Coaching-led learning
Guided questions, encouragement and feedback help students develop their own ideas.
Educators support independent thinking rather than simply providing ready-made solutions.
Innovation, Leadership & Entrepreneurship
Design Thinking
Understand people. Reimagine possibilities. Understand people, define challenges and prototype thoughtful solutions.
Proposed curriculumInnovation & Design · Explore
Register Your Interest Programme description
Understand people. Reimagine possibilities.
Design Thinking introduces students to a creative and human-centred approach to understanding problems and developing thoughtful solutions.
Students learn that meaningful innovation begins with curiosity, observation and understanding the experiences of others.
Through age-appropriate challenges, collaborative activities and guided experimentation, they explore how to identify needs, define problems, generate ideas and develop simple prototypes.
Rather than immediately jumping to solutions, students are encouraged to ask questions, listen carefully, consider different perspectives and explore what makes a problem worth solving.
The programme introduces students to practical design-thinking processes through activities such as observation, interviews, brainstorming, sketching, model-making and testing.
Students discover that their first idea is not necessarily their final solution. They learn how feedback, reflection and iteration can help improve a design.
Educators provide coaching and constructive guidance while encouraging students to develop their own ideas and take responsibility for their decisions.
The programme supports students who enjoy creative challenges, making things, collaboration and exploring how everyday experiences could be improved. Activities are adapted to different ages, interests and experience levels.
What students will learn
Purposeful skills, built through practice.
Identify meaningful problems
Consider the needs of others
Generate alternative ideas
Develop a simple prototype
Test and improve a design
Collaborate and communicate decisions
Reflect on their problem-solving process
The Forge difference
Why Families Choose Forge Innovation & Entrepreneurship
From curiosity to contribution—students develop ideas through guided inquiry, practical projects, feedback and reflection.
Real-world problem-solving
Students investigate meaningful challenges and explore practical ways to address them.
Learning connects to everyday experiences, communities and potential user needs.
Creativity & experimentation
Students generate ideas, experiment with solutions and learn through iteration.
Unsuccessful experiments can become useful sources of feedback and learning.
Teamwork & leadership
Collaborative challenges create opportunities to practise communication, initiative and responsibility.
Students may contribute through different strengths, personalities and roles.
Age-appropriate development
Learning challenges are matched to students' age, interests and experience.
Younger learners may use guided activities while experienced learners tackle more complex projects.
Meaningful project outcomes
Students work towards tangible projects that demonstrate their ideas and learning.
Projects may include prototypes, invention models, leadership projects, venture concepts and pitches; commercial outcomes are not promised.
Proposed innovation inquiry cycle
Find. Observe. Reimagine. Generate. Evaluate.
This course-specific inquiry cycle connects curiosity, human-centred observation, creative problem-solving, practical application and reflection. The academy-wide Explore · Build · Apply · Master progression remains authoritative.
01
Find
02
Observe
03
Reimagine
04
Generate
05
Evaluate
Curriculum
Core learning, clearly connected.
Each area is developed through guided explanation, practical work, testing and reflection.
Learning area 1
Understanding people and identifying their needs.
Learning area 2
Observing situations and defining meaningful challenges.
Learning area 3
Generating and exploring different ideas.
Learning area 4
Developing simple models and prototypes.
Learning area 5
Testing ideas and responding to feedback.
Learning area 6
Communicating design decisions and reflecting on improvements.
Proposed eight-session curriculum
A clear journey from first practice to final reflection.
This introductory term sequence is proposed and pending founder curriculum approval.
- Session 1
Discovering Design Thinking
Students explore how design can improve everyday experiences and participate in a simple creative problem-solving challenge.
- Session 2
Understanding People
Students practise observing, listening and asking appropriate questions. They explore how different people may experience the same situation differently.
- Session 3
Defining the Challenge
Students identify a specific problem or opportunity and develop a clear, age-appropriate problem statement.
- Session 4
Generating Possibilities
Students use brainstorming, sketching and idea-generation techniques to explore alternative solutions.
- Session 5
Choosing and Developing an Idea
Students compare possible solutions using criteria such as usefulness, practicality and user needs, then select an idea to develop.
- Session 6
Building a Prototype
Students create a physical, visual or digital representation of their proposed solution.
- Session 7
Testing and Improving
Students gather appropriate feedback, evaluate their prototype and make improvements.
- Session 8
Design Thinking Showcase
Students present their challenge, design process, prototype and learning reflection.
Student project
The Everyday Improvement Challenge
Students select an age-appropriate challenge connected to school, home, community or everyday life—such as an organisation system, accessible classroom resource, common school problem or everyday object. They create a problem statement, summary of user needs, several possible ideas, a prototype, a record of feedback and improvements, and a final presentation. Proposed solutions are not represented as implemented in real organisations.
Core skills and outcomes
Learning students can explain and apply.
Identify meaningful problems
Consider the needs of others
Generate alternative ideas
Develop a simple prototype
Test and improve a design
Collaborate and communicate decisions
Reflect on their problem-solving process
Proposed Growth & Care approach
More than a course. A supported learning journey.
Coaching uses questions and feedback to support human-centred inquiry and independent design decisions; appropriate mentoring can encourage curiosity; and pastoral care supports respectful listening without requiring personal disclosure.
The exact coaching, mentoring and pastoral-care practices included are confirmed for each program. An individually assigned mentor is not promised.
Explore our learning approachResponsible entrepreneurship
Educational simulation, not commercial pressure.
These courses develop thinking, communication and project capability. They do not promise profitable ventures, investment, guaranteed leadership outcomes or implemented solutions.
Forge Learning App
Potential support between sessions.
Where included in an approved intake, Forge may support problem statements, design journals, project reflections. These are potential course supports until implemented access is confirmed. No new module, student record, authentication or AI capability is created by this website update.
Problem statements
Design journals
Project reflections
Suggested learning journey
From curiosity to contribution.
This journey is flexible, not a mandatory prerequisite chain. Students may enter at an appropriate point based on age, interests and experience.
Enrolment Open
Young Leaders
Young Leaders supports teamwork, initiative and responsible leadership across the journey. It is not a mandatory prerequisite.
Explore Young LeadersForge learning support
Where included in an approved intake, Forge may support problem statements, design journals, project reflections. These are potential course supports until implemented access is confirmed. No new module, student record, authentication or AI capability is created by this website update.
Available sessions
No Design Thinking session is currently confirmed. Register your interest for approved dates, locations and delivery details.
View proposed Term 1 catalogueFees and enrolment
Fees, available places and enrolment arrangements have not been approved. Register your interest to receive confirmed information.
Register Your InterestFrequently asked
Course questions.
Who is this programme suitable for?
Years 3–9. The suggested year range is provisional and requires curriculum approval. Beginners welcome. Guidance is matched to learner age and experience. Educators can help families identify an appropriate entry point.
How are students grouped by age and experience?
Grouping is confirmed for each approved intake. Educators consider age, interests, previous experience and the complexity of the proposed project.
What happens during a typical session?
The proposed programme combines guided inquiry, practical challenges, individual or team work, constructive feedback and reflection. Exact activities are adapted to the learner group.
Do students work individually or in teams?
The curriculum may include both individual and collaborative activities. Roles and expectations are adapted to age, strengths and the approved project.
What project will my child develop?
The Everyday Improvement Challenge: Students select an age-appropriate challenge connected to school, home, community or everyday life—such as an organisation system, accessible classroom resource, common school problem or everyday object. They create a problem statement, summary of user needs, several possible ideas, a prototype, a record of feedback and improvements, and a final presentation. Proposed solutions are not represented as implemented in real organisations.
How does coaching support individual learning?
Educators use questions, encouragement, appropriate challenge and constructive feedback to support independent thinking rather than provide ready-made solutions. An individually assigned mentor is not promised.
Does the programme require expensive equipment?
No equipment requirement is confirmed on this page. Approved materials, tools, device needs and safety arrangements are communicated for each intake before enrolment.
Do students need to establish a real business?
No. Venture work is an educational simulation. Students are not required to register a business, accept payments, make financial commitments or enter binding agreements.
Will students use AI?
AI is not promised. Any future use requires separate approval and age, privacy, authorship and safeguarding controls.
How are student projects and personal information protected?
Public sharing, fundraising, external engagement and identifiable student material require appropriate adult approval, supervision and permission. Student intellectual property and authorship are respected.
Does completing this course guarantee confidence or business success?
No. Students receive opportunities to practise and reflect, but no confidence, leadership, commercial, investment or profitability outcome is guaranteed.
What programme should my child take next?
Suggested next steps include Young Inventors and Entrepreneurship. Digital Product Design and Innovation Challenge Lab remain enquiry-only possibilities rather than confirmed courses.
Where and when are classes available?
No date, time, venue, trainer, capacity or commencement date is confirmed on this page. Register your interest to receive approved details.
Related courses
Continue the learning journey.
These are suggested routes, not mandatory prerequisites. Existing experience can support a different entry point.
Innovation, Leadership & Entrepreneurship
Young Inventors
Turn curiosity into prototypes through experimentation and iteration.
Years 3–8. The suggested year range is provisional and requires curriculum approval. Beginner to developing. Guidance is matched to learner age and experience.
Explore programInnovation, Leadership & Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship
Explore how ideas become useful, sustainable ventures.
Years 6–10. The suggested year range is provisional and requires curriculum approval. Beginners welcome. Guidance is matched to learner age and experience.
Explore program
Robotics & Computer Science
Applied Robotics & Engineering Academy
Where students learn to think like engineers — design, build, program, test and improve real robotic systems through structured term projects.
Years 2–8 term classes, with advanced coaching and mentoring for Years 9–12.
Explore programDraft review notes
- Course curriculum, year guidance and pathway positioning require founder approval before unrestricted publication.
- Confirm delivery, educators, Forge Learning App access, dates, locations, fees, capacity and safeguarding arrangements for each intake.
Interested in this program?
Tell us what your learner is curious about and we’ll help identify an appropriate next step.