Supporting SEND and inclusive practice
Supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is one of the most important and complex responsibilities schools face today.
Many children with additional needs experience school as an overwhelming environment. Difficulties with emotional regulation, communication or relationships can make it harder for them to feel safe, understood and ready to learn.
Creating inclusive schools and settings therefore means more than providing additional support. It means building environments where every young person feels seen, understood and able to take part in learning.
When schools understand the emotional and developmental needs that sit beneath behaviour and engagement, they can support pupils with SEND to feel more confident, connected and included.
The Challenge
Schools are working harder than ever to meet the diverse needs of children and young people with SEND.
Pupils with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs often struggle to engage with learning, while staff teams face mounting pressures to provide support alongside everyday teaching demands.
Without the right support, children with additional needs can become overwhelmed or disengaged. This can lead to difficulties with behaviour, attendance and participation in the classroom.
- Children with SEND are significantly more likely to experience exclusion or disengagement from learning
- Many pupils with additional needs struggle with emotional regulation, communication or relationships
- Schools report rising complexity of need alongside increasing pressure on staff and resources
- Inclusive practice requires approaches that support emotional development alongside learning
Supporting inclusion starts with helping pupils feel safe, understood and able to connect with others in the school community.
How Thrive supports SEND and inclusion
Thrive supports schools to understand and support the social and emotional needs that sit behind SEND-related challenges.
Drawing on neuroscience and child development, the Thrive Approach helps schools to:
- Identify young people who may need additional social and emotional support
- Understand behaviour and distress as communication of underlying need
- Build emotional regulation, resilience and confidence
- Strengthen trusting relationships between pupils and staff
- Create consistent, inclusive responses to needs across your setting
By supporting emotional development and strengthening relationships, school can help pupils with SEND feel more secure, more confident and better able to engage with learning.
The Process
Proven impact on SEND wellbeing and inclusion
Independent evaluation by ImpactEd, including analysis of over 2,600 schools and a two-year mixed-methods study, highlights positive outcomes for pupils with additional needs in schools using Thrive.
- SEND wellbeing scores increased by around 5% in Thrive schools over the 2023-24 academic year, despite wider national declines in pupil wellbeing
- Pupils in Thrive schools report wellbeing levels that meet or exceed national averages, with particularly strong outcomes for pupils with SEND
- Schools using Thrive recorded 27% lower exclusion rates than the national average
“We delivered the ‘Safe Harbours’ activity within these Thrive sessions and identified these pupils. As a result they’ve all developed relationships with a staff member who they probably would have never met. Now they have a safe place to go – a safe person to talk to.”
Chris Dixon
SENDCo and ASD Lead, Acklam Grange School
Ready to strengthen SEND support and inclusion?
Whether you’re supporting individual pupils or developing inclusive practice across a whole school or trust, Thrive provides a clear framework for supporting emotional development and belonging.
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Schools and settings
Embed emotionally informed practice across your school to strengthen inclusion, improve wellbeing and support pupils with additional needs.
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Trusts and system leaders
Develop a shared, trust-wide approach to inclusion, emotional wellbeing and SEND support across multiple schools.
Supporting belonging and inclusion
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.
How Thrive Aligns with the 7 Principles of Inclusion in the Inclusive Mainstream Fund
This blog explores how Thrive helps schools strengthen inclusion through early identification of SEMH needs, relational practice, emotionally safe environments and evidence-informed support.
8 Principles for Supporting Inclusive Practice
Practical guidance, classroom activities and assemblies to help strengthen connection across your school.
On-demand webinar: The neuroscience of belonging
A recorded session exploring why belonging matters and how it influences attendance and engagement.
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.