Reduce disruptive behaviour and exclusions
Behaviour remains one of the most pressing and complex pressures facing schools today. Disruption in the classroom affects learning for everyone and places significant strain on staff.
For many children and young people, behaviour is a way of communicating what they can’t yet put into words. It may reflect difficulties with emotional regulation, unmet developmental needs, or a lack of connection with school.
Improving behaviour starts with looking beyond the surface. When children feel safe, understood and supported, they can develop the emotional skills and relationships that help them to stay engaged with learning.
The Challenge
Across the UK, schools continue to face rising levels of behaviour incidents, suspensions and exclusions.
While clear expectations and boundaries are essential, many pupils who struggle with behaviour are navigating emotional challenges that make it difficult to regulate their responses, manage frustration or feel secure in the classroom.
Without the right support, behaviour difficulties can escalate, leading to sanctions, time out of learning, and sometimes exclusion.
- Suspensions and exclusions remain significantly higher than before the pandemic
- Pupils with SEND and SEMH needs are disproportionately represented in exclusion data
- Behaviour incidents continue to reduce learning time for both pupils and teachers
- Schools consistently identify behaviour as one of the biggest pressures on staff wellbeing
Supporting behaviour starts with helping children to understand their emotions and building the regulation skills they need to manage the ups and downs of the school day.
How Thrive supports positive behaviour in schools
Thrive helps school respond to the emotional and developmental factors that often sit behind behaviour.
Drawing on neuroscience and child development, the Thrive Approach helps schools to:
- Understand behaviour as communication of unmet emotional need
- Identify pupils who may need additional social and emotional support
- Build emotional regulation and resilience
- Strengthen relationships between pupils and staff
- Create a consistent, relational approach to behaviour across the whole school
By strengthening relationships and supporting emotional development, schools can reduce disruption and help pupils stay engaged in learning.
The Process
Proven impact on behaviour and exclusions
Independent evaluation by ImpactEd, including analysis of over 2,600 schools and a two-year mixed-methods study, shows that schools using Thrive see measurable reductions in exclusions.
- 27% lower exclusion rates in Thrive schools compared to national averages
- 52% reduction in primary school exclusions
- 35% reduction in secondary school exclusions
“Our children weren’t ready to learn and now we have a tool to help them regulate themselves so that they are ready."
Sarah Roberts
Head of School and Inclusion Lead, Holy Trinity and St John’s CoE Primary School
Ready to improve behaviour and reduce exclusions?
Whether you’re leading a single school or shaping strategy across multiple settings,
Thrive provides a clear, relational framework for improving behaviour and supporting emotional development.
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Schools and settings
Embed emotionally informed practice across your school to support positive behaviour, stronger relationships and improved engagement.
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Trusts and system leaders
Develop a shared approach to behaviour, wellbeing and inclusion across multiple schools.
Supporting calmer classrooms
A strong sense of belonging plays a central role in attendance.
When pupils feel safe, valued and understood, they are more likely to attend and stay engaged.
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Behaviour in Schools
Discover the causes of challenging behaviours and why effective support is essential for pupils' wellbeing and learning. Learn how schools can create consistent, emotionally supportive environments and use proven strategies to improve behaviour and engagement.
Navigating disruptive behaviour: Strategies for school leaders
Join Thrive's Viv Trask-Hall, Amy Husband and Alison Keane as they lift the lid on the potential causes of disruption and share strategies they’ve adopted to address and measure it.
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Behaviour management in the classroom
Learn how addressing social and emotional development impacts behaviour and how to implement consistent management strategies across the school.
Take the next step toward lasting change across your school or system.
Join 2,600+ schools and thousands of educators already
transforming practice with Thrive.