A groundbreaking new project aimed at transforming the lives of children in Sunderland has been launched at Christ’s College in Pennywell, thanks to more than £320,000 in funding from SHINE Sunderland.
The initiative, Thrive at Christ’s College, focuses on improving children’s mental health and emotional development through the Thrive Approach.
Over the five-year duration of the project, it will extended to benefit children attending eight additional secondary schools across the city.
The Thrive practitioner leading the way
At the heart of the programme is Kerry Baggott, a Thrive Licensed Practitioner who has witnessed first-hand the difference it can make to children’s lives.
Since joining Christ’s College just over a year ago, Kerry has already begun embedding Thrive across the primary phase, with a pilot also now underway involving six targeted secondary pupils – and the early results have been remarkable.
“We’ve seen a complete turnaround in some of our school refusers,” said Julie Normanton, the college’s Principal. “We’re talking about children who wouldn’t even set foot in the building. Now, thanks to Kerry’s work through Thrive, they’re regular attenders.”
One school refuser on the pilot has improved his attendance from 37.6% to 74.1%.
Children who attend school more frequently, and who have a better mental health, go on to do better at school and in their future lives. Research previously commissioned by SHINE showed that attendance is a major risk factor for children in Sunderland, and that those with the highest academic potential are often worst affected.
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Changing lives with tailored intervention
The Thrive Approach is based on neuroscience, child development, and attachment theory. It identifies gaps in children’s social and emotional development and addresses them through tailored interventions.
“What you're actually doing is developing the pathways in the child’s brain,” explained Kerry. “So practitioners need to understand the science behind that”.
Every child in a Thrive school benefits – whether through whole-class activities or more intensive support for those who’ve experienced trauma, bereavement, or other disruptions.
“What makes Thrive so powerful is its universality,” explained Kerry. “We assess the whole school, and from there, we can identify children who might otherwise go unnoticed. It’s early intervention, and it changes lives.”
Long-term, sustainable impact
The new funding allows the school to scale the programme rapidly. Kerry will be trained as a Thrive Licensed Trainer, enabling her to upskill colleagues not just at Christ’s College, but across other schools in the city.
The five-year project is designed with long-term impact and sustainability in mind. The model is initially being rolled out to eight Sunderland schools over several years, with four new schools joining each year.
This phased approach ensures that implementation is sustainable and that the culture of Thrive is fully embedded in each setting.
A community-wide strategy
Importantly, Thrive at Christ’s College is not just a school-based initiative – it's a community-wide strategy.
The programme includes a strand called Family Thrive, which brings parents into the process. “Families come to realise it’s not just about the child’s regulation – it's also about their own. Thrive isn’t a parenting course, but it does help parents reflect on their own emotional responses and how they influence their children.”
According to Julie, the programme aligns seamlessly with the school’s ethos: “As part of the Emmanuel Schools Foundation, we describe ourselves as a Christian Ethos school of Character, for the whole community. What we want for all our children is to flourish and we know that their mental health can be a massive barrier to that. Thrive speaks directly to that, especially in a post-COVID world where anxiety and attachment issues have become more prominent.”
This holistic, relationship-based approach is also integrated into staff development. “We’ve already trained our primary staff and will now extend that to secondary and support staff,” Kerry said. “When every adult in the building understands and uses the Thrive Approach, it becomes embedded in school culture.”
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The impact of this work extends well beyond education. As Julie explained, “We’re serving a community that is often not filled with hope. One parent once said to me, ‘Well, what do you expect? This is Pennywell.’ We should expect the world for these children. Thrive helps raise the bar, helps them believe in themselves – and supports their families to see the possibilities as well.”
Investing in young people’s futures
The funding is part of the 10-year SHINE Sunderland funding programme which will see SHINE invest more than £11 million into projects led by the city’s secondary schools with the aim of raising GCSE attainment across the city.
“We're really grateful for this opportunity,” said Julie. “Budgets are so tight – they pretty much just cover our basic needs – so to be able to invest in something like this makes such a difference.
“Of course Sunderland needs investment. But this is the best sort of investment – it's not about building flashy buildings in the centre of the city, it’s about grassroots investment in people, and it's meeting identified needs.”
Fiona Spellman, CEO of SHINE, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting this evidence-based approach, equipping passionate, committed teachers with the support they need to help children to flourish. We look forward to helping evaluate the programme and to sharing findings more widely.”
Over to you
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