South Green
Junior School
Saving money on staffing
and interventions
South Green Junior School wanted to understand why some children were not making the academic progress they were capable of, even though behaviour was generally well managed.
By embedding Thrive across the school, staff have been able to identify children’s social and emotional needs earlier, remove barriers to learning and reduce the time and money spent on additional staffing, behaviour support and interventions.
The Context
South Green Junior School serves a diverse community. Some families are affluent, while others struggle to make ends meet, meaning pupils arrive with very different life experiences and needs.
- Location: Essex
- Trust: Billericay Community Trust
- Pupils: 237 (ages 7–11)
- FSM: 11.8%
- Thrive introduced: 2019
- Licensed Practitioners: 5
Why Thrive?
South Green Junior School was managing behaviour well, but staff could see that some children were not reaching their full academic potential.
With pupils arriving from a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences, Headteacher Elizabeth Benjeddi recognised that, for some children, social and emotional needs were creating barriers to learning.
proven impact
How Thrive was implemented
Thrive was embedded at South Green Junior School through strong leadership, trained staff and a dedicated space for targeted support.
- Elizabeth Benjeddi completed Thrive Licensed Practitioner training in 2016, giving the school strong leadership support from the beginning.
- Two further members of staff were then enrolled on Thrive training, helping the Approach become embedded beyond one person.
- South Green now has five Thrive trained staff members, increasing the school’s capacity to support pupils’ social and emotional development.
- Thrive sessions take place in a purpose-built garden room with an outdoor area, kitchen, bathroom, office and flexible space, giving staff a dedicated environment for one-to-one and group activities.
- All children are profiled using Thrive-Online, with staff using the findings to provide targeted one-to-one and small group support that helps close identified developmental gaps.
We had outstanding teachers delivering high-quality lessons so there wasn’t an academic need, the barriers we needed to address were social and emotional.
Elizabeth Benjeddi
Headteacher, South Green Junior School
More than a wellbeing tool
Identifying children earlier
Thrive has helped South Green identify children whose needs may otherwise have been missed.
Some children do not show obvious dysregulated behaviour. Instead, their emotional distress can appear as quietness or withdrawal, which may be a freeze response.
Elizabeth says these children can easily go unnoticed until Year 5 or Year 6, when it becomes harder to intervene early. Thrive-Online has helped staff recognise their needs sooner and put support in place before difficulties become more established.
Saving time and money
Although South Green needed to invest in staff training, the school has seen longer-term savings as Thrive has become embedded.
Pupils are better able to regulate their emotions, meaning they need less adult support to help them manage the school day.
The school is also spending less time dealing with behaviour issues and exclusions, which have reduced dramatically over the past three years.
Elizabeth says Thrive has helped the school save money on both staffing and interventions because pupils are becoming more independent and better able to access learning.
HELPING CHILDREN GET BACK ON TRACK
Impact on attainment
South Green has seen an upward trend in attainment results since introducing Thrive.
The school tracks children who have accessed Thrive support in terms of behaviour, emotional health and academic attainment. Previously, many were working below age-related expectations or making slow progress.
The aim was to help those children get back on track. So far, this has been 80% successful, with the children who have received Thrive support for the longest making the strongest progress.
The school is also using Thrive evidence as part of its approach to wellbeing, behaviour and school improvement, including its ambition to reach 96% attendance.
CREATING FOUNDATIONS FOR LEARNING
Sharing good practice
As Thrive has become embedded, South Green has begun hosting Thrive training courses and visits from other schools.
Visitors often comment on the school’s calm and positive atmosphere, reflecting the wider shift in culture since the Approach was introduced.
For South Green, Thrive has helped staff better understand pupils’ needs, support children earlier and create stronger foundations for learning.
Children who have been receiving Thrive the longest have been the most successful.
Elizabeth Benjeddi
Headteacher, South Green Junior School
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