ACT Multi-Academy Trust
A trust-wide approach to wellbeing, inclusion and staff development
ACT Multi-Academy Trust is using Thrive apprenticeships to strengthen pupil wellbeing and staff development through a consistent, trust-wide approach to inclusion.
What began as a response to rising need in one school has become a long-term strategy for creating inclusive cultures across the Trust. Through levy funding, ACT is equipping staff across its schools with the expertise, confidence and shared language to support children’s social and emotional development.
The Context
ACT Multi-Academy Trust supports five primary schools across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, staff were seeing higher levels of anxiety, reduced resilience and more children becoming dysregulated.
- Location: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
- Number of schools: 5
- School phases: Primary
- Thrive introduced: 2022
- Thrive apprentices: 4
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Why Thrive?
Thrive was first introduced at one of ACT’s flagship schools, where Michelle Dunford and Rebecca Bliss were working in pastoral and inclusion roles. The school was already using therapeutic approaches, but leaders wanted to deepen staff understanding of children’s emotional development and create a more consistent way to respond to individual needs.
Their first introduction to Thrive came through a new in-year pupil whose SEND report included a Thrive assessment. Leaders could see that the focus on emotional health and wellbeing offered something different, while complementing the relational work already in place.
Michelle completed Thrive Licensed Practitioner training in 2022 and began using the Approach through one-to-one and small group support. As staff saw the impact on pupils, families and relationships, Thrive became an important part of the school’s inclusion practice.
From one school to a trust-wide strategy
Michelle’s Thrive training quickly translated into practical support for pupils and families. The school created a Home School Hub, which became a calm, safe space for the wider school community.
As its impact grew, the provision expanded within its first year from a single room into a larger, multi-functional space, including a dedicated Thrive room, a family meeting area and a smaller room for one-to-one counselling.
Embedding Thrive took time. Some colleagues were initially sceptical about the Approach, and leaders recognised that bringing staff on board would require patience, understanding and consistent modelling in everyday practice. Over time, as staff began to see the positive impact on pupils, they also noticed their own relationships with children changing for the better, which helped build confidence in the Approach.
If we had a few things we wanted in all of our schools, Thrive would absolutely be one of them, because we’ve seen the impact it can have.
Rebecca Bliss
Inclusion Director, ACT Multi-Academy Trust
Scaling Thrive through apprenticeships
When ACT became a multi-academy trust, leaders made an active decision to take the principles that had worked in one school and broaden them across the Trust.
For Rebecca Bliss, Inclusion Director at ACT, this was about “taking what had worked in one setting and finding ways to bring that good practice into more than one school”. She adds: “We’ve taken the principles we had around inclusion being at the centre of one school and broadened that out across the Trust.”
With senior leaders, including the CEO, fully behind the Approach, ACT looked at how it could place Thrive practitioners strategically across its schools. The apprenticeship levy helped make this possible.
ACT currently has four Level 5 apprentices training through the Thrive Wellbeing Specialist Teaching Assistant programme, with two further practitioners scheduled to begin training in the next academic year.
The programme gives staff the opportunity to gain a nationally recognised Level 5 Specialist Teaching Assistant qualification while also working towards Thrive Licensed Practitioner status. For ACT, this supports two key priorities: developing staff professionally and building a consistent, high-quality approach to pupil wellbeing, inclusion and emotional development across the Trust.
For Michelle, the levy has been key to turning that strategy into practical action: “The levy funding is helping us achieve the goals we want for the Trust.”
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Supporting staff to meet rising need
For ACT, Thrive apprenticeships are part of a long-term investment in people, culture and meaningful professional development.
Apprentices are supported by the Trust Inclusion Team through termly cluster meetings and half-termly supervision with Michelle. These sessions help staff reflect on their learning, share practice and build confidence. The apprentices are also developing as a peer cohort, supporting one another as they apply Thrive in one-to-one and small group work.
While the Level 5 qualification is demanding, apprentices have shown strong commitment and high levels of engagement. Michelle says protecting time is crucial, particularly because Thrive apprentices are often the staff schools naturally rely on when children need additional support.
“They have absolutely embraced the Thrive Approach. The lightbulb moments are happening for them now and they’re starting to see how it all makes sense in practice," said Michelle.
The Thrive Approach is also helping staff deliver consistent, scripted and therapeutic responses, so pupils feel safe, secure and understood. Staff have seen its impact on classroom behaviour, social and emotional development, friendships, and interactions during key moments such as lunch and breaktimes.
Creating lasting change
ACT’s advice to other multi-academy trusts is to approach Thrive as a strategic commitment, not a standalone intervention. Michelle recommends having a Licensed Practitioner at trust level, or ensuring senior leaders complete Thrive SLT training. She also advises schools to select apprentices carefully and protect the time they need to engage fully with the programme.
For ACT, Thrive apprenticeships are helping to create lasting change by investing in the adults who support children every day. Attendance remains a key priority, and Thrive has played an important role in supporting pupils back into education, particularly those experiencing EBSA-related absences. Leaders have also seen a reduction in exclusions across the Trust.
Ultimately, ACT sees Thrive apprenticeships as an investment in both pupil wellbeing and staff development: building practitioner expertise, strengthening confidence and helping more children feel ready to access learning. For Michelle, this is what matters most: “Thrive can make a real difference to exclusions, attendance and children’s wellbeing, which is the main reason we do what we do.”
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