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FORGE

Social and Emotional Learning Program

Forming Opportunities for Resilience, Growth and Empowerment

At Alta1, we know that academic learning alone isn’t enough for young people to thrive. That’s why every student takes part in FORGE, our social and emotional learning (SEL) program designed to help them build confidence, manage life’s challenges, and grow into resilient, empowered individuals.

Through interactive lessons, practical activities, and real conversations, students learn how to understand their emotions, connect with others, and strengthen their wellbeing. It’s not about behaviour management it’s about building the life skills and emotional tools every young person needs to succeed.

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FORGE-Belonging
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Why FORGE matters

Adolescence is a time of enormous change emotionally, socially, and neurologically. FORGE helps students make sense of these changes by creating safe opportunities to explore identity, belonging, and purpose.

Students learn to:

  • Build emotional regulation and resilience
  • Strengthen identity and self-esteem
  • Develop empathy and compassion
  • Create healthy relationships
  • Set goals and problem solve collaboratively
  • Take ownership of their wellbeing and growth
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We don’t just teach emotional intelligence, we help students experience it in real time.
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How FORGE works.

FORGE is woven through every Alta1 program – Middle School, Senior School and ConnectEd and delivered by trained facilitators, chaplains, and wellbeing staff in small, relational settings.

Each module builds on the Stronger Systems Model (SSM), helping students strengthen the four systems that support lifelong learning and wellbeing:

  • Safety & Trust: Feeling secure enough to engage and learn
  • Belonging & Relationships: Building meaningful, respectful connections
  • Confidence & Motivation: Discovering personal strengths and purpose
  • Purpose & Pathways: Setting direction for the future
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Module One: Belonging

The first FORGE module, Belonging, explores what it means to be seen, connected and supported and why belonging is essential for learning and life.

Students explore:

  • Identity formation: “Who am I?” and “Where do I fit?”
  • Empathy and inclusion: respecting difference and celebrating diversity
  • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: understanding how wellbeing underpins learning
  • Team and trust activities: learning through connection and fun
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Activities such as The Cups and Downs of Life, All About Me Collage, and The Iceberg Identity Project help students translate concepts into lived experience rebuilding confidence, social skills, and the ability to self-regulate in a supportive environment.

Research that shapes FORGE

FORGE draws from leading social and emotional learning research and trauma-informed education practice:

  • The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines SEL as the process through which students “develop healthy identities, manage emotions, achieve goals, feel and show empathy, establish positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.” Evidence shows SEL programs improve academic performance by 11 percentile points, reduce emotional distress, and increase pro-social behaviour. (CASEL, 2023 Meta-Analysis)
  • The OECD’s Future of Education report highlights SEL as one of the top predictors of life success, noting that emotional regulation and social connection are “stronger long-term indicators of wellbeing and employability than cognitive ability alone.”
  • Australian research (DEST & AITSL, 2020) confirms that SEL interventions improve student engagement, attendance, and behaviour — especially in trauma-affected and neurodiverse cohorts.

These findings align with Alta1’s trauma-informed, relational model, making FORGE both evidence-based and distinctly human.

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What makes FORGE different

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Trauma-informed and inclusive

FORGE is written through a trauma-aware and neurodiversity-affirming lens, ensuring every student regardless of background, identity, or learning difference can safely explore their emotions and experiences.

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Practical and creative

Students don’t just talk about emotions they experience, reflect and apply through art, games, journaling, and guided conversation.

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Facilitated by trained staff

FORGE is delivered by regulated adults - staff trained to model calm, safety and empathy - creating environments where co-regulation can lead to self-regulation.

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Real-world growth

Students leave each module with tangible tools they can use beyond school for friendships, family life, study, and work.

The impact we see

Students participating in FORGE consistently report:

  • Greater confidence and self-awareness
  • Improved relationships with peers and staff
  • Better ability to manage anxiety and conflict
  • A stronger sense of purpose and belonging
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I’ve learnt how to calm down when I feel overwhelmed and that I don’t have to go through things alone.

— Student, FORGE participant

Where FORGE fits

FORGE runs across all Alta1 programs

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Middle School
Developing belonging and emotional literacy
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Senior School
Building resilience, purpose and leadership
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ConnectEd
Embedding wellbeing into online and in-home learning

Education Reimagined

A foundation for life

FORGE isn’t just a program it’s a pathway to healthier, more connected living. By giving young people the tools to understand themselves and others, we help them not only succeed at school, but thrive in life.

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