From School to Life
From School to Life — Helping Young People Build Their Future Today What young people believe is possible shapes the adults they become. UK children rank 69th out of 72 countries for life satisfaction. The choices, habits and self-belief formed during adolescence leave a long arm into adult outcomes — work, relationships, earning potential and health. From School to Life helps schools change that. This nine-lesson curriculum helps young people connect who they are today with who they want to become — and identify the everyday actions that can get them there. It's not enough to tell young people to aim high. These lessons give them the tools to picture it, plan it and take the small daily steps that make it real. Difficulty is normalised, aspiration is made tangible, and young people leave with a genuine sense of direction. Part of the Bounce Forward Healthy Minds suite — evidence-based, developmentally sequenced, and built for real life. The gap between academic success and a person's perceived perception of what is possible led to the creation of the School to Jobs intervention led by Dr Daphne Oyserman who kindly allowed us to redesign it as From School to Life.
Lessons
9 lessons in this module.
Being Part of a Group and My Adult Self
Opening lesson building class rapport through group tasks. Students select images representing the adult they want to be across four life domains: work, family, lifestyle, and community.
Positive and Negative Role Models
Students identify positive and negative role models across the four adult domains and explore how these influences shape future success. Introduces the Future Me worksheet.
Bucket List and Timelines
Students create personal wishlist bucket lists then begin personal future timelines, identifying forks in the road, obstacles, and roadblocks between present day and adult goals.
Timelines Continued
Students complete and share personal timelines in small groups. Discussion draws out themes around planning, getting information, and breaking future goals into manageable steps.
Actions
Distinguishes dreams from possible selves and introduces specific action-setting. Students write clear, time-bound actions for each adult life domain linked to their timeline goals.
Possible Selves
Students create poster boards visualising their next-year positive and negative possible selves, then select strategies and actions to reach positive outcomes and avoid negative ones.
Adult Possible Selves
Extends possible selves thinking to the long-term adult future. Students complete the adult side of their poster board, connecting present actions to adult aspirations.
Solving Everyday Problems
Introduces structured problem-solving for everyday school-related challenges. Students apply resilience skills to real problems, recognising that seeking help promptly is a strength.
Looking Forward
Final From School to Life lesson connecting present choices to future goals. Students reflect on how resilience skills, role models, timelines, and actions work together to support their futures.