At Lakeside Nursery and Primary Academy, we want all children to flourish, so we have embedded the use of The Thrive Approach in order to support their emotional and social development.

Our aim is to help our children feel happy and secure to be able to enjoy friendships, to relate well to others and be ready and able to learn. We recognise the impact a child’s emotional development has on their overall achievement and have developed a whole school approach with specific provision within our curriculum designed to help the children with their emotional and social skills.

Our vision and aims

Our Vision is to:

Develop children emotionally so they are able to recognise and distinguish their emotions and learn ways of responding to their feelings appropriately.

We Aim To:

• Provide alternative support for children who are experiencing emotional, social or behavioural difficulties.
• Provide a safe and calm environment for children to develop their skills.
• Enable children to take pride in their achievements and enhance self-esteem.
• Help children to manage their feelings and develop skills to enjoy and participate in school life.
• Use positive approaches to manage all behaviours.

What is Thrive

Thrive is a therapeutic approach to help support children with their emotional and social development.

The Thrive approach offers practical strategies and techniques and is built around online assessments which identify children’s emotional development and provides action plans for their individual needs.

Why might my child attend a Thrive session

Many children experience difficulties during their time at school. These may include:

• Difficulties with friendships.
• Getting into trouble at playtime.
• Finding it hard to settle in the classroom.
• Finding it difficult to manage their strong feelings.
• Not knowing who to turn to when feelings are too big to manage on their own.
• These situations can lead to many different feelings which may seem overwhelming at times. They might include: anger, frustration, sadness, loneliness, confusion or anxiety.

All these feelings are very normal and happen to a lot of children. The Thrive sessions are to help children learn to manage their feelings and teach them strategies that will help promote their learning at school.

What will happen in a Thrive session

The session may be on an individual basis or as part of a small group of children. During each session there will be an activity which may include:

• Story telling
• Circle games
• Arts and crafts
• Sand play
• Movement and relaxation
• Hand and foot massage
• Cooking and preparing food
• Role play and puppet work
• Games
• Outdoor activities
• Emotional exploration

What are the benefits of Thrive

• Thrive teaches the understanding of children’s behaviour as communication, improves learning skills and leads to greater attainment.
• It promotes productive learning for all children.
• It creates practical strategies that can be implemented the next day.
• It supports and empowers, providing the confidence and competence to work with challenging and vulnerable children, and with parents and integrated teams.
• It leads to better relationships at home and in school.