Teaching children and adults how to BOUNCE back

Published on
07 May 2021

Our BOUNCE service in Northern Ireland supports children and adults build resilience and deal with the ups and downs of life. Read more about it's work.

Barnardo’s NI has been delivering the BOUNCE programme as part of their 'Time 4 Me' school counselling service. This has been across six primary schools in the Colin area, through support from the Urban Villages initiative and the Colin Neighbourhood Partnership. The Time 4 Me schools’ counselling service has been operating in the schools for over twelve years.

BOUNCE is a programme which teaches resilience, and helps children and adults to cope with the ups and downs of life. It adds to the whole school emphasis on emotional health and well-being, which has been even more important during this year of lockdown, restrictions and additional challenges. 

The Time 4 Me counsellors have been delivering the interactive workshops to children aged 8 to 11, either in person or via Zoom, in adherence to COVID guidelines, including the class bubbles. During the workshops the children discover what it means to be resilient and how we can all learn to ‘bounce back’ from tough situations.

What do the letters in BOUNCE stand for?

B – BUMPS happen in life

O – OTHERS can help

U – I am UNIQUE

N – I NEVER give up

C – I can COPE well

One pupil after participating in a BOUNCE workshop said:

"It’s really good, it helps people to be able to cope more when life is hard like it was for me. If you're sad you can learn ways to feel happier, and get over bumps and never give up. I like that I am unique. Also that others can help and I am not on my own. When I felt like I had a rock on my back, it was like getting it lifted off. Altogether BOUNCE is a brilliant idea."

The BOUNCE programme also provides a session for teachers on how to grow their own resilience and well-being, and a series of short videos are being produced to inform parents of the important role they play in helping their children to develop resilience.

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