SPCK Assemblies - Bouncing Forwards

Bouncing Forwards

Developing resilience

by Claire Law

Suitable for Whole School (Sec)

Aims

To consider how resilience can help us to solve problems and find ways to bounce forwards.

Preparation and materials

You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Bouncing Forwards) and the means to display them.
Have available the video ‘Essex lockdown one-man choir of nine singers’ and the means to show it during the assembly. It is 1.39 minutes long and is available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-essex-56133362
Optional: more information about building resilience is available at: https://tinyurl.com/zcbd7stm

Assembly

Show Slide 1 as you welcome the students to the assembly.
Show Slide 2.

There’s no doubt about it: life is tough at times. We face all sorts of hurdles, obstacles and challenges every day. Sometimes, these feel like mountains to climb or huge potholes to navigate. It can be tempting to give in when we feel like that.
In today’s assembly, we’re going to look at another way of handling difficulty. We’re going to find ways to think outside the box, try something different and adapt. This kind of approach is called ‘resilience’: it means bouncing back, or even bouncing forwards, when faced with some difficulty.

Show Slide 3.
Let’s look at someone who showed great resilience when faced with a challenge. Bobby Goulder, a 26-year-old musician from Essex, faced a challenge that could have seen him giving in and giving up. Instead, he found a creative solution to a problem by being adaptable and resilient. The video explains more.

Show the video ‘Essex lockdown one-man choir of nine singers’ (1.39 minutes long).
Bobby found a way to continue working as a musician by using technology to record the nine different melody lines of the choral music that he would normally be performing with other singers. Despite the huge challenges that Covid-19 restrictions presented, Bobby was able to adapt, be creative and find ways to problem-solve. He showed real resilience.
Research tells us that a resilient attitude is a key predictor of our well-being. Like many things in life, developing resilience is something that we improve at the more we practise. In recent years, there has been a lot of research about how people can increase and develop their own sense of resilience.

One of the findings of that research is the Resilience Framework, which sets out 42 different resilient moves. Each move offers a simple step towards increased resilience and flexibility when we face challenges.
Show Slide 4.

Let’s take a look at the framework. The resilient moves fall under five broad headings of Basics, Belonging, Learning, Coping and Core self. If we look carefully, we can see that some of the resilient moves are similar to the sorts of qualities and actions that Bobby Goulder demonstrated.

In making his nine-part choir recording to be used at the funeral, Bobby’s resilient moves included:

- predicting a good experience when trying something new
- organising himself
- solving problems
- finding time for his talents
- being brave
There are plenty of resilient moves that we can build into everyday life to help us to practise the skill of bouncing forwards when we face a problem or a challenge. Each resilient move helps to strengthen our resilience muscle so that, in time, it becomes easier to bounce forwards when we face a challenge.

Let’s analyse four resilient moves that we could try today.
Show Slide 5.

Moving our bodies and spending time outdoors contribute to our sense of well-being. Exercise - and, in particular, outdoor exercise - has been shown to boost our physical and mental health. An invigorating walk leaves us feeling more optimistic about our own capabilities and better able to manage problems when they arise. Outdoor exercise also helps us to connect with the world around us and to get a sense of perspective on any problems.
Show Slide 6.

A sense of community and belonging helps us to feel less alone, less isolated. We feel most secure when we are connected with people we trust. Positive friendships enrich our life and contribute to a feeling that we can get through challenges ‘with a little help from our friends’. Spending time fostering and developing friendships will help us to feel more resilient in the face of challenge.
Show Slide 7.

Learning a new skill contributes to a sense of self-confidence. We realize that we can rise to a challenge, even when we find it tricky to begin with. Developing life skills such as learning to cook a new dish or using YouTube to master a drawing technique, create a hairstyle or even learn a language can convince us that we can overcome challenges and have the skills to do so.
Show Slide 8.
When life is tough, it can help to remind ourselves that we get a fresh start every day. When we approach each day as a new start, we give ourselves permission to try again. That can help us to be resilient and to keep going rather than give in.

Time for reflection

Let’s pause to think about how we can develop our own sense of resilience.

Let’s try to think of a challenge or difficulty that we are facing right now.

It’s important to recognize that this challenge is difficult in some way: it is a challenge. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be a challenge.

Now, let’s take time to think about some of the resilient moves that we’ve covered today. Some might be a good fit to help us with our issue, whereas others will be less relevant. That’s OK because, to begin bouncing forwards, all we have to do is take one resilient move. One step is a great start.

So, with the challenge that we have in mind, let’s see if we can think of a creative way to approach the problem, a bit like we saw Bobby Goulder doing.

Pause to allow time for thought.

- Can we take any steps to organize ourselves to help with this challenge?