Holly Norris is Assistant Head of Year 8 at Kettering Science Academy, a mainstream secondary school within the Brooke Weston Trust.
Working within the pastoral team, she plays a key role in supporting students’ wellbeing, behaviour and safeguarding, working closely with colleagues and external agencies to ensure joined-up, consistent support.
To further deepen her knowledge and strengthen her impact within the academy, Holly enrolled on the Thrive Wellbeing Leadership Level 5 Apprenticeship.
Why a Thrive apprenticeship?
Holly’s decision to undertake the apprenticeship reflects both her professional ambition and her commitment to inclusive practice, particularly in supporting students’ social, emotional and mental health (SEMH).
Having drawn on her own experiences of school, Holly is passionate about ensuring that every young person feels understood, supported and able to succeed.
“I want to be that member of staff they look back on and say, ‘Miss Norris helped me. She was there, she got it.’”
The Thrive Wellbeing Leadership programme combines Thrive Licensed Practitioner training with a Level 5 Operations Manager apprenticeship. For Holly, this provided an opportunity to further develop her understanding of relational and developmentally informed approaches, alongside strengthening her leadership skills.
“I want to continue to develop inclusive practice and contribute to how we embed this consistently across the school,” she said. “The leadership qualification alongside Thrive gives me the tools to support colleagues and contribute to that work over time.”
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Building confidence and support
While Holly was excited to begin the apprenticeship, she also had understandable concerns about managing the academic demands alongside her role. Holly is autistic and has dyslexia and ADHD, and was mindful of how this might impact workload and deadlines.
With structured support from her tutor and a well-organised programme, she has found the course both accessible and manageable.
“My tutor is amazing. We check in regularly and everything is explained clearly. I’ve felt well supported throughout.”
Applying learning in practice
A key strength of the apprenticeship is the ability to apply learning directly within school.
Holly has been able to build on KSA’s existing relational approach, refining how she listens, responds and supports students day to day.
“I’m using what I’ve learned every day – in how I listen, how I respond and how I support young people. It fits really naturally with the work we are already doing.”
KSA’s approach to inclusion is underpinned by a number of complementary frameworks, including work around Non-Violent Resistance (NVR). This focuses on strengthening adult responses, maintaining presence, and reducing escalation while holding clear boundaries.
Alongside this, KSA's partnership work with The Difference continues to shape thinking around inclusive practice and ensuring that all students are supported to remain successfully in mainstream education.
Holly’s learning through the Thrive apprenticeship aligns closely with this work, reinforcing a consistent approach across the school where relationships, clarity and calm, predictable responses sit alongside high expectations.
She has also begun to contribute to wider staff understanding around areas such as neurodiversity, attachment and trauma-informed practice, supporting colleagues to consider the reasons behind behaviour and respond in a way that is both consistent and supportive.
Impact so far
Holly has already seen the impact of this work in her role. Students increasingly seek her out, responding positively to a calm, relational approach which helps them feel heard and supported.
Her focus remains on maintaining clear expectations while building understanding and reflection.
“Even when a student is dysregulated, I will always bring it back to a conversation. It’s about helping them understand what’s happened, what needs to change, and how we move forward.”
This approach supports students to develop their ability to regulate, reflect and re-engage successfully in school.
Contributing to wider development
Holly’s learning is also beginning to inform wider thinking within the school.
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She has contributed to discussions around strengthening reflective spaces for students, particularly following incidents or periods of dysregulation, with a focus on supporting students to reset and return to learning successfully.
Alongside this, she is working with colleagues to explore how early identification of need can continue to be strengthened, particularly during key transition points such as entry into Year 7.
These developments sit within KSA’s wider focus on inclusion, where the aim is to combine clarity, consistency and high expectations with the right support for every student.
A message to others
For Holly, the apprenticeship has been an important step in both her professional and personal development.
“I would absolutely recommend it. It’s helped me develop how I support young people and work with colleagues, but also how I think about my own practice. It’s something you carry with you.”
Last chance to join the Thrive Wellbeing Leadership Apprenticeship before it's defunded
As Holly's story shows, the Thrive Wellbeing Leadership Apprenticeship is a powerful pathway to creating meaningful change across schools, trusts and communities.
However, the government has confirmed that the Level 5 Operations Manager apprenticeship is being defunded.
A limited number of places remain on the final cohort. Click below to find out more and secure your space before the deadline.
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