Thrive at Suttons Primary School

Shining the Light: Suttons Primary School

Here in the office we don’t always get the opportunity to see all the wonderful work that you are doing in your settings, so we were delighted when earlier this term one of our new relationship managers, Mel Fisher, visited Suttons Primary School in Hornchurch and reported back. Mel sat down with the Deputy Head and Thrive practitioner Karen Blake for a chat about how Suttons Primary discovered Thrive, their wonderful Thrive room and how beneficial they’ve found Thrive in their setting. Before Suttons Primary decided to introduce Thrive, Karen tells us that they visited a school in a neighbouring borough to make sure that it was right for them. They wanted to ensure that Thrive could help support children who had experienced significant trauma and had attachment disorder. The school they visited had practised Thrive for several years, and after the visit they were convinced that it would be a good option for them! Suttons Primary now have three licensed practitioners, one of whom is delivering Thrive full time to individual children.

Suttons’ Thrive room is small but perfectly formed and licensed practitioners are constantly adding to the resources. They’ve found that the children love creative arts and crafts, messy play, small world toys and sand trays. Karen shared that one of the children finds communicating via building Lego scenes is particularly beneficial, so they have bought Lego sets for them to work with. They’ve also arranged for this child to spend one day every week at a farm; Karen says that it is important that they learn to feel safe and feel happy.  They also utilise their Thrive room as a ‘Chill and Chat’ space during lunchtime when their most vulnerable children often seek out support or ‘time out’.  What Karen found most striking since introducing Thrive at Suttons Primary is that the amount of disclosures made by children has considerably increased. Thrive has made children feel safe enough to talk. The school have also found it particularly beneficial to have a member of their Senior Leadership Team trained in Thrive to drive the process forward. As Karen is the Deputy Head, her role has been vital in ensuring that Thrive remains high profile. She says that “Thrive has become part of who we are and what we believe in as a school.”  If you would like a member of your senior leadership team trained in Thrive, you may be interested in our new courses intended for Senior Leaders. Click here to find out more.