Why Thrive at Five was founded
During their early years, from pregnancy to five, babies and children are shaped by the relationships, experiences and environment around them. These early experiences profoundly impact a child’s development and their future.
In 2018, the co-founders of Thrive at Five saw the evidence building around the unmet social and emotional, cognitive and physical development needs of babies and young children and felt this knowledge should be turned into action.
They brought together strategic funding partners and other early years experts, to explore the opportunities to collaborate and make the most impact for children and families.
The need for action in early childhood development
In England, half of all children on free school meals reach the expected level of development across a range of early learning goals (known as Good Level of Development – GLD), by the end of their first year in school. This includes social and emotional development, and early communication and language.
This compares to nearly three-quarters (71.5%) of their peers in 2023, and this gap grows as children get older, reducing their potential to reach developmental milestones throughout education and continues to have an impact into adulthood. Half of all children who fail GCSEs at age 16 were behind at school when they were five and are more likely to face many challenges in their adulthood, such as reading difficulties, unemployment, poorer health, social problems, and lower income.
Supporting children to achieve their potential in their early years is one of the best investments we can make for the long-term health, wellbeing, and happiness of society.
Parental support: Unlocking the power of parents and carers
Parents and carers provide children with the nurturing care and supportive environments they need, but many face challenges that make this difficult and do not have the family and wider support that they need as caregivers.
Connecting & strengthening the early years community
In the neighbourhoods where families face some of the biggest challenges, children face overlapping difficulties that cannot be tackled through the often fragmented early years system that does not always use the best data and evidenced interventions.
We identified the need to join the dots between those working to support parents and carers, recruit local teams that understand local needs and connect the early years ‘system’ with parents and carers, to strengthen the community that raises every child.
Sustainable change & investing in early intervention programs
It takes time to make a real and sustained difference. So, we set a long-term strategy of investing in place-based approaches, in partnership with the Local Authority, for seven years to allow us to build the strong relationships needed for lasting change. This allows us to embed new activities with our partners and strengthen the system and support network around parents, carers and their children in the places around the UK that need additional support.
Scaling up early help for all children and families
We are developing, testing and continuing to refine the Thrive at Five approach with our local and national teams, supporters and collaborators, working together to deliver our first pathfinders in Stoke-on-Trent and Redcar & Cleveland.
The approach will continue to be rolled out to more pathfinder areas in Scotland and England as we deepen our evidence base, we are creating a playbook and sharing our tools and experiences with early years professionals to benefit children and families in any part of the UK.
Our Values
We believe in the power and courage of parents and communities to support and protect their children. We value:
Listening
We listen to understand every perspective before we plan and act together.
Collaboration
We build relationships rooted in trust and collaboration with parents and carers, communities and partners.
Kindness
We form friendships and see the best in each other to get more done together.
Endurance
We discover and test what works and leads to lasting change.
Our team
Our locally recruited teams are supported by our national team, which drives our strategy, builds our impact and evidence base, and works with supporters, partners and experts from the UK and around the world.
Elaine Geddie
Consultant Finance Director
Elaine is a Chartered Accountant who trained at Deloitte in South Africa, moving to the UK to work in the...Nicola Casey
Head of Partnerships and Development
Nicola has worked in fundraising for eight years, raising millions of pounds by leading philanthropy and special events teams. Beneficiaries...Danika Wilson
Parent Connector
Danika Wilson, a mother of two and born and raised in Stoke-on-Trent, first got involved with Thrive at Five as...Julie Norcup
Peripatetic Support Leader
Julie was born and raised in Stoke-on-Trent and still lives in the local area. She has worked in a range...Nina Gilbert
0-2 Development Lead
Nina is a passionate advocate for improving children's outcomes in Stoke. As a mother of four, she understands the evolving...Grace Morrisey
Parent Connector
Grace joined Thrive at Five after completing her degree in Early Childhood Studies, graduating with a 2:1. Grace has worked...Nicki Fee
Early Years Development Lead
Nicki grew up in North Yorkshire. Following teacher training, she lived and worked in a Nottinghamshire primary school for several...Peter Rodgers
Programme Support Officer
Peter is a father of two, one of which is just nine months old. He has always lived within the...Grant Gordon OBE
Co-Founder and Co-Chair
Grant Gordon is a philanthropist and social entrepreneur. He established the Ethos Foundation, working to help build a society in...Larissa Joy OBE
Co-Founder and Co-Chair
Larissa is a non-executive director of international law firm Charles Russell Speechlys; a non-executive director of search firm Saxton Bampfylde;...Merle Davies
Previously the Director for the Centre for Early Child Development, Merle is a community education expert who led the multi-agency...Laura Barbour
Portfolio Development, Chimo Trust
Laura recently joined the Chimo Trust, a grant giving charity focused on supporting young people’s mental health through social prescription,...Professor Jacqueline Barnes
Honorary Research Fellow, University of Oxford, Department for Education
Professor Barnes has devoted her professional life to research designed to improve experiences and developmental outcomes for children and parents...Kathryn Boulton
Previous Executive Director for Children and Families
Kathryn Boulton has over 37 years’ experience working in education and children’s services, over twenty of which have been in...Join our newsletter
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