 per cent lower exclusion rate than the national average during the 2023-24 year.
This equates to around four fewer exclusions per 1,000 pupils per year compared with national averages.
£170,000 cost
According to the Institute for Public Policy Research, each permanent exclusion carries an estimated lifetime cost to the state of £170,000.
Thrive schools also experienced 3 per cent lower absence rates compared with national averages, and a 15 per cent lower severe absence rate.
Participating schools also saw their average SEND wellbeing scores increase from 3.33 to 3.49 between autumn 2023 and summer 2024, equivalent to 5 per cent. This compared with a national wellbeing score of 3.48.
Wellbeing scores for staff in primary schools were also higher than national rates, with average rates increasing by 4.8 per cent from 45.86 to 48.05 between autumn 2023 and summer 2024. This remains higher than the national average of 43.9.
‘Curious rather than furious’
Evidence from interviews with participating schools said the findings were “linked to earlier identification of needs, improved emotional regulation and more consistent, preventative responses to behaviour across staff teams”.
Vic White implemented the Thrive approach at Keyingham Primary School in Hull, part of the Consortium Academy Trust. While suspension rates were never “exceptionally high”, the school saw no suspensions in the two years after it adopted the approach.
White said it helps all staff members to understand why children are behaving in a certain way, allowing them to “stay curious rather than furious”.
She added: “Knowing the science behind it was a huge, huge impact professionally. Because there is a stem inside you that decides whether you are regulated or dysregulated and decides on your physiological response.”
White has been tasked with implementing the strategy at another of the Consortium Academy Trust schools, Cottingham High School in Cottingham, Yorkshire.
While they have already reduced suspensions at Cottingham, White said the “pace of change is slower” due to dealing with older children with often more complex needs.
Help for parents
At secondary level the approach has also helped to improve relationships and communication with parents.
“For a lot of parents, parenting a teenager in 2026 is terrifying,” White said. But the family plans ensure that parents can understand that their child’s behaviour is based on science.
This helped parents to understand that “there’s nothing wrong with your child, this is what they’re meant to do now. How can we help you keep them safe while they do it?”
Thrive’s director, Tom Preston, said the evaluation “provides the clearest indication yet of the impact Thrive’s wellbeing-centred approach can have in the areas that matter most to schools”.
Danielle Jones, director of ImpactEd Evaluation, said it shows “how consistently schools describe the way relational, trauma-sensitive practice like the Thrive approach supports pupil wellbeing, behaviour and staff confidence, alongside reductions in exclusions and more stable attendance”.
Thrive, part of the recruitment, training and professional development agency Supporting Education Group, currently offers free apprenticeship routes for the training, which lasts 14 to 15 months. Alternatively, the 12-week training course costs £1,720. A Thrive Online annual subscription costs schools £5 per pupil.
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