From IRP Best Newcomer to SoGlos Finalist: The Power of People at Thrive Education Recruitment

From an award-winning start in recruitment in 2017 to becoming a SoGlos Micro Business of the Year finalist in 2026, Ellis' journey has always been about one thing: people.

What started as a vision to do education recruitment differently has grown into an independent business with a solid team of seven passionate practitioners, a community of dedicated education professionals and relationships with schools built on trust.

Our journey is about more than awards or business growth. It’s about the incredible people who make Thrive Education what it is today - the recruitment team who work tirelessly behind the scenes, the schools who trust us to support their staffing needs, and the teachers and support staff who put their livelihoods in our hands.

This is our story. And, more importantly, it’s the story of our Thrive Community.

From Best Newcomer to building something bigger

Back in 2017, Ellis Jackson was recognised as Best Newcomer of the Year at the Institute of Recruitment Professionals (IRP) Awards. It was an important milestone in a recruitment career shaped by experience, ambition and a genuine understanding of the education sector.

Having worked in both recruitment and teaching, the vision was always to create something more personal — a business that understood the realities of schools, appreciated the professionals working within them and recognised that recruitment decisions can have a real impact on people's lives.

In 2021, that vision became Thrive Education Recruitment.

As highlighted in Punchline Gloucester at the time, taking the leap to build an independent Gloucestershire recruitment business was about bringing recruitment and teaching experience together to offer a different kind of service.

The ambition was never simply to fill vacancies. It was to build lasting relationships, understand what people needed and create a recruitment experience where schools and education professionals felt valued, supported and listened to.

Today, being named a finalist for Micro Business of the Year at the SoGlos Gloucestershire Business Awards 2026 is a proud moment - but the real achievement lies in everything and everyone behind it.

Our greatest strength? Our people.

We believe a business is only as strong as the people behind it, and we couldn't be prouder of the team we've built.

Thrive Education is now supported by a fantastic team of seven, with every member bringing experience from within the education sector. We're a team of passionate practitioners who understand the realities of working in schools, the pressures of finding the right staff and the importance of getting recruitment right.

That shared experience makes a real difference.

We know that behind every vacancy is a school that needs support. Behind every application is a person looking for the right opportunity. And behind every placement is a relationship that deserves time, care and attention.

Our recruitment team doesn't simply match CVs to vacancies. They take the time to understand people, build relationships and support our community throughout their journey with us.

Sam, Gareth, Jade, Josh and Alicia have all played a huge part in shaping Thrive Education into the business it is today. Each has brought their own experience, personality and strengths, helping us grow while staying true to the values that matter most.

This business has been built by bringing the right people in at the right time - people who share our vision, care about education and understand that doing things properly matters.

We're not just a recruitment team. We're people who understand the sector, working together to make a difference.

The biggest compliment we've received

One of the things we're most proud of is that our community doesn't just trust us to find them work - they believe in what we're building.

In fact, one of the biggest compliments we've received is having one of our own supply staff choose to join our recruitment team.

Think about that for a moment.

Someone who has experienced Thrive from the supply side, who has trusted us to support their work and livelihood, has seen enough in the way we operate to want to become part of the team behind it.

For us, that speaks volumes.

It reflects the relationships we've built, the culture we're creating and the importance we place on treating people well. It demonstrates that our commitment to supporting education professionals isn't just something we say - it's something people experience.

When someone moves from being part of our supply community to helping us look after that same community, it brings our whole approach full circle.

And honestly, that means just as much to us as any award.

Our Thrive Community: More than a placement

At the heart of everything we do is our Thrive Community - the teachers, teaching assistants, support staff and other education professionals who trust us to support their careers and livelihoods.

We never take that trust lightly.

For many of the people we work with, supply work is more than simply picking up a shift. It's their income, their professional future and an important part of their lives. They deserve to know that the people supporting them understand that responsibility.

That's why we believe in being approachable, communicating honestly and treating every person as an individual.

We want our education professionals to feel confident that there's a team behind them — people who will listen, help them find opportunities that suit them and work hard to make sure they feel supported.

We also recognise the important role supply staff play in schools. They help maintain continuity, support pupils and give schools the flexibility they need. Their contribution matters, and they deserve a recruitment partner who recognises their value.

Our Thrive Community isn't just made up of people we place. It's made up of people we build relationships with, support and grow alongside.

That is what people-first recruitment means to us.

Building relationships with schools that last

The same principles apply to the schools we work with.

Every school has its own culture, challenges and priorities. Understanding those differences is essential to finding the right people, rather than simply filling a gap.

Our team's experience within education helps us appreciate the importance of reliability, communication and finding professionals who are the right fit for each setting.

We want schools to see us as a trusted partner they can turn to — a team that listens, responds and understands that staffing decisions have a direct impact on pupils, colleagues and the wider school community.

Strong relationships aren't built overnight. They develop through consistency, honest conversations and doing what you say you're going to do.

That's why we value long-term partnerships just as much as individual placements. Every opportunity to support a school is an opportunity to demonstrate the standards we believe in.

When schools, education professionals and our recruitment team work together, the result is about far more than recruitment. It's about creating the right environments for people to do their best work.

From one award to a team achievement

Winning Best Newcomer of the Year in 2017 was a significant personal milestone. Becoming a SoGlos Micro Business of the Year finalist in 2026 represents something different: the progress of a business built by and around people.

It's a chance to recognise the contribution of everyone who has helped Thrive Education grow.

It's about Sam, Gareth, Jade, Josh and Alicia, and the commitment they bring to the team. It's about our wider recruitment team of seven, whose shared education-sector experience helps us understand the people we support. It's about every school that has trusted us, every professional who has worked with us and every person who has recommended us to someone else.

Most of all, it's about the relationships that have brought us here.

As an independent business, we know that growth comes with challenges. But we've always believed that bringing the right people together, staying true to our values and focusing on what genuinely matters will take us in the right direction.

We're proud to be a small business with a strong team, a clear purpose and a community that means so much to us.

A huge thank you to our Thrive Community

No business grows in isolation, and we wouldn't be where we are today without the people around us.

To our recruitment team: thank you for the passion, knowledge and care you bring to your work.

To our schools: thank you for trusting us with your staffing needs and allowing us to play a part in your communities.

To our teachers, teaching assistants and support staff: thank you for trusting Thrive Education to support your work and livelihoods. We know that trust is earned, and we remain committed to looking after it.

To everyone who has recommended us, worked with us, supported us or been part of our journey in any way: thank you. You have all helped shape the business we are today.

From Best Newcomer in 2017 to SoGlos finalist in 2026, we're incredibly proud of how far we've come. But we're even prouder of the people who have made that journey possible.

The recognition is a fantastic milestone. The team we've built and the community we've grown are what make it truly meaningful.

We're Thrive Education Recruitment. We're built on people, strengthened by relationships and proud to stand alongside our Thrive Community.

And we're only just getting started.

Wish us luck for the SoGlos Awards on 5th November! We’re incredibly proud to be finalists and can’t wait to celebrate alongside so many fantastic Gloucestershire businesses!

#TeamThrive #ThriveCommunity