Heart of Thrive
Awards 2026
Celebrating the people at the heart of Thrive.
Every day, people across Thrive settings are making a difference to children and young people through the relationships they build, the support they give and the way they put Thrive into practice.
The Heart of Thrive Awards are our way of recognising them.
who comes to mind?
Celebrating the people at the heart of Thrive
From Licensed Practitioners and senior leaders to teams and colleagues working with families and their wider community, the awards celebrate the people whose commitment to Thrive deserves to be recognised.
Shortlisted nominees will be invited to our virtual Heart of Thrive Awards event on 10 December, where the winners will be announced.
Start thinking about who deserves to be recognised and submit your nomination.
Make sure your nomination is in before the deadline.
Those shortlisted will be invited to our virtual awards event.
Shortlisted nominees will join us as we celebrate their achievements and announce the winners.
Heart of Thrive award categories
There are five Heart of Thrive Awards, each celebrating a different contribution to Thrive. Take a look through the categories and think about the people and teams in your setting.
01
Category one
Thrive Licensed Practitioner of the Year
For a Licensed Practitioner whose thoughtful, consistent Thrive practice is making a real difference to children and young people.
Nominations open on 3 November02
category two
Thrive Senior Leader of the Year
For a senior leader who champions Thrive, brings people with them and helps create a culture where wellbeing, relationships and inclusion can thrive.
Nominations open on 3 November03
category three
Thrive Rising Star of the Year
For someone new to Thrive who's embraced the approach, put their learning into practice and already made a real difference to children and young people.
Nominations open on 3 November04
category four
Thrive Community Champion of the Year
For someone who takes Thrive beyond their immediate role, building stronger relationships with families, colleagues or the wider community.
Nominations open on 3 November05
category FIVE
Thrive Team of the Year
For a team that works together to embed Thrive, sharing responsibility and making a real difference to children and young people across their setting.
Nominations open on 3 Novemberheart of thrive awards
Who will you nominate?
The Heart of Thrive Awards are a chance to recognise the people and teams helping Thrive make a real difference across your setting.
Choose the award category that fits best and share the examples that show why their contribution deserves to be recognised.
Nominations open 3 November and close 13 November 2026.
From 3 November, you’ll be able to access the nomination forms directly from this page.
Choose the award category that best fits the person or team you’d like to recognise, then complete the relevant form.
You’ll be asked for a few basic details and one written response explaining why you think they deserve to be recognised. Specific examples of the difference they’ve made will help us understand their contribution.
You can submit more than one nomination, but please complete a separate form for each person or team.
The Heart of Thrive Awards are for people and teams working within Thrive Schools.
For most categories, nominees do not need to have completed a particular Thrive course, but their contribution should be clearly connected to how Thrive is understood and put into practice across their setting.
For Thrive Licensed Practitioner of the Year, the nominee must be a fully trained, actively licensed Thrive Licensed Practitioner.
For Thrive Senior Leader of the Year, completing Leading an Emotionally Healthy School training is not a requirement. However, where a leader has completed the training, examples of how they’ve applied that learning to strengthen Thrive across their setting can form useful evidence within the nomination.
No. The Heart of Thrive Awards are about recognising other people, so all nominations need to be made by someone else.
Yes. More than one person can nominate the same individual or team, and that won’t count against them.
If you’re already talking to colleagues about nominating the same person or team, we’d encourage you to work together and submit one strong, thoughtful nomination rather than several separate ones.
What matters most is the quality of the nomination and the examples you share, not how many nominations someone receives.
If people happen to submit separate nominations without realising someone else has done the same, that’s absolutely fine. We’ll read and consider all of the information provided.
Every nomination will be reviewed against the criteria for that award.
If we receive a particularly high number of nominations, we may use AI to help with the initial longlisting. If we do, every nomination will be considered against the same criteria.
AI will not decide who is shortlisted or who wins. Any AI-assisted longlist will be checked by our team, with the shortlist and final winners decided by people.
Once nominations close on 13 November, we’ll review the entries and agree a shortlist for each award.
Shortlisted nominees will be contacted and invited to our virtual Heart of Thrive Awards event on 10 December, where the winners will be announced.
Winners will receive a physical Heart of Thrive Awards plaque, along with a social toolkit for them and their setting to help celebrate and share their achievement.