Thrive School
What does it mean to be a Thrive School?
At MMAP we are embedding the Thrive approach. Thrive is based on established neuroscience, attachment theory and child development. Thrive equips our staff with the knowledge, skills, insights and resources to develop trusted relationships that help our students to develop and learn.
Thrive is a consistent way to understand, support and evidence social and emotional development for children with complex needs. Thrive helps the whole team build a shared understanding of each child, so we can respond more effectively, track progress, and evidence impact with confidence.
Becoming a Thrive school means taking a consistent, whole-school approach to understanding social and emotional development. Thrive provides a shared framework to understand each child’s development, looking beyond behaviour to what it is communicating, so staff can respond in ways that support development over time, including small-step progress that may not always be immediately visible.
Implementing the Thrive Approach in alternative provision setting helps staff look beyond disruptive behaviours to understand the unmet emotional and social needs of students. By focusing on attachment theory and neuroscience, adults become "co-regulators" to help pupils manage their emotions and build trust.
In our school, Thrive is integrated into the daily timetable. Staff use behaviour management techniques and targeted, creative activities to safely engage students. Activities like clay modelling, strategy games, or cooking allow staff to connect with students while teaching them how their brains and bodies react to stress.
Thrive also promotes children's and young people’s positive mental health by helping adults around them know how to be and what to do in response to their differing behaviours. Thrive allows us to support the emotional well-being of our students as we all have a shared responsibility to ensure that our students are ready to learn. Positive relationships with dedicated staff are at the heart of Thrive and the ethos of MMAP.
Ultimately, our goal is to create a secure, predictable environment. When students feel physically and emotionally safe, they are more open to learning. This targeted emotional support reduces exclusions and leads to better educational and social outcomes for pupils who have struggled in mainstream schools.
How we use Thrive
We use a screening tool and activity planning resource called Thrive-Online. This allows us to assess children and to develop individual action plans with specific strategies and activities to ensure that they are as emotionally and socially supported as they can be
For more information please follow the link to the Thrive website: