Lucy Bailey, the Founder of Bounce Forward, conducted a workshop as part of the Gravity Smart Campus development which benefits from an integrated Environment and Social Governance (ESG) policy and Skills Charter. This provides a focus on local training and development to shape a future workforce to meet occupier needs
Bounce Forward is a UK charity home to experts in psychological fitness. The workshop focused on the ‘Resilient Futures‘ programme, which is designed to equip young adults aged 16 to 25 with the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive.
The Resilient Futures session hosted at Bridgwater & Taunton College is part of Bounce Forward’s “train the trainer” model which equips local stakeholders with their own “Resilient Futures” champions. The provision will support the development of a future workforce for Gravity and wider Somerset.
Gravity’s Claire Pearce and Salamanca Group’s Esther Croft were joined in attendance by staff from across Bridgwater & Taunton College, representatives from Stantec and Bristol Port.
The core focus of the session was to build mental resilience and emotional wellbeing, using hope theory as the structure to the programme. The content is appropriate for schools and colleges and can be extended to support the workforce including employers working with young people, indeed everyone can benefits from the principles covered. This session continues to build upon the Gravity sponsorship of Bounce Forward during the pandemic to work in local schools and colleges, this training will help to further embed and strengthen skills to develop a workforce for the future.
100% of session attendees agreed or strongly agreed with four impact statements:
- I found the training useful personally.
- It has prepared me to facilitate Resilient Futures.
- It will be useful for the young adults I work with.
- I would recommend Resilient Futures to others.
Ideas for implementation included; for delivery of training to staff and students, applying the content to future STEM events, aligning with other offers where Resilience Futures would complement, and a working group has been established to plan dissemination strategically.
Feedback from attendees
‘What I’ve learnt today will be invaluable to all, on a personal level, educational and occupational. Thank you for this opportunity to develop my skills in order to better support others.”
“I liked the fact that it is about empowering students and giving us a tool kit to help them improve their psychological fitness.”
“Particularly enjoyed the variety of attendees and differing experiences.”
This is Gravity’s Director – Planning & Economic Development, Claire Pearce commented: “Seeing Bounce Forward continue its important work following their introduction to the locality in 2021 is important to us and continues to build a positive legacy. Building the confidence of local young people is a critical component in the creation of a happy healthy workforce of tomorrow. We look forward to seeing further partnerships between stakeholders and schools to support our young people into the future”
Bounce Forward Founder & Chair, Lucy Bailey commented: “It was wonderful to have a broad mix of organisations and experience in the room together. So many rich conversations and having been equipped with a full suite of learning resources, those attending shared lots of creative ideas for taking the work forward. What we offer at Bounce Forward will add value and complement the full range of support already available to students at the college and I am excited to see how it evolves.”
Bridgwater & Taunton College Executive Project Lead, Chris Ridgwell commented “We were pleased to be able to host this event through the Local Skills Improvement Fund; bringing together employers from our region who are supporting young people as they begin their careers.
Bounce Forward’s expertise has given our employees the skills and abilities to support their colleagues, demonstrating the significant impact of such partnerships on local skills development.”
Learn more about Bounce Forward’s work in Bridgwater here.
Visit the Bounce Forward website here.
About Bounce Forward
Bounce Forward is a national charity delivering inspiring and practical train the trainer programmes to develop the next generations of psychologically fit children who will become psychologically fit adults. Our training programmes engage teachers, parents and others around children and young people to develop psychological fitness. Psychological fitness combines mental resilience and emotional wellbeing, both key attributes needed for success in the 21st century. We provide a framework of skills, based on a development model so that young people are better placed to face the complexities of tomorrow and make the most of their future. Our core offer is a five-year, evidence-based curriculum that can be embedded in the secondary school offer. Our impact and passion go beyond the delivery of training and teaching resources – at the heart of our work is research and we are driving a movement to influence UK policy around education to form a positive system of change. (Charity number: 1170591).
