The BOUNCE Approach®
for THRIVE Practitioners
Understanding What's Still in the Way
Every Thrive practitioner knows these children
The child who is settled in the Thrive room and falls apart everywhere else.
The child who co-regulates beautifully with you and cannot yet hold that regulation alone.
The child whose sensory world seems to overwhelm every developmental gain.
The child who has made genuine relational progress and still struggles to understand themselves.
The child whose profile shows growth – and whose daily experience does not yet reflect it.
The child who leaves you wondering: what is still getting in the way?
You are not missing skill. You are not missing relationship. You may simply need a wider lens.
The BOUNCE Approach® gives you that lens.
Our Approach
Not sure? Find your BOUNCE starting point first.
Every child is different. The six BOUNCE pillars help you look beyond behaviour and explore the areas that may be influencing a child’s wellbeing, regulation, relationships, learning, and development.
Select any pillar below to discover what else you can add to your toolkit.
🧠 Body & Nervous System Grounding, regulation & somatic awareness. Show more →
- Grounding Techniques
- Exploring Mindful Awareness Interventions
- Reducing Anxiety through Gut Health
- Somatic Exercises
- Running SEMH Sensory Circuits
- Interoception in the Classroom
🤝 Openness to Connection Trust, attachment & co-regulation. Show more →
👂 Understanding Sensory Sensory processing & awareness. Show more →
💭 Navigating Emotions Emotional expression & regulation. Show more →
- Drawing Feelings Intervention
- Drumming for Regulation
- Emotional Regulation and Bounce
- Executive Functions and Poor Behaviours
- Managing Demand Avoidance
- Creative and Expressive Arts
- Lego Feelings Intervention
- Different Behaviour Between Home and School
- Running a Play-doh Feeling Session
- Exploring NVR in the Home
- Emotionally-Based School Avoidance
- Reducing Anxiety in Children
- Negative Behaviour and Emotional Intelligence
💬 Connection & Communication Communication skills & connection. Show more →
⭐ Esteem & Identity Self-esteem, identity & belonging. Show more →
- A Parts Approach
- Supporting ADHD — The BOUNCE Way
- Being Neurodivergent Affirming
- Supporting Autistic Students in the Classroom
- Supporting Neurodivergent Children at Christmas
- Running a Tree of Life Intervention
- Expanding the Window of Tolerance
- Understanding and Supporting a Child with Tourette Syndrome
- Supporting Students with Executive Function Difficulties
Imagine having all of this in one place.
More than 50 CPD-certified courses, interventions, assessments, activities, templates, tools and downloads – organised through the six BOUNCE pillars and available whenever you need them.
Less searching. More confidence. Better support for the children who need it most.
Your BOUNCE Journey
When you receive a referral, you move through a five-step journey. At each stage, the Learning Portal gives you everything you need: thinking frameworks, assessment tools, reparative experiences, creative therapies, reflection guides, and practitioner training. This guide shows you exactly what you’ll have at every step.
1
Connect
“How do I understand this child’s whole story?”
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- Gather the referral story — what has happened in this child’s life and relationships
- Complete the Snapshot assessment — a 2-minute tool to understand developmental needs and what may be driving behaviour
- Build a shared understanding with the child, family, and team about what’s going on and what they need
A Snapshot tool, a conversation framework, and a shared perspective with family and staff.
2
Understand
“What developmental needs are showing up?”
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- Explore what developmental needs are present — you can then link that to your THRIVE strands to be curious what experiences they’ve missed
- Identify which relationships and reparative experiences the child needs most, in this moment in time
- Consider what’s driving behaviour and what this child’s nervous system is communicating
- Decide which pillar or strand to focus on first
Access the BOUNCE training to explore dysregulation through a new lens and clarity on next steps.
3
Plan
“What experiences and support does this child need?”
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- Decide what reparative experiences this child needs — shared play, attunement, co-regulation, repair, emotional language
- Browse 50+ courses, creative therapies, and intervention ideas linked to developmental needs
- Access flexible lesson plans, sand tray work, drumming, expressive arts, and relational frameworks
- Plan the relationships, experiences, and support needed without rigid structure
- Download visual supports, activity ideas, and coaching resources for delivery
50+ courses and creative resources, flexible lesson plans, relational frameworks, sand tray guides, PSHE materials, and printable tools.
4
Support
“How do I deliver relational experiences?”
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- Deliver sessions with relationship at the centre — attuned, responsive, child-led
- Access training on play, declarative language, communication differences, co-regulation, and reparative approaches
- Use flexible session guides with options to adapt based on what the child needs in the moment
- From a 5-year-old learning to regulate to an 18-year-old building their identity, every session can be adapted to the child in front of you
- Access activity guides, printable resources, and creative therapy ideas to support delivery
50+ training videos, delivery guides, activity plans, creative therapy ideas, coaching resources, and observation tools.
5
Reflect
“What’s helping? What needs to adapt?”
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- Review what is helping through continuous reflection and observation of the child’s responses
- Notice changes in relationships, trust, emotional growth, and developmental progress
- Repeat the Snapshot to inform next steps and understand what has shifted
- Adapt your approach based on what the child is showing you — continue, adjust, or pivot
- Share observations and progress with family and team using Snapshot data
Snapshot tracking, guidance on next steps, and a way to communicate progress to families and professionals.
From a 5-year-old learning to regulate to an 18-year-old building their identity, every interaction can be shaped around the developmental needs of the child in front of you.