Across the UK we are facing the challenge of a critically low number of teachers, as thousands report leaving the profession – or plans to leave.
BBC Education reported in October 2016 that 30% of 2010 intake will quit within five years, Schools Week reported that we are facing the highest number of teachers leaving the profession in a decade, the Guardian also reported last October that a third of teachers are quitting the profession.
Training teaching staff at this critical time can seem indulgent – yet many Thrive schools report better retention of staff as the emotional and social understanding it brings helps in two very different ways:
One – because the training helps the teachers as individuals. While the training helps them support children to learn and work more effectively, it also helps individuals to learn how to see and understand behaviour as communication. Thrive training integrates key elements of neuroscience and child psychology, making it accessible to a broad range of backgrounds. This training can inform and inspire their teaching.
Two – because of the opportunities Thrive training opens up in terms of career progression. As well as the fact that training in general makes staff feel valued, Thrive training in emotional and social development is particularly powerful as it integrates neuroscience, and practical with creative ways to support children’s learning in the classroom.
Diana Dewing, Managing Director of Thrive comments: “Like many challenges in life, the best results come from a steady and consistent approach, rather than a quick fix. We are already seeing results that show that many schools that invest in Thrive training are more likely to see their Thrive trained staff stay and support the school for longer; compared to schools that are cutting back on training and staff investment. The way the training is then integrated back into the classroom and whole school, also helps retain the knowledge and skills with the wider school, not just the individual who has been trained. While we don’t offer a quick fix solution to the challenges of teacher retention, schools that have invested in Thrive report fewer exclusions, reduced classroom disruption, improved attendance and better educational attainment.”
One of many examples of how Thrive is working to help retain teaching staff is across Cornwall, where Headstart’s £8.9m Big Lottery fund programme is delivering emotional and social development support to help student wellbeing and mental health in association with Thrive.
Simeon Royale, Deputy Head, Humphrey Davy Secondary School in Cornwall comments: “The HeadStart-Thrive workforce training we received was stunning, the reaction was superb. It has been the most positive piece of staff training we have done… the staff here are absolutely behind the approach”.
To find out more on the next steps to adopt Thrive training in your school or education setting visit our training page or contact our team on 01392 797555 option 2.
Thrive works to help children and young people to flourish by delivering leading training services to professionals and family involved in their learning and development.
Thrive supports professionals working with children and young people in education, social care and healthcare, as well as adoptive parents and foster carers, to equip them with tools and techniques that support children to become confident and emotionally secure so that they can re-engage with life and learning.
Children of all ages, supported through Thrive trained professionals, are able to respond better to life’s emotional ups and downs and can find can find new ways of engaging life and learning.
The Thrive training and online tools are being used successfully to support the emotional development – and life chances – of children and young people from birth to adulthood. To date 1,370 professionals are current registered users of Thrive-Online with over 1,000 working in educational settings and the remainder working in family support, social services and medical settings to support children and young people.
Parents report significant improvements in their relationship with their children as well as improved behaviour. The children themselves say they feel better understood and they get more out of school. They learn to love learning. With the support of Thrive training and Thrive-Online, adults learn how to help children and young people, using a targeted, measured approach, to become more resilient and resourceful, to feel good about themselves, to form trusting, rewarding relationships, able to overcome difficulties and setbacks and able to take advantage of the opportunities they have.