Facts4Life

About

Facts4Life is a health resilience programme for pre-school, primary and secondary settings (including parents) that provides opportunities to learn more about physical and mental health. The resource is written by experienced teachers and is designed to harmonise with a range of existing curriculum areas.

Facts4Life teaches a new way of thinking about our health which challenges commonly held beliefs about illness and builds resilience. We do this by exploring three key ideas:

• Riding the Ups and Downs – sometimes we feel well, sometimes not. That’s normal!
• Keeping Balanced – we often don’t recognise that most of the time, most of us get better from most illnesses without medical help 
• Smoothing the Path – we can learn to take greater responsibility for our health and respond positively to life’s challenges 

We work in a range of settings:

Schools: Our training programme and resources for primary and secondary teachers provide opportunities to learn more about physical and mental health (as well as relationships education) within the curriculum. We also run workshops for parents to provide support for family health.

Pre-schools: We are working with pre-schools and children’s centres so that younger children and their parents can benefit from the Facts4Life messages about health.

Our work with schools and pre-schools in Gloucestershire is funded by Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group and is currently free to all Gloucestershire schools. To find out about training in Gloucestershire or in your area, click here, or contact us if you would like to know more.

 What does Facts4Life do for schools?

• Complements key elements of the Science and PSHE curriculum and supports the delivery of the GHLL PinK curriculum;
• Helps to create a climate for mental health issues to be addressed;
• Facilitates openness about safeguarding by promoting coping strategies to manage risk;
• Can be used to promote good attendance;
• Encourages participation in physical activity and addresses diet and healthy weight;
• Supports schools in the Ofsted judgement on Personal Development, Behaviour and Welfare.

What difference does Facts4Life make?

Research by UWE, Bristol into the effectiveness of Facts4Life has shown statistically significant changes in attitudes towards the need for GP visits and medication, improved confidence in managing mental health and overall a growing resilience. 

What do children say about Facts4Life?

Comments from those involved in the evaluation include:

“The lessons are interesting and help me to feel control over my life.”

“I do have a mental health thing, it’s anxiety, and sometimes my anxiety can get really bad. It was nice to talk about it and to let other people know, instead of just keeping it a secret.”

“My favourite thing was learning that I can work things out for myself and do things to help myself.”

What do teachers say about Facts4Life?

“I think it’s very exciting and relevant. The materials are clear, attractive and easy to use and the course well delivered.”

“Insightful, thought provoking and great delivery.”

“Thank you! A very informative session which will have a big impact in our school.”

COVID-19

We have put together a useful handout for teachers and parents/carers who are fielding questions from children about the Coronavirus.

Download a copy here.

Training

We offer a variety of free in-house training models to suit your needs. See the website for further information or contact Sue Burling (Project Administrator) at sue@facts4life.org.

Further Information

For further information on the work of Facts4Life, please contact:

Hugh van’t Hoff, Director                           hugh@facts4life.org

John Davis, Director                                  john@facts4life.org               

Sue Burling, Project Administrator             sue@facts4life.org

or visit the website                                      http://facts4life.org

'This is Fin and Bear'

As a supplement to their resources, Facts4Life have published a children's book, 'This is Fin and Bear', for early years and primary school aged children.  This is now available to schools and to families.  Visit facts4life.com for more information.