The latest episode of Thrive’s Connected podcast is celebrating National Bullying Prevention Month. In this episode, we’re joined by Jo Warner, Assistant Director of Education on the Joint Education Team of the Durham and Newcastle Diocesan Boards of Education. Jo talks about the guidance that church schools receive around bullying and how the 106 schools she works with put this into practice.

Listen to the 9-minute podcast to discover: 

•       An outline of the Church of England guidance for schools, Valuing All God’s Children and how this relates to the protected characteristics (of the Equality Act) and to bullying in a broader sense
•            Why relationships are crucial when it comes to creating an anti-bullying culture and why staff need to model positive relationships
•            How Thrive has changed Jo’s practice as an education professional
•       Why wellbeing needs to be a curriculum-wide approach, rather than staying confined to PHSE lessons

The latest episode of Thrive’s Connected podcast is celebrating National Bullying Prevention Month. In this episode, we’re joined by Beryce Nixon, CEO of the Exceed Learning Partnership, who explains how her MAT creates an anti-bullying culture across its settings. As well as discussing how the curriculum plays an important role in creating this culture, Beryce also explains how a MAT-wide approach can support schools, while still giving the freedom to respond to the needs of their own communities. 

Listen to the 21-minute podcast to discover: 

• Why MATs need to take a preventative approach to bullying rather than simply tackling incidents as they arise 

• How this culture can be created and embedded across a MAT so that it is truly effective 

• The role of curriculum design and how this can bring the idea of difference into everyday conversations for children and young people 

• How Thrive-Online helps the Exceed Learning Partnership to understand the individual needs of all pupils 

 In this episode, we focus on Rose Lane Primary School, in East London, which is a Thrive School of Excellence for mental health. Katie Parks, the school’s Counsellor, Mental Health Lead and Thrive Lead explains how mental wellbeing unlocks attendance and attainment and how the right structures, including having a Designated Mental Health Lead, can make the difference in terms of supporting pupils.