A parent and carer’s guide to

THRIVE at Decoy Primary School

At Decoy we believe that Thrive can make us happier, healthier

individuals with the resilience to face new challenges and

situations. We feel Thrive will not just support those children who

may, at times, be facing challenges, but that it will support ALL

children with their emotional and social development.

We see Thrive as a whole school approach, so that every child

benefits from an aspect of Thrive over the course of their time at

Decoy. Our emphasis is not just on learning but also developing

well rounded members of our community.

With this in mind we have invested time in training staff members

to be fully confident in assessing and implementing Thrive. We

have also created a designated Thrive area, “The Den,” to run our

interventions.

We hope that you can see the potential benefit that this approach

will have on your child and our learning community as a whole.

If you would like to know more about Thrive at Decoy School

please check the school newsletter for regular updates, explore

the Thrive website, or speak to your child’s class teacher.

Many thanks,

Vicky Stables (Thrive Co-ordinator)

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What we believe…

At Decoy we promote health in its widest sense; attending to the

personal, social and physical development of pupils. We believe that

children will only achieve their full learning potential if they are in the

right emotional state to learn. Therefore it is vital that we understand

how best to support children as they grow up by encouraging them to

achieve higher long-term educational goals. It is essential too that we

pay attention to the role of emotions in learning and to the link between

emotions and behaviours which can, in turn, either promote or inhibit

learning.

What is Thrive?

The Thrive approach draws upon the latest findings from neuroscience,

attachment theory, child development and research into the role of

creativity and play in developing emotional resilience. This tried and

tested approach helps parents and staff in schools understand

children’s behaviour and know what can be done differently to re-

engage children, build self-esteem and adapt behaviours.

A bit of psychology…

The stages of child development are sequential, but developmental

tasks can be tackled at any stage of growing up. Through successfully

experiencing and completing tasks, our sense of safety and

uniqueness, our creativity and our problem-solving and relationship-

making skills become more secure.

However, life can be very hard and there are certainly times when

children’s emotional development is put under pressure. Bereavement,

separation, trauma or anxiety can all have lasting effects on the brain if

not addressed. The good news is that, due to the plasticity of the brain,

interruptions and dodgy connections can be rectified and we really feel

that we now have the right tool for the job!

The six building blocks or developmental strands

Thrive uses a developmental framework to clarify the

connections between emotional and social development,

behaviour and learning. Child development can be

seen as six building blocks of experience, each with

accompanying tasks and opportunities. These translate

into six fundamental aspects of learning for emotional

and social development:

Learning to be

Learning to do

Learning to think

Learning to be powerful and to have an identity

Learning to be skilful and have structure

Learning to be separate and secure in your sexual identity

What does Thrive look like at Decoy Primary School?

ALL children at Decoy receive Thrive. We aim to address the emotional needs of all

children at different stages of their development. Our Thrive ethos means that all staff aim to build stable and caring relationships with all the children we work with.

Class teachers will complete a whole class online Thrive assessment to help identify where

all children are in terms of their emotional development.

Some children will be highlighted as needing additional Thrive intervention to support them

in experiencing and completing developmental stages. Some of these children will have a

Thrive Action Plan written for them.

Children will take part in class interventions, group work or 1:1 sessions led by a trained

member of staff. If appropriate, parents will be offered simple activities and strategies to try

out at home.