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.

The latest episode of Thrive’s Connected podcast focuses on how educators can create and maintain good relationships with parents and carers. In the podcast, Rose Webb, Thrive’s Policy, Practice and Innovation lead, explains the benefits that a trusting and open relationship between home and school can bring for staff, parents and carers and, of course, for children and young people.

“Children and young people transition between home and school and there are lots of experiences that happen in between. If there is a supportive relationship between home and school it means that children understand that they are connected and it helps them to have a sense of the network of support and care that is around them,” said Rose.

Listen to discover: 

·       How good relationships between home and school can help create a preventative approach to mental health problems, with parents and carers more likely to be pro-active about communicating issues at home and potential problems.

·       What a trusting and open relationship with families and carers looks like in practice.

·       Why parents may struggle to engage with school because of their own past experiences – and how to respond if this is the case.

·       How Family Thrive sessions can foster these good relationships.

How good relationships can be developed and maintained in the smallest details such as the language used on a school’s website               

In this episode we are talking about toileting and continence. It’s still seen as a taboo subject – something that our guest, Thrive Licensed Practitioner, Cathryn Giles, is passionate about changing. 

Cathryn is an Early Years Transition Worker in the Education Service at Cardiff Council. As part of her role, Cathryn does outreach works with schools in Cardiff to support pupils who are having problems with continence and toileting. This includes a wide range of issues across all age groups – from very young children who insist on staying in nappies through to teenagers who have stomas or catheters. 

Listen in to discover:   

• How emotional wellbeing can affect toileting behaviours – and why it’s important to take a holistic and nurturing approach 

• How she uses Thrive to support pupils who are having problems 

• How Covid has impacted on toileting issues – from online GP appointments through to disruptions to baby and toddler groups  

• How classroom staff can support pupils who may be embarrassed about problems with toileting and continence 

• Cathryn’s four top tips to help pupils of all age groups to have good bladder and bowel health 

• How schools can get children involved in making their loos a better environment so that they feel calm and relaxed when they go 

In this episode we are talking about neuroscience and how educators can use it to build effective connections with the children and young people they teach. Our guest today is Thrive Partnerships Lead and former teacher, Senco and headteacher, Kay Hamilton. Kay is a passionate advocate for the use of neuroscience in understanding classroom behaviour and in creating relationships that enable change to take place.  

Listen in to discover:   

• How to translate neuroscience into effective classroom practice 

• An explanation of the role of serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin in connection 

• Why connection between humans is so important for good mental health 

• Why disconnection can lead to an increase in cortisol, the stress hormone  

• An explanation of the link between social connection and the brain’s ability to form new neuronal pathways and to learn 

• Practical suggestions for language and activities that help to build connections