Teach Mental Resilience
Build resilience from the inside out
Teach Mental Resilience - Building Foundations That Last a Lifetime Resilience isn't about being happy all the time. Real life is messier than that. It's about having the skills to cope and even thrive, when things get tough. Built on sound theory from positive psychology, cognitive behavioural therapy, efficacy and explanatory style. Informed originally from the evidence of the Penn Resilience Programme and reinforced through the Education Endowment Foundations's Healthy Minds Randomised Controlled Trial designed for primary aged children.
Modules and lessons
Explore the curriculum
Browse modules in order, then open any lesson for its summary, learning outcomes, and supporting resources.
Teach Mental Resilience
Teach Mental Resilience is Bounce Forward's primary curriculum — a six-module series that gives children the knowledge, skills and language to navigate life and the rapidly changing world of the 21st century. Developed from sound research and designed to be genuinely engaging, it takes children on a practical journey of self-discovery that helps them express themselves and empathise with others. The modules build progressively — from understanding emotions and how the brain works, through identifying unhelpful thinking patterns (Gremlins), developing optimism and perspective, and finally connecting it all to their own future. Each module is delivered in order, with professional training built in, because this approach is proven to improve teaching quality and learning outcomes. The earlier children develop psychological fitness, the stronger the foundation for everything that follows — learning, relationships, wellbeing and resilience through adolescence and beyond. This curriculum sits alongside academic subjects, not instead of them, making mental resilience part of everyday school life from the start.
Resilience & Harnessing Positive Emotions Primary
This foundational lesson introduces students to the concept of mental resilience and explores how positive emotions can be cultivated and used as a resource. Students learn what resilience means, why it matters, and how emotions — particularly positive ones — play a crucial role in building mental strength and wellbeing.
Connecting the Brain, Emotions & Thoughts Primary
Students explore the relationship between the brain, emotions, and thinking patterns. This lesson demystifies how the brain processes emotional experiences and how our thoughts are deeply intertwined with how we feel, helping students understand the science behind their emotional responses.
Introducing Gremlin Beliefs Primary
This lesson introduces the concept of 'Gremlin Beliefs' — the unhelpful, often automatic negative thoughts and beliefs that undermine confidence and resilience. Students learn to identify their own gremlins and understand how these beliefs can hold them back, as a first step towards challenging them.
Optimism & Evidence Primary
Building on the gremlin beliefs lesson, this session introduces optimism as a learnable skill. Students discover how to use evidence-based thinking to challenge negative thought patterns and cultivate a more balanced, optimistic outlook — not toxic positivity, but realistic, grounded hope.
WoBbLe The Big Worries Primary
WoBbLe is a memorable framework that helps students understand that life's ups and downs are normal and manageable. This lesson teaches students to embrace wobbles as part of growth and to use the WoBbLe model as a practical tool for maintaining balance during challenging times.
Resilience Planning Primary
The culminating lesson of the Teach Mental Resilience course, this session brings together everything students have learned to create a personal Resilience Plan. Students reflect on their journey through the course and build a practical, personalised toolkit for maintaining and growing their resilience going forward.
About the organisation
Bounce Forward
Bounce Forward is a registered charity on a mission to transform how we think about mental health, shifting the narrative from deficit and crisis to strength, prevention, and psychological fitness. They create evidence-based programmes, curricula, and training that give young people, school staff, and the adults around children the knowledge, language, and daily habits to build genuine mental resilience. From whole-staff training to five-year school curricula, everything they do is practical, grounded in science, and designed to make a lasting difference not just in the moment, but across a lifetime.