What is the BOUNCE Programme
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The BOUNCE Programme Online
Created by child psychologists and mental health experts, and shaped by schools.
The BOUNCE Programme is a science-informed, impactful, and adaptable wellbeing curriculum that helps children build the emotional skills and mentally healthy habits they need to thrive — in school and in life.
Designed by mental health experts and tested in real classrooms, BOUNCE supports schools to deliver a whole-child, whole-school approach to resilience and emotional growth.
Equipping all with BOUNCE core skills
At the heart of the BOUNCE Programme is the belief that emotional wellbeing grows best when everyone is supported — not just the child. That’s why we equip pupils, parents, and teachers with shared skills, language, and strategies they can use every day.
Pupils
Increased resilience and confidence in navigating challenges.
Parents and Carers
Greater confidence in supporting children’s big emotions.
Education Staff
Equipped with tools to manage emotional wellbeing in classrooms.
How Children Grow with BOUNCE
Emotional skills take time to build — just like reading or maths. The BOUNCE Programme supports children to grow these skills step by step, with age-appropriate teaching, clear progression, and regular opportunities to practise and reflect.
Skill-Level Badges: A Milestone Each Year
Every year, children work towards one of six BOUNCE skill-level badges, each one representing a new stage in their emotional development:
Starter - Starting to use feeling words (R-Y1)
Spotter – Spotting how I feel and trying things that help (Y2)
Explorer – My brain & calming big feelings to think more clearly (Y3)
Navigator – Growing confidence to face challenges(Y4)
Adventurer – Healthy relationships & growing independence (Y5)
Trailblazer - Looking forward, leading the way & helping others (Y6)
The badges mark real emotional growth and give pupils a strong sense of achievement and progress.
A Growing Journey Through BOUNCE
These five skill levels sit within four broader sections of the BOUNCE journey, each tailored to match children’s developmental stage.
These sections can be purchased flexibly, either altogether building a spiral curriculum and shared language across the whole school, or separately depending on your schools needs and resources.
For school wanting to take a first step on The BOUNCE Programme, we would recommend starting with Little BOUNCE or Learn2BOUNCE building foundation skills from the youngest upwards.
10 Core Skills & 6 Healthy Habits That Build Over Time
Children gradually develop 10 core emotional skills, from learning to press pause in difficult moments to recognising unhelpful thoughts, asking for help, solving problems, and more.
These skills are developmentally sequenced across the five levels, with each year building on the last — allowing children to deepen their self-awareness, emotional control, and coping strategies as they grow.
Alongside their core skills, children also learn 6 mentally healthy habits that teach them how to look after their mental health and strengthen wellbeing over the long term.
The Result?
By the time children earn their Trailblazer badge and complete BOUNCE Higher in Year 6, they’ve developed a strong foundation of emotional skills and habits to take with them into secondary school — ready to face life’s ups and downs with confidence and care.
More about how BOUNCE grows
BOUNCE grows as your pupils grow. Developing knowledge, language and application in ways that are engaging and relevant for different developmental ages. There are four distinct sections of BOUNCE that can be used together for a fully comprehensive whole school emotional wellbeing and resilience programme or individually for a more adaptable or staged approach to BOUNCE.
1. Little BOUNCE (Infants)
Fun, engaging videos, activities and practical resources with cuddly Felix, the Feeling Finder & Calm Koala. For teachers, parents and pupils to all use together to:
- Learn vital facts about feelings
- Develop emotional vocabulary
- Spot feelings in me, my body & others
- Learn early skills to calm feelings
2. Learn2BOUNCE
(Year 3)
We use simple brain science to introduce pupils, teachers and parents to 4 Bounce friends to calm big feelings so we can think more clearly to solve problems!
- Daily habits to look after mental health
- Brain science to understand feelings
- 4 BOUNCE friends to calm big feelings
- When & how to ask for help with feelings
3. BOUNCE
(Year 4)
Having learnt to calm, we teach teachers, pupils and parents 6 resiliency skills to help children to learn and grow as they face challenges in everyday life including:
- School Work
- Friendships
- Exams
- Transitions
BOUNCE Higher
Years 5 & 6
Having learnt the 10 core BOUNCE skills and 6 mentally healthy habits, these years are all about building confidence and expertise by applying these skills in a wide range of situations, such as school work, friendships, exams, and transition times.
In Year 6, there are also resources and lessons for reducing anxiety and worries, and building confidence in a range of areas, such as social confidence, body confidence.
Building a shared language and understanding
When pupils, staff and parents share the same skills and language around emotional wellbeing, it creates lasting, whole-school change. Research shows this joined-up approach is one of the most effective ways to build resilience and help every child thrive. The BOUNCE Programme makes this possible through practical, engaging resources that support pupils – and equip staff and parents to care for their own wellbeing too.
Schools often tell us the ripple effect goes beyond the classroom, with staff using the skills in their own lives and families.
Whole-School BOUNCE Toolkit
From policy to practice, we make it easy to integrate The BOUNCE Programme into your whole-school approach. Our toolkit includes:
- Guidance & Templates for behaviour, regulation, and wellbeing policies
- Curriculum Links aligned with PSHE Association outcomes and 5 Ways to Wellbeing
- Parent Engagement Tools – flyers, videos, newsletter entries, and handouts
- Staff Training Resources – videos, scripts, and Q&A guides on resilience, mental health and BOUNCE core skills
- Visual Prompts – staff lanyards, classroom posters, and skill reminders
- Staff Wellbeing Materials – exercises, reflection tools, and support signposting
- Evaluation Tools - to help you track impact over time
Every resource is designed to help you build consistency, confidence and culture – so BOUNCE can thrive across your school community.
BOUNCE@Home
Bite sized videos, parenting scripts, practical resources to increase parent and carer confidence talking about feelings, as well as build a shared whole school language so children are supported in the same way both at home and school. Focused on key topics:
- Talking with children about feelings
- How to help your child listen to you
- Supporting your child with anxiety
- Sleep
BOUNCE skills are useful for all so in learning about how to help their children, parents and carers are learning how to look after their mental health and feelings too!
