A Kent tutoring service which specialises in helping children to re-engage with education has been named as a Thrive Ambassador School for the role it plays in supporting the mental wellbeing of students.
Tuition Extra, based in Canterbury, has been named as an Ambassador School with Excellence in Reparative after going through a rigorous assessment process with Thrive, which trains teachers and other education professionals to support the emotional and social development of children and young people. The Reparative award recognises schools that have excelled in helping children who have gaps in their social and emotional development and have successfully met their needs.
A 'wellbeing first' approach
“Our setting is underpinned by a ‘wellbeing first’ approach because we believe that children and young people need to be emotionally-steady in order to be ready to learn. We’re proud to be named as a Thrive Ambassador School and to represent a forward-thinking, intelligent and life-changing approach which understands the correlation between emotional development and inspirational academic outcomes,” said Ruth Minhall, Head of Service at Tuition Extra.
“It has been a wonderful process to watch the Thrive Approach becoming embedded within our service and I must recognise the hard work and dedication of both Amanda Thompson, our Thrive Lead, and Caroline Lampard-Shedden, our Head of Wellbeing, and her team. Their joined-up thinking and child-centred focus is central to this achievement, along with their continued work to remove barriers to learning for every young person in our care.”
Dramatic rise in student engagement
Tuition Extra provides tutoring and bespoke education for 350 children and young people aged from 4 to 25-years-old across Kent and the wider South East. Many students have additional learning needs or may have experienced stressful events in childhood such as domestic violence, parental abandonment through separation or divorce, a parent with a mental health condition or been the victim of abuse or neglect; meaning that they need extra support in order to access education. As well as conventional A-Levels, GCSE and BTEC qualifications, Tuition Extra offers vocational study paths including health and beauty, cooking and outdoor skills with an emphasis on working with families to support learners. Last year, it saw a rise in students’ engagement levels with education from 11 per cent to 95 per cent within four months, with learners achieving a GCSE pass rate of 95 per cent.
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Showcasing excellence
Thrive’s Ambassador Schools scheme has been launched as a way of recognising excellence in the way schools use Thrive to promote positive mental wellbeing. There are five areas in which a school can evidence how they support children’s social and emotional development: Environment, Leadership, Right-time, Reparative and Relationship, with a special Ambassador School of Excellence Award for schools that achieve the highest standard across all five categories.
As well as submitting an in-depth application form, Tuition Extra was visited by Thrive staff to observe and assess the way that teachers and other staff implement the Thrive Approach to help build the emotional resilience of children, so that they can better manage the ups and downs of life and be more open to learning.
“Tuition Extra provides a truly bespoke service to children and young people who may have struggled to access mainstream education. By recognising the individual needs of each child or young person, the team are achieving amazing results and are supporting young people to re-engage with education and with life. Ruth and her colleagues richly-deserve this award and it is inspirational to hear about the work they are doing for young people’s mental wellbeing,” said Mel Fisher, Thrive’s Relationship Manager for the South East, East and London.
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Over to you
Are you leading the way in developing happy, emotionally-resilient children or young people? Are you feeling the impact of embedding the Thrive Approach throughout your setting? You too may be eligible for Thrive Ambassador School status. Click here to find out how to apply.
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