We hope you've had a restful and enjoyable break. Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning (GHLL) look forward to supporting you and your setting throughout the year ahead.

Our 2026-2027 training calendar is now live, and all courses are open for booking. If you would like to discuss the support available for your school or college, including our Healthy Schools/Colleges and/or Mental Health Champions Awards, please get in touch with your GHLL Lead Teacher by contacting us here

ICON Week 2026 : 21st - 25th September 

ICON Week provides an important opportunity to reinforce consistent messages across Gloucestershire that support parents and carers, reduce stress associated with infant crying, and help prevent abusive head trauma.

ICON Week - ICON: Babies cry, you can cope

Access some of the resources here: 

i-is-for-infant-crying-is-normal.pdf

icon-leaflet.pdf

icon-comfort-methods-infographic.pdf

icon-week-2026-campaign-toolkit-v1.0.pdf

icon-crying-plan.pdf

The 10th of September is World Suicide Prevention Day. This years theme is "changing the narrative on suicide"  See the below links for further support

R;pple is a free browser shield which intercepts harmful online searches and guides people to free mental health. Click here to find out more including ways to mark the day

Sunflowers is a local, gloucestershire charity who support people bereaved and affected by suicide. Click here

Gloucestershire Support After Suicide Service from Rethink, provide a range of support to those affect by bereavement by suicide. Click here

Free Domestic Abuse Training for Professionals from Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service (GDASS) GDASS provides a range of learning opportunities for professionals at different levels of knowledge and experience:

• Entry Level: Introduction to Domestic Abuse Awareness (online, 1.5 hours) -A basic introduction to domestic abuse, local services, and individuals' roles within Gloucestershire's coordinated response.
• Level 1: Domestic Abuse Basic Awareness Training (online, 2.5 hours) -Designed to help professionals recognise signs of abuse, respond safely, and understand Gloucestershire's Coordinated Community Response.
• Level 2: Enhanced Domestic Abuse (in-person) -Provides enhanced awareness of domestic abuse, trauma, and risk, helping practitioners respond confidently and effectively.
• Level 2: Domestic Abuse & Risk (including DASH) (in-person) - Focuses on risk assessment, MARAC processes, safeguarding, and reducing the risk of serious harm.

Further information and booking links can be found via their Eventbrite page here

Congratulations to our latest schools who have been successful in gaining GHLL's Healthy Schools and/or Mental Health Champions Awards this July.

To find out more about the award scheme please visit our information page here.

You can now access our R(S)HE curriculum resources for primary which has been updated in line with the 2025 Statutory Guidance. 

Click here to visit GHLL's landing page

Click here to access the lesson plans

Click here to see the personal safety strand which includes signposting to both local and national organisations which can support schools to deliver the new Personal Safety strand in the 2025 guidance.

A safe, inclusive and supportive space for gender diverse young people aged 11-25

Where: The Old Dock Office, Commercial Road, Gloucester, GL1 2EB

When:  documents/gender-drop-in-poster.png

Join us in September 2026 for a month of  activities to help young  people aged 5-16 years...
• Explore better snacking
• Try new snacks
• Make their own snacks

Snack-tember 2026 | British Nutrition Foundation

AMAZE SexEdCon is a free virtual event for educators, youth-serving adults, parents, healthcare professionals, and advocates who are committed to providing inclusive, age-appropriate, and impactful sex education.

Date: 17 September 12:00-14:30 Eastern Daylight Time 
Theme: Decoding the Manosphere Part 2

Join us to learn how to use FIVE new videos and resource guides to talk to boys about the manosphere, including topics like: Dating, AI Nudes, Loneliness, Gaming, LooksMaxxing.

Register here: https://lnkd.in/gPvwseJQ

The UK's first every Boy's Education Commission has launched a survey wanting to hear from educators, schools, colleges, parents, students, charities, researchers and those who have experiences and insights to offer both in terms of the challenges boys face and the potential changes that would enable them to flourish.

Click here to find out more and access the survey

A new study from ThiftBooks found that we adults lament that summer flies by faster than it used to. In fact, they found that “readers across the country are turning back the clocks by opening a book with 56% of those surveyed reporting reading makes summer feel like it lasts longer, and most agree it helps them slow down in a way other forms of downtime simply do not.” To read the full newsletter from #HalfTheStory as well as articles on ways to reduce screen time, Students turning to AI chatbots to help with school work and digital wellness Sign up to #HalfTheStory's Teaching Teens with Screen mailing list here

In this one-hour webinar Child Bereavement UK will explore the revised statutory guidance on teaching about grief and bereavement in RHSE education and empower those working in education to talk about loss, death and grief with confidence. You will learn how to initiate conversations about death and grief, explore free resources and prepare for emotional and behavioural responses to these topics. 

Dates available: 9am on Wednesday 23 September and 9am on Wednesday 4 November

Cost: £25 per person. 

Book here

We hope all our schools and colleges have a wonderful summer break .  The GHLL team look forward to working with you all in the new academic year.  Best wishes from GHLL

Could your students be in Season 4 of Life Lessons?

Life Lessons are filming Season 4 of Life Lessons this summer, and they are looking for young people who have something to say about growing up in the world today.

Whether it's AI, relationships, mental health, friendships or just what life feels like right now, they want to hear from your students.

Films from previous seasons are used in schools across the UK to help young people develop their thinking as part of their PSHE education. Being part of Season 4 is a chance for your students to have their voice heard, and to help shape the conversations happening in classrooms nationwide.

Find out more here: Filming with Life Lessons - Life Lessons

The latest version of the popular ‘EDUCATE’ lesson pack for KS3 about the HPV vaccine is available to download. 

Co-produced by young people and researchers from the University of Bristol and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, ‘EDUCATE’ will help you teach students about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and provide reassurance about receiving the vaccine — which is usually offered to teenagers at school as part of the national vaccination programme. 

Download the free lesson here: PSHE Association - HPV Lesson Plan

Life Lessons believe action starts in the classroom. So this week, they are giving away two free PSHE lessons to help young people understand and look after their mental health.

🧰 My Emotion Toolkit - Primary - Helps children explore what it means to feel overwhelmed, understand dysregulation, and build their own personal strategies to regulate powerful emotions. Ready to teach, no prep needed.

🌱 Healthy Choices for Mental Wellbeing - Secondary - Helps students understand how everyday choices - sleep, diet, exercise, nature and social connection - shape how they feel. Includes a video, discussion tasks and a mind-mapping activity.

Both lessons are free to download and ready to use this week. Download your free lessons here

This skin cancer awareness month, Cancer Research UK are excited to share some amazing research into melanoma and non-melanoma cancer.

It's thanks to your ongoing support that they're able to continue research into skin cancer risk and prevention.

Prevention, stopping cancer before it starts, is one of the most effective ways we can beat the disease.

Read more to find out about key research into skin cancer symptoms, prevention and other breakthroughs that they wouldn't be able to achieve without your support.

Presented by mental health trainers, clinical academics and youth ambassadors, Charlie Waller's free webinars explore practical, evidence‑based strategies across a range of mental health topics. There are a variety of sessions coming up over the next few months including loneliness, low mood in young people, and workplace mental health.

Click here to find out more: Free mental health webinars

Period Positive Curriculum Guide, Pledge, and Award: Call to Action

Period Positive is gathering partner support for the Curriculum Guide, Pledge, and Award frameworks as practical standards of good practice for menstruation education. This is a timely opportunity to show that inclusive, cross-curricular menstruation education already exists, is ready to be supported, and should inform the delivery of the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy.

Bite Back in Schools is a FREE programme empowering students in Years 7–10 to improve their school food environment and understand the political processes shaping it. Schools receive:

• A £500 grant to fund student-led improvements
• A ready-made resource pack with physical workbooks, session plans, slide decks and a Championing Change card game
• An inspiring kick-off assembly from a Bite Back Ambassador
• Ongoing support from our team
• Badges, merchandise and celebration opportunities

Schools can sign up here : https://www.biteback2030.com/bite-back-in-schools/england-join-bite-back-in-schools/ 

South West Nature Park

The National Education Nature Park programme empowers children and young people to make a positive difference to both their own and nature's future.

Go on a journey to get to know your outdoor space and use creative decision-making to improve your grounds for both people and nature. This free programme provide all educators with the resources, support and guidance to embed climate and nature into learning in a way that suits your setting and learners.  

How it works | Education Nature Park

You can even invite them to run a session at your setting! Get in touch at Southwestnaturepark@rhs.org.uk

Kidscape have recieved funding to support young people, parents, and carers with bullying in Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire. 

A major review of the curriculum – what children learn at school – and the qualifications and assessment system has just been published, and the government is making changes based on what it found.

The National Curriculum hasn’t been updated in over ten years, so these changes will ensure it stays relevant for today’s world.

What you need to know about the changes to the National Curriculum – The Education Hub

Gloucestershire County Council has launched a new online resource giving parents and guardians information about the benefits and risks of online spaces, with details of further information and where support is available. 

Click here to access the Information and Posters to display to raise awareness with you parents and carers about the new resource.

On Your Mind Glos is a place for Children and Young People to turn to when you need help and support with your mental health but you aren’t sure where to go. We have an anonymous Mental Health Support Finder, which is also available via text, for anyone aged 0-25 that will help you find the most appropriate support options for you in Gloucestershire. On Your Mind Glos also has some self help guides and resources designed for both young people and their families to provide general support and advice about self-care. Click here to find out more.

More than 6,000 Children from 113 Schools across Gloucestershire are particpating in the Big Brush Club. See the full report by BBC News featuring Bream Primary School where lessons on how to brush and daily brushing at school are having a positive impact on improving oral hygiene.

View information from Talk Well on their Eating Difficulties Counselling Service. 

Children will have experienced an average of 15 significant losses before adulthood, and may also encounter depictions of death in the media and social media, which are often explicit. The recent Covid-19 pandemic further highlighted change, loss and death, and children and their families may have experienced loss during this time.

PSHE Association have updated their Change, loss and grief lesson packs for KS1 - 4 to cover these topics safely, effectively and sensitively. ]

You will need a PSHE account to download these resources.

Poor mental health and absence from school are impacting the education of children and in turn their futures. Read the full blog from GOV.UK on 'How we're helping children and teachers with their mental health and wellbeing' 

Surfers Against Sewage "Plastic Free Schools" iniatitive is empowering the next generation of ocean activists. To find out more and sign your school up click here

Useful article from Claire Watts from High Speed Training, on what "Incel" means, the manosphere, and how this correlates to misogyny, radicalisation, and violence. This article looks at why teachers should be aware of Incel Culture and how Schools can tackle this issue.

The NHS Gloucestershire Asthma Team are looking into the current management of asthma in schools across the county. We would be very grateful if you could complete this questionnaire. The feedback you provide will be treated in the strictest confidence.  It will be stored securely and only used to improve this service. Thank you in advance for your responses. 

Please click here to complete the questionnaire. 

Please click here to view AFS resources. 

Lumi Nova: Tales of Courage is an engaging child-led, parent/guardian supported therapeutic intervention that can be used on most smartphones or tablets free for all Gloucestershire families. 

It facilitates graded exposures (the active ingredient of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) with psychoeducation to empower 7-12 year olds with mild to moderate needs to learn to self-manage fears, worries and anxiety.

myHappymind is an award winning programme for schools & nurseries, families and organisations. It is delivered by class teachers across 5 modules, all designed to develop critical knowledge and habits that support children’s mental health. This means that children can develop a toolkit of resources to use when they need to. For further information on the pilot click here

After the outbreak of war in Ukraine in early 2022, we all saw how the resulting conflict impacted tens of thousands of children through separation, loss or bereavement. Bear Us In Mind was launched to provide early intervention to support those children and the adults in their lives.

Whether you’re a teacher, teaching assistant, Head, Governor or a supporting adult from the child’s school or local community, Bear Us In Mind is designed to help you be a compassionate and confident thinking partner for a child when it’s most needed. Download the complete Bear Us In Mind toolkit guide here.  To receive your 'bear in a box' email ghll@gloucestershire.gov.uk 

Mental Health e-learning - Children and Young People's Mental Health

This short course will provide you with information and guidance to help support the young people you work alongside.

The course will introduce you to some common mental health and emotional wellbeing difficulties, and will provide you with practical examples that you can use to help you to recognise and respond to children’s emotional health and wellbeing.