Resilient Futures: an individual and system-level approach to embedding wellbeing and resilience in Flexible Learning Options (FLO) settings.

The SAHMRI Wellbeing and Resilience Centre is undertaking a large-scale wellbeing and resilience project across South Australia, titled Resilient Futures. Spanning three years, the project seeks to measure and build the wellbeing and resilience of over 1,000 young people from disadvantaged areas, aged 16-20, who have disengaged from mainstream education. The program content is founded on the TechWerks Resilience Skills but with specific adaptations made concerning developmental capacity, trauma-informed principles and social exclusion determinants.
The multi-site implementation has been underpinned by a growth-focused intentional practice model that is founded upon positive psychology and mindfulness. This model, and supporting training program, provides FLO teachers, case-managers, and mentors the ‘how to’ knowledge to build resilience skills in young people through both explicit (e.g. direct training) and implicit (e.g. moment-to-moment relationship exchanges) learning. The program and intentional approach is a case study of how resilience skills can be taught to young people at-scale in unique contexts.