The Thriving Schools Framework provides schools with a structured approach to supporting the wellbeing of students and teachers and creating a positive school environment. Rather than treating wellbeing as a separate activity, the Framework supports schools in embedding it into everyday teaching, relationships, routines and school practices.
Wellbeing is shaped by many connected factors, including relationships, school climate, classroom experiences, staff support and opportunities for participation. For this reason, the Framework follows a Whole School Approach, involving students, teachers, school leaders, non-teaching staff and families in creating a safe, supportive and inclusive school environment.
Within this whole-school approach, the Thriving Schools Framework brings together three complementary models:
- PERMA
- Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
- Selected elements of School-wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS).
Each model contributes something different, but together they provide a practical way of understanding wellbeing, developing social and emotional skills, and embedding positive practices consistently across the school.
1. PERMA: What elements of wellbeing are we trying to strengthen?
The first part of the Framework is grounded in Positive Psychology, an approach that focuses on the strengths, experiences and conditions that help individuals and communities thrive. This does not mean ignoring difficulties or expecting people to feel positive all the time. Instead, it encourages schools to consider what supports positive functioning and wellbeing while also responding appropriately when challenges arise.
At the centre of this approach is Seligman’s PERMA model, which describes wellbeing through five elements: Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishment (Seligman, 2012). The Thriving Schools Framework applies these elements to both students and teachers.
- Positive Emotions include experiences such as joy, gratitude, interest and hope.
- Engagement refers to becoming involved and absorbed in activities that interest and challenge us.
- Relationships concern supportive connections, trust and a sense of belonging.
- Meaning involves feeling that what we do has value and purpose.
- Accomplishment relates to working towards goals, recognising progress and experiencing achievement.
Together, these elements give schools a simple way of thinking about wellbeing. A student may experience wellbeing through feeling connected to classmates, becoming deeply involved in a learning activity or feeling proud of progress. For a teacher, it may involve supportive professional relationships, finding purpose in their work or recognising achievements in the classroom.
Understanding what we want to strengthen is only part of the picture. Students also need social and emotional skills that help them manage emotions, build relationships and participate positively in school life. This is where SEL comes in.
2. SEL: What skills help students support their wellbeing?
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) focuses on developing skills that students can use at school and in everyday life. These include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making (Cipriano et al., 2023). In simple terms, PERMA helps identify important aspects of wellbeing, while SEL supports the development of skills that can help students work towards them.
Consider the PERMA element of Relationships. A school may want students to experience stronger relationships and a greater sense of belonging. SEL supports this goal by helping students practise empathy, communication, cooperation, active listening and constructive ways of resolving disagreements.
The same connection can be seen with Engagement. Skills such as self-awareness and emotion regulation can help students recognise when they are distracted, frustrated or struggling and develop ways to remain involved in learning.
The Framework therefore does not treat social and emotional skills as something students are simply expected to have. These competencies can be explicitly taught, practised and reinforced, just like other areas of learning. Within the Framework, SEL is woven into teaching, school culture, relationships and everyday routines. In this way, SEL helps turn broad wellbeing goals into skills that students can learn and practise, however, teaching these skills does not automatically mean they will become consistent across the school. This is where SWPBS contributes.
3. SWPBS: How do we make wellbeing part of everyday school practice?
A teacher might use a wellbeing activity during a lesson or teach an SEL skill with a class, but how does this become part of the way the whole school works?
School-wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) focuses on creating proactive, consistent and supportive school environments. Rather than concentrating mainly on responding to inappropriate behaviour after it occurs, SWPBS encourages schools to clarify what positive behaviour looks like, teach it explicitly, reinforce it and use information about what is happening in the school to guide future action (Sugai & Simonsen, 2012).
Importantly, Thriving Schools does not adopt the entire SWPBS framework. It selectively uses elements that can help schools translate wellbeing principles into consistent everyday practice. These include:
- creating a shared philosophy and purpose;
- clarifying and teaching expected behaviours;
- encouraging positive behaviour;
- monitoring progress; and
- supporting teachers through professional development.
These elements provide the school-wide structures through which PERMA and SEL can move beyond individual activities. For example, if a school decides that positive relationships are a priority, it can agree on shared expectations such as showing empathy, helping others and listening respectfully. Teachers can explicitly teach and practise these behaviours with students. Positive interactions can be recognised and encouraged, while the school can monitor how students experience relationships and whether patterns of peer conflict change.
How do PERMA, SEL and SWPBS work together?
Each approach helps answer a different question:
- PERMA: What aspects of wellbeing do we want to strengthen?
- SEL: What skills help students work towards these goals?
- SWPBS: How can schools make these practices consistent in everyday school life?
A simple example shows how this can work in practice: A school wants to strengthen positive relationships
- PERMA identifies the wellbeing goal.
The school focuses on Relationships, with an emphasis on trust, connection and belonging. - SEL develops the skills.
Students practise empathy, active listening, cooperation and constructive communication. - SWPBS supports consistent practice.
The school agrees on expectations such as “Show empathy” or “Help others succeed”. Teachers explicitly teach these behaviours, recognise positive interactions and monitor changes in peer relationships and school climate.
This example illustrates an important feature of the Thriving Schools Framework. A wellbeing activity is not expected to create change on its own. The Framework connects activities with skills, routines, relationships and school-wide practices so that wellbeing becomes part of how the school operates.
What does the Thriving Schools Framework mean for everyday school life?
For teachers, the Thriving Schools Framework does not mean adding a completely separate wellbeing programme to an already busy school day. Many of its principles can be incorporated into existing classroom and school practices: agreeing on shared expectations, teaching students how to listen and cooperate, recognising effort and progress, discussing emotions, creating opportunities for reflection and regularly checking how students experience school.
The Framework also recognises that supporting students requires supporting teachers. Professional development, collaboration, mentoring, opportunities for reflection and attention to staff wellbeing all contribute to a sustainable whole-school approach. Staff development should therefore be continuous and connected to the needs of the school rather than treated as a one-off training activity.
Together, PERMA, SEL and selected SWPBS elements provide schools with a practical structure for making wellbeing intentional, shared and part of everyday school life.
Read the full Thriving Schools Framework to explore practical activities for teachers and students, implementation guidance, examples of expected behaviours and routines, monitoring approaches, and ready-to-use resources for schools.
References
Cipriano, C., Strambler, M. J., Naples, L. H., Ha, C., Kirk, M., Wood, M., Sehgal, K., Zieher, A. K., Eveleigh, A., McCarthy, M., Funaro, M., Ponnock, A., Chow, J. C., & Durlak, J. (2023). The state of evidence for social and emotional learning: A contemporary meta-analysis of universal school-based SEL interventions. Child Development, 94(5), 1181–1204. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13968
Seligman, M. E. (2012). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Simon & Schuster.
Sugai, G., & Simonsen, B. (2012). Positive behavioral interventions and supports: History, defining features, and misconceptions. PBIS Center, University of Connecticut.