In 2018 the co-founders of Thrive at Five, started to convene philanthropists, grant makers and others with expertise in the early years, to discuss how collaborative approaches might contribute to delivering better outcomes for babies and young children.
During their early years babies and children interact intensely with the people and environment around them to develop their foundational social, emotional, cognitive and physical abilities. This early development profoundly shapes future outcomes. Focussing our efforts on supporting children to achieve their potential in the early years is one of the best investments we can make for the long-term health, wellbeing, and happiness of society.
Pre-pandemic, children from unprivileged backgrounds were on average 4.6 months behind their peers by the end of the first year of school and half of pupils who fail GCSEs at age 16 had been behind at the age of five.
In 2021 teachers reported that 50% of children were not ‘school ready’ for their reception year at primary school. They described children who did not know how to listen, who struggled to play and share with other children, who could not hold a pencil or eat independently and who were not toilet trained. At the end of their reception year in 2022, only 49% of children eligible for free school meals were assessed to have reached a good level of development.
The need for action was clear.
Parents and carers are critical in supporting babies and young children but often they feel disempowered by things being done to them and not with them. It takes a community to raise a child. Support exists but is fragmented and patchy, with nothing to join the dots between midwives, health visitors, nursery staff, early years practitioners, speech and language therapists, family support workers, mental health experts and volunteers.
The solution and the concept for Thrive at Five began to crystallise.
Focusing on a long-term investment in connecting and strengthening the systems and support networks around parents and carers, at a community level, was identified as the most effective way to make sustained improvement in early child development. Collaborating with parents and local organisations would be critical to harnessing the existing power and energy to build capacity in a community.
We are developing, testing and continuing to refine the Thrive at Five approach with our local and national team, supporters and collaborators working together to deliver our first pathfinder in Stoke-on-Trent.
The approach will shortly be rolled out to more pathfinder communities and as we deepen our evidence base, we are building a model that could be applied to achieve long-term systemic changes to child development, in any part of the UK.
We believe in the power and courage of parents and communities to support and protect their children. We value:
We listen to understand every perspective, especially from people whose voices are rarely heard, before we plan and act together.
To succeed we take time to build meaningful relationships founded on trust and collaboration with parents, communities and partners.
Through kindness we make friends, see the best in each other and dispel hostility and get more done together.
Lasting change takes endurance to test and find out what works and be sustained in communities everywhere. We are in it for the long haul.
Our national team drives our strategy, captures our learning and impact and works with supporters, partners and experts from the UK and from around the world. It provides central resources to support our regional teams.
Aida joined Thrive at Five after almost a decade at The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, most recently as its Chief Advisor. Aida led the Foundation’s early years work and managed its portfolio of mental health programmes. She moved into the voluntary and charity sector after a first career as a lawyer and has been a Trustee of Family Action for ten years.
Chris started his professional life working in central and local government. At Save the Children UK, he was Head of Policy and then Head of Children’s Communities. Most recently, he worked at the National Children’s Bureau as Assistant Director of London’s A Better Start site, the Lambeth Early Action Partnership.
Denise is a mixed methods researcher and evaluator with over 25 years experience of designing, leading and delivering research and evaluation projects in the charity sector. Denise has particular expertise in evaluating early years services, place based approaches and complex interventions and using methods which ensure that diverse stakeholder perspectives are included in research. Most recently, Denise worked at Depaul a youth homelessness charity.
Dawn was born and raised in Stoke on Trent and bought up her children there. She is now a proud grandparent! Dawn has worked for many years in a variety of schools as a nursery nurse, teacher, early years and key stage one lead. She now uses this experience in early year settings across Stoke-on-Trent.
Lesley, who having been born in Stoke and having raised a family there, brings with her local knowledge to build relationships and connect the local community. She began her career in the charitable sector as a support worker at a Rudolph Steiner School. For many years, Lesley worked as a Development Officer across different organisations and then worked in schools and children’s centres as a Community and Family Learning Tutor. More recently Lesley has been working at Stoke-on-Trent College teaching GCSE and Functional Skills English.
Norah was bought up in Stoke and raised her children there who now have little ones of their own. After volunteering at her local school following her children starting school, she was inspired to train as a nursery nurse, working in schools and private nurseries. She then went onto qualify as a primary teacher and taught in the early years and key stage one. Norah was part of the leadership team at Stoke’s Eaton Park Academy and seconded vice-principal to another school’s improvement team.
With support from our friends at LEGO, we've recruited and trained parents from local schools. They brilliantly support delivery of summer play activities and parent, baby and toddler groups during term. We support parents to volunteer with other local organisations that support families in the early years and many parents share their voices and views with us. They're a vital first sounding board to make sure that the early years strategies we co-create will truly meet local needs.
They are key to sharing relatable and non-stigmatised advice and help with other parents and carers in the community. We want to show parents they are valued and trusted and that we recognise their needs - we'll give our parent champions access to learning and training opportunities to grow their confidence and impact.
Our Trustees govern the way Thrive at Five is run and provide invaluable advice on our strategy and operations.
Grant Gordon is a philanthropist and social entrepreneur. He established the Ethos Foundation, working to help build a society in the UK where people and communities thrive. He also chairs the Cabrach Trust, a charity based in a remote part of Scotland’s North East, promoting community resilience and regeneration.
Larissa is a non-executive director of international law firm Charles Russell Speechlys; a non-executive director of search firm Saxton Bampfylde; Chairman of the trust board of international architecture practice Hawkins\Brown and a non-executive director of the Law Society of England and Wales. In her pro bono portfolio, she is Chair of The Foundling Museum; Chair of Social Business Trust (a consortium of Clifford Chance, Permira, Bain, EY, FT Group, Schroders and others).
Head Teacher Ben Levinson has led Kensington Primary School to its status of flagship school. It was Primary School of the Year and Mental Health and Wellbeing School of the Year in 2020. Ben has advised the Department for Education on workload and wellbeing. He is a board member of Well Schools and an ambassador for the Youth Sport Trust, the British Council and TeachActive.
