Resilience
'Resilience is at the heart of wellbeing, success and long term mental health'.
We all experience life’s up’s and downs and have situations in our lives that are more difficult than others. The ability to thrive and look after our wellbeing during these times is called resilience!
Resilience, what's it all about?
For children and young people, resilience is about taking steps to deal with pressure, cope with life’s challenges and reduce the impact that stress can have on their lives. Yet, it is not just about a young person’s ability to ‘bounce back’, but their ability to adapt and stay motivated during challenging circumstances, whilst maintaining health and wellbeing. It supports social development, academic achievement and can help to protect against the development of some mental health conditions by helping to maintain wellbeing during hard times.
How do we improve resilience
Resilience isn’t a personality trait – it’s something that can change over time and that we can all take steps to achieve. Resilience can be taught, learned and improved and the elements that build resilience can be introduced into everyday life.
Learn new things – take up a hobby, volunteer or participate in sport or leisure activities
Look after your physical health by being active, getting enough sleep and eating healthy
Give yourself a break by rewarding your achievements, being kind to yourself and learning from your mistakes
Build up your support networks at home, school and through community activities
Resilience in schools
Schools are a key place to teach children and young people about resilience. They are a place where they can learn relevant and useful ways to build their resilience alongside their peers as part of their education. Failing a test, falling out with friends or not being chosen as part of a team may prove a challenge, however by developing the skills and support needed, they will learn to deal with academic setbacks and social challenges that are common within daily school life.
Resources for Schools on Building Resilience
Time to Change
Free resources available to download to support conversations about mental health and building resilience, including assemblies, campaign toolkits, session plan and display materials
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