Barnham Church of England Voluntary Controlled (CEVC) Primary School, in Suffolk, supports around 160 children aged 5 to 11 years and prides itself on being a warm, friendly and caring school where each child is valued for their uniqueness and individuality.
Faced with challenges in ensuring a consistent approach to supporting children’s emotional wellbeing, the school introduced Thrive which has since become an integral part of its practice.
Now a Thrive School of Excellence, Barnham has seen measurable success in both academic and emotional development. Staff feel empowered to prioritise children’s mental health and wellbeing across all areas of school life and have a consistent approach to managing behaviour.
The need for a consistent approach
Headteacher Amy Arnold identified that while Barnham had a strong ethos that centred around positive relationships, there was a lack of shared understanding of children’s social and emotional development across the school community. Staff had different approaches to managing behaviour and a clear framework was needed to ensure consistency.
Through research and discussions with Thrive, the school realised that the Thrive Approach would provide a structured and holistic way to support social and emotional development from Early Years through to Year 6. This would help to ensure a consistent, shared understanding across the whole school community, including children, staff, families and governors.
Why Thrive?
Barnham chose Thrive because it aligned with their relational and inclusive approach and mirrored their vision to ‘inspire, cherish and believe in each person that they may flourish and fulfil their potential’.
The comprehensive training and ongoing supervision offered by Thrive further cemented it as the best choice for the school, ensuring that all staff could confidently implement the Approach.
Getting staff on board
Before the roll-out of Thrive began, there were some initial apprehensions within the team. Some staff were concerned that the approach might mean children were ‘getting away’ with undesirable behaviour. However, as training started and Thrive was modelled and embedded across the school, these concerns soon disappeared.
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Barnham started by training one Thrive Licensed Practitioner and has since invested in training another member of the team. All staff have received Thrive training and professional development days are used to enhance colleagues’ practice. Amy has also completed Thrive’s senior leader training and all staff regularly access Thrive webinars to continue developing their knowledge and expertise.
Across the school, staff are able to share their understanding of the different stages of social and emotional development and how these relate to the behaviour displayed by pupils. They have also seen first-hand how the Approach complements existing frameworks such as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
The impact of Thrive
Since embedding Thrive, Barnham has seen significant impact. Staff feel empowered to prioritise children’s mental health and wellbeing across all areas of school life - from outdoor learning to calculating complex maths problems.
The introduction of Family Thrive has also strengthened relationships between school and home. Families have embraced the Approach, with each Family Thrive group setting up their own parent and carer networks for ongoing support.
Positive relationships and emotional connections are at the heart of school life. Initiatives such as ‘keeping in mind’ conversations along with daily meet-and-greets for children and families are woven throughout the school day. Wellbeing-focused activities have been embedded to further support emotional development – from feeding the chickens to boarding the school tractor and passenger trailer for learning adventures on the farm.
From separation anxiety to thriving in all areas
A notable example of Thrive’s impact is the story of a Year 3 pupil who initially struggled with separation anxiety and demand avoidance. The child found it difficult to enter the school building and often became dysregulated.
By working closely with both the child and their parent, staff developed a bespoke support plan, including a soft start, an alternative entrance and minor uniform adjustments. Over time, as trust developed, the child no longer needed additional support and is now thriving in all areas.
Measuring success
The school has seen measurable success in both academic and emotional development:
- Attendance has been ranked 38th out of 246 schools in the Suffolk local authority.
- Academic outcomes in statutory assessments were above the national average.
- Every class has dedicated ‘Thrive Time’ scheduled weekly, alongside specific group and individual Thrive sessions.
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Using Thrive-Online for tracking and evidence
Thrive-Online plays a crucial role in tracking children’s emotional development. Every child at Barnham is assessed using Thrive-Online, and the data is shared termly with governors to ensure a full picture of both emotional and academic progress.
The school also uses Thrive-Online assessments and plans as key evidence in the Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) process, supporting EHCP applications and annual reviews.
Thrive School of Excellence
To recognise the extraordinary impact Barnham Primary is having on its pupils and the wider community, the school has been named as a Thrive School of Excellence. The award is the highest level of achievement in Thrive’s Ambassador School scheme, which shines a light on settings showcasing outstanding mental health and wellbeing support. Amy Arnold describes this as a significant achievement:
“We’re incredibly proud and delighted to be accredited as a Thrive Ambassador School of Excellence. It’s a real honour and a credit to our whole staff team. This is a journey we have worked passionately towards for many years, and to be recognised for our commitment to children’s emotional wellbeing is fantastic for our staff, pupils, parents, governors, and the wider community.”
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