The Thrive Approach is a systematic method of identifying gaps in children’s emotional and social development so that the adults around them can help them to progress and engage with education and with life.

Specific benefits of a school with a Thrive approach include:

- Helping children and young people to regulate their own behaviour and learn about their emotions.

- Reduce exclusions and improve attendance and achievement levels by helping children and young people to engage with education.

- To strengthen links with parents and carers, supporting home action plans

The following are the underpinning theories and science of the Thrive Approach;

Attachment Theory: Focusing on the deep emotional bond that connects one individual to another across time and space. The Thrive Approach uses this to show the importance of a trusting  relationship between an adult and a young person, and how as the young person develops the relationship can be adapted to support optimal social and emotional development.

Child development Theory: These theories explain how children change and grow during childhood and adolescence. The Thrive Approach uses these to focus on how to support healthy social, emotional and cognitive development as the young person grows. These theories also provide a lens through which to look at and interpret behaviour, and enable us to determine how best to respond.

Play, creativity and the arts: The Thrive Approach uses interactive activities to help expand how children and young people express themselves. Through repetition this also helps to reinforce new learned behaviours.

Neuroscience: Recent advances in neuroscience have informed our understanding of the brain and nervous system, and how these develop during childhood and adolescence. The Thrive Approach uses the latest insights to focus on the impact these changes can have on behaviour, the opportunities these developments offer to help young people engage with life and learning, and how it is never too late to help make a difference.