The SPIRIT Framework is built around ten transversal skills that we believe can help today’s children prepare for tomorrow’s world. Rather than exploring them all at once, this series takes a moment to reflect on each one individually. Together, these ten skills form the heart of the framework: emotional awareness, regulation and communication; creativity; problem-solving; critical thinking; resilience; flexibility; curiosity, sense of wonder and openness; empathy; valuing people and nature; and connectedness. This time, we turn our attention to resilience – a skill that is often described as the ability to “bounce back,” but perhaps is better understood as learning how to keep moving forward.

Every child will encounter moments that are difficult. A friendship may change. A math problem may seem impossible. A football match may be lost, or a carefully built model may fall apart just before it is finished. Our instinct as adults is often to protect children from disappointment whenever we can. Yet the SPIRIT Framework reminds us that resilience is not developed by avoiding challenges, but by learning how to face them with support, confidence and hope. It describes resilience as the ability to adapt to difficulties through emotional, mental and behavioural flexibility, recognising that this capacity grows not only from within the child but also through the relationships and environments that surround them. Family, teachers, friends and school communities all play a role in helping children discover that setbacks do not define them—they help shape them.

Like every transversal skill, resilience develops gradually. Between the ages of six and ten, children begin learning how to calm themselves after frustration, persevere when something feels difficult, adapt to change and seek support when they need it. Over time, they become more confident in solving problems, maintaining friendships and viewing mistakes as opportunities to learn rather than reasons to give up. The framework also reminds us that optimism, self-awareness, adaptability and supportive relationships are not separate qualities—they work together to strengthen resilience throughout childhood and beyond. In classrooms where effort is recognised, mistakes are treated as part of learning and perseverance is celebrated as much as achievement, children gradually develop the confidence to face new challenges with greater independence.

Perhaps resilience is not about raising children who never struggle. Perhaps it is about helping them discover that struggle does not mean they are failing. It means they are growing. If education can give children the confidence to believe that setbacks are part of learning rather than the end of the journey, then it offers something that reaches far beyond the classroom—an inner confidence they can carry with them throughout their lives.