Bounce Back!

Social and Emotional Learning -Bounce Back!

Bounce Back! is an evidence-based program that was created in response to research which identified the most significant coping skills that help young people to become more resilient. The aims of the program are to:

• Maximise student engagement in learning through a literature-based approach
• Contribute to a pro-social school culture
• Promote positive relationships and develop social skills
• Develop resilience skills that contribute to wellbeing
• Develop pro-social values

There are two key components to Bounce Back!: Core Values and The Bounce Back! acronym.

The Core Values include: integrity; fairness and responsibility; support, kindness and compassion; cooperation; acceptance of diversity and not judging others; respect; and friendliness.

The Bounce Back! acronym outlines the ten key coping statements:

Bad times don’t last

Other people can help if you talk to them

Unhelpful thinking makes you feel more upset

Nobody is perfect – not you, not others

Concentrate on the good bits, no matter how small, and use laughter

Everybody experiences sadness, hurt, failure, jrection and setbacks sometimes, not just you

Blame fairly

Accept the things you can’t change, but try to change what you can first

Catastrophising exaggerates worries

Keep things in perspective

The school gathers resilience data annually through two Bounce Back! student surveys. The data is collated and presented to staff. One survey measures levels of student resilience and is used to plan teaching emphases. The other measures classroom dynamics and is used to reflect on classroom practice and teacher characteristics.