Whilst mental health problems can affect us at any stage of our lives, there is a higher risk of, and rapid increase in, mental health difficulties during early adolescence (10-14 years). A universal approach that focuses on early intervention and prevention could provide a sustainable solution for promoting mental health and greater resilience in adolescents.
Our proposed solution is a new and exciting initiative called the ‘Resilience Rucksack’. This project is inspired by the baby box in Scotland, in which every new born baby receives a box comprising essential items to support a healthy start in life. Akin to the baby box, our vision is that young people transitioning from primary to secondary school will receive a rucksack containing items that research has identified as beneficial for adolescent’s mental health and wellbeing. The initial phase of the project involved co-producing and co-designing wellbeing items/tools with young people and their relevant representatives (school teachers/staff, parents/guardians) using a robust research evidence approach. Following the initial design and pilot stages, we are now organizing a series of Resilience Fairs in local schools and youth organisations in which researchers and mental health professionals will set up booths illustrating evidence-based approaches for building resilience and maintaining wellbeing. Each booth will contain relevant items that young people will be able to choose for their rucksack. Ultimately, we hope the Resilience Rucksack initiative will provide a unique opportunity to engage young people in dialogue surrounding mental health, as well as promoting greater mental health literacy and awareness.
Click on the front cover below to see a colourful flipbook of our journey from the start:
The wellbeing tools in production
In the Resilience Rucksack initiative, young people transitioning from primary to secondary school will receive a ‘Resilience Rucksack’ containing items that support themes or ‘ingredients’ which research has identified as beneficial for adolescents mental health and wellbeing.
Following literature reviews, steering group consultations, and surveys, four themes or ‘ingredients’ emerged: Healthy Sleep Practices, Physical Activity, Social Support & Relationships, and Self Compassion.
In a series of co-production workshops with young people, we identified wellbeing tools that will best help support these themes. These tools are now in production! For example, please see here for updates on our colourful graphic comic in progress, or here for updates on our pop song that is now released on all major platforms! Listen now on Spotify!
Full list of the RR wellbeing tools:
Sleep Well, Being – our colourful graphic comic – supporting the ‘healthy sleep practices’ theme
Somni – The RR Sleep & Daylight song – our upbeat pop song – supporting the ‘healthy sleep practices’ theme. Click here to listen now on Spotify!
The Journal kit – supporting the ‘Physical activity’ theme
The Friendship Tree – supporting the ‘Social support & relationships’ theme
The RR Playing Cards – supporting the ‘Social support & relationships’ theme
The Stress Ball – supporting the Self-compassion theme
The RR Self-Kindness Journal – supporting the Self-compassion theme
Stepping forward: our stop-motion animation! – managing the Year 6-7 transition
Customising the wellbeing tools – making the tools your own! – children can choose from a range of stickers and keychains to customise their own tools and resilience rucksack.
Design the Resilience Rucksack competition
In June-July 2023, we ran a ‘design the resilience rucksack’ competition. Our Steering Consultation group put forward the suggestion that the young people themselves could design the Resilience Rucksack, which we thought was a fantastic idea. We therefore set up a competition for young people to design the rucksack/bag that they thought pupils in Years 6 and 7 would find most appealing and fun to use.
Please see our competition flyer below and the full terms and conditions for our competition at the following link: Design Resilience Rucksack Prize Competition terms and conditions
Further details of our competitions and the winning entries will be announced on our website shortly.
Core Team:
You can find more details and a presentation about the project below:
Reading Resilience Rucksack at School Gala Day
Reading Resilience Rucksack was thrilled to participate in the School Gala Day arranged by the Edinburgh International Book Festival on August 29, 2023. It was an exciting opportunity for us to engage with the school community, share information about our project, and involve participants in a meaningful activity.
During the School Gala Day, we organized an engaging activity that allowed participants to visualize what they would like to see added to their personal resilience rucksack. This activity not only sparked creativity but also encouraged self-reflection and the identification of important qualities and skills. Participants were provided with art supplies to draw and illustrate their ideas. The artwork and ideas generated during this activity were both insightful and inspiring.
