Supporting mental health in specialist and alternative provisions
Thrive provides a flexible approach to supporting emotional and social development in special schools and alternative provisions.
Our framework helps you meet the diverse needs of the children and young people you work with, creating learning environments where every pupil can thrive and reach their full potential.
How does the Thrive Approach work in special schools and alternative provisions?
Thrive equips special schools and APs with tailored strategies to support the unique emotional and social development of each pupil.
Our approach recognises that each child has their own developmental journey so focuses on the individual needs of each learner. Using Thrive-Online, you can assess and support pupils’ social and emotional skills with tailored strategies that help to build secure relationships, promote emotional regulation, and ensure that every child feels understood and valued.
Science-backed wellbeing training for educators
Explore our training designed to enhance social and emotional development, helping to remove barriers to learning.
Childhood Thrive Licensed Practitioner
Learn to support babies and young children in developing healthy, secure attachments while laying the groundwork for emotional resilience, effective stress regulation, and lifelong learning.
Adolescent Thrive Licensed Practitioner
This foundational course focuses on supporting the social and emotional development of babies, toddlers, and young children, ensuring they feel safe, supported, and ready to thrive.
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Leading Emotionally Healthy Primary Schools
Designed for school leaders, this course equips you to implement a whole-setting approach to emotional health and wellbeing, ensuring every pupil gets the support they need.
Thrive has helped the wellbeing of our school grow, we have seen amazing effects on our children and nothing gives us greater joy than knowing how we have turned some of our pupils’ lives around with the Thrive Approach."
Nina Jones. Learning Support Assistant & Thrive Practitioner, Heath Farm Special School
5 simple steps to a whole school approach
Thrive’s whole school approach can be easily embedded into special schools, helping create emotionally supportive environments where pupils can thrive.
FREE RESOURCES
Seven Reasons to
Embrace Thrive
Download our brochure to discover the benefits of Thrive, and share it with leadership.
Inside, you'll discover:
- How Thrive's proactive approach helps prevent mental health problems.
- The cost-saving benefits of lower rates of referrals to external agencies.
- The wide-ranging impact of Thrive on children and staff wellbeing.
Book a Discovery Call
If you’re curious about Thrive or ready to join the 75,000+ educators already impacting the lives of children and young people by teaching social and emotional skills, schedule a Discovery Call with a member of the team.
Schedule a call
How Thrive is making a difference in specialist settings
what our customers say...
Heath Farm School: Transforming lives and reducing barriers to learning
Catering to young people with autism, emotional and behavioural difficulties, and trauma, the school focuses on social and emotional wellbeing to prepare pupils for learning. With a dedicated team of Thrive Licensed Practitioners, the school runs universal and enhanced sessions tailored to individual needs, significantly improving pupil engagement and emotional regulation.
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what our customers say...
Elland Academy: Reduced exclusions and increased attendance
Supporting children who struggle in mainstream settings, the academy has achieved a significant reduction in exclusions and an increase in attendance by embedding the Thrive Approach. Through a trauma informed focus on building positive relationships and supporting emotional development, Elland Academy has helped its pupils become emotionally ready to re-engage with learning.
what our customers say...
Tuition Extra: Helping young people re-engage with learning
Tuition Extra support children and young people with additional learning needs and those who have faced significant challenges such as domestic violence, parental abandonment, or mental health issues within the family. Since embedding Thrive, they've helped pupils re-engage with education, and it has resulted in a remarkable increase in engagement levels from 11% to 95% in just four months.
what our customers say...
Heath Farm School: Transforming lives and reducing barriers to learning
Catering to young people with autism, emotional and behavioural difficulties, and trauma, the school focuses on social and emotional wellbeing to prepare pupils for learning. With a dedicated team of Thrive Licensed Practitioners, the school runs universal and enhanced sessions tailored to individual needs, significantly improving pupil engagement and emotional regulation.
what our customers say...
Elland Academy: Reduced exclusions and increased attendance
Supporting children who struggle in mainstream settings, the academy has achieved a significant reduction in exclusions and an increase in attendance by embedding the Thrive Approach. Through a trauma informed focus on building positive relationships and supporting emotional development, Elland Academy has helped its pupils become emotionally ready to re-engage with learning.
what our customers say...
Tuition Extra: Helping young people re-engage with learning
Tuition Extra support children and young people with additional learning needs and those who have faced significant challenges such as domestic violence, parental abandonment, or mental health issues within the family. Since embedding Thrive, they've helped pupils re-engage with education, and it has resulted in a remarkable increase in engagement levels from 11% to 95% in just four months.
Frequently asked questions
Thrive offers a range of training options tailored for staff in special schools and alternative provisions.
Thrive provides a tailored induction for staff in specialist settings to help you understand your role in implementing a whole setting approach. This three-hour virtual session focuses on supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
We highly recommend our Thrive Licensed Practitioner and Leading Emotional Health courses for embedding a whole school approach effectively. We can guide you in selecting the best course for your setting.
In addition, we provide short courses such as our Positive Behaviour Management course. You can book these online or reach out to us for guidance on which options would be the best fit for your needs.
Get in touch
Choosing the right Licensed Practitioner course for your specialist setting or alternative provision hinges on whether you focus on age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate needs.
For example, if you work in a specialist secondary setting supporting young people with special educational needs, we might recommend the Childhood Practitioner course. This ensures you’re equipped to meet their unique challenges effectively. On the other hand, if your approach is primarily age-appropriate, the Adolescent Practitioner course will serve you well.
If you’d like further guidance on selecting the best course for your setting, we’re here to help! Feel free to get in touch for more information.
Using Thrive-Online, staff can assess, track, and monitor the emotional progress of pupils.
By generating personalised action plans and measuring progress, specialist settings and alternative provisions can ensure that each pupil receives the specific support they need, whether in one-to-one sessions or group activities. This proactive monitoring helps identify potential issues early and fosters a supportive learning environment.
Learn more about Thrive-Online
Thrive recognises that each child has unique learning needs, particularly in special schools.
Our approach focuses on developmental milestones rather than chronological age, allowing you to support each pupil according to their individual learning journey. This means you can provide targeted interventions that meet their specific emotional and social requirements.
Thrive is a trauma informed approach that recognises behaviour as a communication of unmet needs. This is especially important in alternative provisions, where pupils often face significant emotional challenges.
With Thrive training and our tool Thrive-Online, you can better identify and address each child's unique emotional and developmental needs, fostering a nurturing and supportive environment.
Focusing on mental health and wellbeing allows staff to help children and young people recognise their physiological responses to triggers. This awareness equips them with helpful strategies to manage their reactions, reducing the likelihood of fight, flight, or freeze responses taking over.
For those in alternative provision for a fixed period, Thrive helps pupils develop emotional regulation and social skills essential for transitioning back to mainstream education.
By focusing on understanding the root causes of behaviour and nurturing relationships, Thrive ensures that pupils are not just managing their behaviour but also developing the skills they need to thrive in the future.