The PSHE Association drug and alcohol schemes of work for key stages 1-4 have been developed for Public Health England. This resource pack includes lesson plans and resources for each key stage, as well as a comprehensive teacher guidance document, knowledge organisers and an evidence review of effective drug and alcohol education practice.
Personal, Social, Health and Economic education
PSHE Education is a planned, developmental programme of learning designed to help learners develop the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives, now and in the future.
PSHE Education deals with real life issues which affect children, young people, their families and their communities. It includes: health, risk, relationships, loss, change, career choices and personal finance.
'Every Child Matters' (2003) highlighted the importance of support for children's wellbeing alongside an increased recognition of personal wellbeing as a key factor in enabling learning.
PSHE Education makes a significant contribution to the health, wellbeing and safeguarding of children and young people. It contributes to the health of the nation, ultimately reducing NHS spending. It underpins young people's future employability and by increasing independence ultimately enables them to take responsibility for themselves in their future roles as parents, employees and leaders.
Not all learners have access to good quality PSHE Education and investment in the training of teachers is needed if PSHE Education is to be delivered to the highest standard.
The PSHE Association website provides up-to-date support and information.
A wealth of resources used by Leading Teachers in Gloucestershire to support PSHE education are available and divided into appropriateness for different age groups as a guideline.
"Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) plays a crucial part in teaching children and young people to recognise dangers and harmful situations and to know the preventative actions they can take to keep themselves safe" Ofsted - Safeguarding in schools: best practice Sept 2011.
"Children can benefit enormously from high-quality Personal Social Health and Economic (PSHE) education. Good PSHE supports individual young people to make safe and informed choices. It can help tackle public health issues such as substance misuse." Department for Education - The Importance of Teaching 2010.
Commited Relationships and Family Life Lessons Packs - PSHE Association
These lesson packs will help you to build on earlier learning about the features of family life and family structures in key stages 1 and 2 (see our existing Families lesson packs), and meet the relevant areas of the statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) guidance.
At key stage 3, the lessons aim to ensure students understand similarities and differences between types of families, and how and why family relationships might change over time.
At key stage 4, the lessons focus on the legal rights, responsibilities and protections that different long-term commitments have, and aim to ensure students understand that forced marriage is illegal. The lessons also explore the roles, responsibilities and challenges of parenting
At all key stages, pupils are given the opportunity to reflect on the reasons people may want to marry, become civil partners, or have children, and form their own opinions on this.
Each lesson pack includes:
- Lesson plans (available as both PDFs and PowerPoints)
- Engaging pupil-facing materials
- Teacher guidance on how to teach these topics safely and effectively
- Parent/carer copies. Find out more and see terms of use
Click Here to Access
FREE School Sessions - Midlands Air Ambulance Charity
MAAC is an independent charity and healthcare provider that is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). MAAC are committed to supporting young people’s educational development. Unfortunately a child is airlifted every other day, which is why they want to help youngsters better understand their vital lifesaving service and the importance of staying safe.
School age children are our future paramedics, pilots and fundraisers, and engaging them with this charity helps to safeguard the future of the service.
Please see below a list of what Midlands Air Ambulance Charity can offer your school:
• We can offer students an assembly with presentation and talk about the charity, which would be suitable for their age group
• A visit to the school with the helipod (a decommissioned helicopter pod that children can sit in and experience) more suitable for younger children up to around 10 years old
• CPR training – we can teach up to 20 children at a time, and each session lasts around 45 mins (years 5/6 onwards)
• Bleed control training – can be done alongside CPR training
To find out more about their education programme, click here.
To book a session for your school please click here to contact the charity directly.
Drug and alcohol education
'Something's not Right campaign'
We have just awarded our Quality Mark to new teaching resources that support the Home Office ‘Something’s Not Right’ campaign on recognising and making disclosures about different forms of abuse.
These free-to-download lesson plans for KS3-5 focus on:
- Helping young people to recognise abuse
- Providing information on where to go for help
- Overcoming barriers to reporting abuse
Supporting students to speak to a trusted adult and report concerns is of huge importance at any time, but especially now, given particular concerns about the impact of Covid-19 — isolation can put some children at a greater risk of various kinds of abuse, and reduces available opportunities for adults to spot the signs and help.
The lessons are designed to help students to recognise when they might need to seek help for themselves or others and understand the value of seeking support from trusted sources.
Download the ‘Something’s not right’ lesson plans
Water safety lesson plans for KS2
The PSHE Association has worked in partnership with the Environment Agency to develop a new, free-to-download pack of guidance, lesson plans and resource for key stage 2 exploring water safety in relation to floods, canals and rivers.
Both lessons in the pack provide an age-appropriate understanding of potential hazards, how to manage emergency situations and keep safe. Supporting pupils to keep safe in the environment is an important element of the PSHE education curriculum and contributes to safeguarding pupils from harm.
'Canals and rivers' lesson
By the end of the lessons, pupils will be able to
- identify hazards and hidden dangers near canals and rivers
- explain how to keep safe near canals and rivers
- demonstrate what to do if there is an incident or emergency
'Flood alert' lesson
With the increased likelihood of flooding in the UK, this ‘flood alert’ lesson is particularly timely. By the end of the lessons, pupils will be able to
- identify what a flood is and what causes a flood
- explain the role of the Environment Agency in flood prevention and keeping people safe when floods occur
- recognise flood hazards and warning signs
- identify how to keep safe in the event of a flood
- explain the steps people can take to be prepared for a flood
The accompanying teacher guidance outlines how to plan the lessons into your PSHE education curriculum, and provides advice on creating a safe learning environment for your pupils and signposting to additional support.
St John's Ambulance: First aid lesson plans (KS2-4)
New lesson plans and associated content from St John Ambulance that have been awarded our Quality Mark for PSHE education resources. All materials are free to download and available for key stages 2, 3 and 4.
These lesson plans and teacher guidance will help young people to recognise and respond to common first aid situations and support schools to meet the statutory Health Education requirements to cover first aid.
The accompanying teacher guidance and range of activities will support teachers to create a safe and effective learning environment, thus creating a coherent long-term plan for First Aid education from KS2 through to KS4.
KS2
Lesson plans covering the following six first aid topics have been awarded the Quality Mark:
- Asthma: Causes and what to do if someone is having an asthma attack
- Bites and stings: First aid for bites and stings and responding to allergic reactions
- Bleeding: First aid for bleeding and shock
- Choking: What to do if a toddler, child, or adult is choking
- Emergencies and calling for help: Responding in an emergency situation and calling emergency services
Head injuries: First aid for minor and severe head injuries
KS3 & 4
We have also quality assured nine lesson plans for key stages 3 and 4. These revisit the same six topics as the KS2 materials — though go into greater depth and consider more independent contexts — and introduce the following additional areas:
- Basic life support: Primary survey, recovery position, CPR and using AEDs
- Bone, muscle, and joint injuries (KS4): First aid for bone, muscle, and joint injuries
Chest pain (KS4): Causes of chest pain and first aid for angina/heart attacks
Download lessons & teacher guidance
New film about commitment
Back in January we proudly presented a co-produced film made with the FASTN charity - Commitments and Families, which looked at four very different family units, from a same sex couple to unmarried parents. We highly recommend checking it out - we've since added Lesson plans, Worksheets and Powerpoint slides to help apply it in the classroom for KS4 pupils:
https://www.truetube.co.uk/film/commitment-and-families
We have now also uploaded a brand new additional film on the subject of Commitment, made by us and FASTN, along with Lesson Plans, Worksheets and Guidance - BUT to use for teaching KS3 pupils.
Nick Brewer is a rapper and spoken word artist. Here, he shares his poem about what commitment means to him:
https://www.truetube.co.uk/film/nick-brewer-talks-commitment
Using the stimulus of the poem, pupils are given the opportunity to consider their own values and commitments, the benefits of those commitments, and what they would like to commit to in the future.
In order to support development and maintenance of healthy and reliable relationships, this lesson — which explores a range of relationship types — enables pupils to:
- describe what commitment means and looks like
- explain why commitment is important for people’s health, wellbeing and relationships
- explain what commitment means for them
- reflect on their own commitments, now and in the future
- The pack includes teacher guidance, a lesson plan, worksheets and slides to support delivery.
Free climate change classroom resources
We are delighted to award our Quality Mark to Lifebuoy’s ‘Soaper Heroes UK’ primary PSHE education lesson plans.
The lessons will help KS1&2 pupils to explore how handwashing protects themselves and others. The accompanying teacher guidance contains relevant statistics on personal health and hygiene and advice on how to link the resources to wider school policies on safeguarding and attendance.
There are two lessons in total — one for KS1 and another for KS2 — both teaching pupils how to wash and sanitise their hands effectively, and encouraging them to reflect on hand hygiene as personal and social responsibility.
Pupils learn:
- Why hand hygiene is important to prevent the spread of germs
- How to ensure handwashing and sanitising is effective
- How hand hygiene links to responsibilities to help keep ourselves and others healthy
To download the lessons, follow the link below and select ‘Teacher Register’ to register your details and download the ‘PSHE Resources 5-11yrs’ file.
Download the ‘Soaper Heroes’ PSHE lesson plans
Free climate change classroom resources
To help you support positive action towards climate change in your school, explore our resources Life Below Water, Life on Land, Rising Sea Levels, Zero Waste, Clean Air, Clean Energy plus a Climate Change Challenge. All activities support the UN Sustainable Development Goal on Climate Action.
Free climate change classroom resources
‘The Rights Idea?’ KS3-4 lesson plans on parental separation and children’s rights gain Quality Mark
We are delighted to award our Quality Mark to ‘The Rights Idea?’ — a free-to-access two-part lesson pack from the University of Exeter. The resources enable students to learn about changing relationships and manage the impact of parental separation, supporting the statutory Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) requirements and learning opportunities in our Programme of Study. They will help students to understand and exercise their rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), including their rights to information, consultation and (where needed) representation when parents separate.
‘The Rights Idea? lessons have been produced by academics at the University of Exeter in collaboration with The National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) and The National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC), two leading national charities working with families and young people when parents separate. The lessons draw on research by the University of Exeter indicating a strong appetite amongst young people for information on their rights and the support available under such circumstances. These materials have also achieved the Association of Citizenship Teaching (ACT) Quality Mark for Citizenship education resources.
The pack includes PowerPoints, a teacher guide, a video and an infographic.
Preventing sexual harrassment in schools - the role of PSHE
Many people will have attended a webinar recently on the above topic. It is vital we support young people with these difficult issues, and understand the crucial role PSHE education can play.
Here are the resources from the webinar shared directly from PSHE association
Our handout for the session, with key tips and important links
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Our guide to ‘Handling complex issues safely in the PSHE education classroom & creating a safe learning environment’ (usually a member-only resource, but we’re offering it to all attendees)
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Dr Elly Hanson’s slides from her presentation
The above resources can be downloaded by clicking the button below.
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These resources on ‘Addressing pornography through PSHE education’ and accompanying research briefing from Dr Elly Hanson on the impact of pornography on young people.
And we’d encourage you to join us if your school is not already a member, as you’ll then benefit from all of the resources we produce and dedicated advice from our Subject Specialist team.
‘Keeping safe’ FGM guidance and lesson plan (lower KS3)
Guidance
This guidance is for teachers and PSHE leads teaching about FGM during the secondary phase. It contextualises the issue and the relevant statutory requirements to help you consider how to include FGM within your curriculum at an age-appropriate level. Ensure you read the guidance before teaching the lesson.
Lesson plan (PDF and PowerPoint versions available)
For use with Year 7 or 8 pupils, the lesson plan and accompanying resources will help teachers to:
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explain what FGM is
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highlight the law in relation to FGM
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explore myths and facts in relation to FGM
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ensure that those who have been subject to FGM, or may still be at risk, know where to seek help and access support
Download guidance & lesson plan
New KS1-4 lessons on change, loss and grief
Our new lesson plans on change, loss and grief are the latest addition to our mental health and emotional wellbeing lesson pack. We’ve built this new lesson series into existing schemes of work for each key stage to ensure this topic is addressed sensitively and age-appropriately.
The lessons – complete with accompanying guidance, resources and PowerPoints – will help your pupils explore and understand:
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how change, loss (including bereavement) and grief affect people
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the different responses people can have when grieving
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strategies to help manage change loss and grief
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sources of support and how to access them
Download new lessons and guidance
Teaching about consent
Guidance and lessons to help you teach this crucial statutory PSHE education topic with confidence.
Teaching about consent (pshe-association.org.uk)
Friendships and relationships
We're delighted to award our Quality mark to two new KS3-4 lesson packs from Better Health Every Mind Matters:
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One-to-one relationships: help young people understand the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy relationships, and how to practise positive relationship behaviours.
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Positive friendships: help young people explore the qualities of positive friendships in all contexts, including online
Both of these free NHS-approved lesson packs contain a range of teaching materials including: relatable video content, real-world scenario examples, interactive activities and worksheets. And the accompanying teacher notes will help you feel more confident discussing these topics with young people.
Impact and consequences of fraud and financial crime
We’ve worked in partnership with Cifas — the UK’s fraud prevention community — to update their KS3-4 lesson pack exploring the impact and consequences of fraud and financial crime.
In the first nine months of 2022, over 52,000 cases of misuse of facility — where an account or other facility is obtained with the intent of using it for a fraudulent purpose — were recorded to the National Fraud Database. Nearly 70% of these cases relate to bank accounts and were indicative of money mule behaviour, with those aged under 21 making up a fifth of these cases.
Young people are especially vulnerable to being targeted by online fraudsters or unwittingly engaging in fraudulent acts themselves. Sadly the ongoing economic crisis is likely to see an increasing number of young people being targeted — often through social media and phishing texts and emails.
The ‘Anti-Fraud’ lesson pack is free to download and aims to help young people:
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Recognise what fraud is, why they might be targeted and how to seek support
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Explain the consequences of fraud
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Develop skills to protect their online information and personal data, and
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Develop skills to evaluate the reliability of online content in relation to scams
Modern Families
We’re delighted to award our Quality Mark to ‘Modern Families’ — a free-to-access two-part lesson pack from the University of Exeter and Resolution, the 6,500-member strong organisation of family law professionals.
The resources help students to learn about how relationships are formalised and the legal rights of individuals in different forms of relationships, particularly when the relationship ends by separation or death
These lessons draw on University of Exeter research showing the persistence of ‘the common-law marriage myth’ — the mistaken belief that unmarried couples who live together for some time have a ‘common law marriage’ which gives them the same legal rights as married couples.
Help students to:
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Recognise that families come in all shapes and sizes.
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Consider some of the myths and misconceptions around ‘common law marriage’ and ‘non-qualifying ceremonies’.
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Make informed decisions about future relationships - a key requirement of the DfE’s Statutory RSHE Guidance.
The pack includes PowerPoints, a teacher guide and an infographic.
The University will also supply A3 laminated copies of the infographic for classroom walls free of charge on request.
This lesson pack complements the University of Exeter’s quality-assured KS4 lesson packs, ‘Working out Relationships?’ which challenges common myths about the ‘perfect relationship’ and The Rights Idea? on children’s rights, including when parents separate.
Thriving in post-16/ Key Stage 5
PSHE Association has design this lesson pack to be delivered in the autumn term to students who have recently started key stage 5 / post-16 education, this lesson pack focuses on the potential challenges of this transition and research-led strategies to manage these.
Thriving in post-16 / key stage 5 (pshe-association.org.uk)
Brook Accessible RSE
Brook has shared the following top tips to give every young person high quality RSE.1. Plan ahead for each individual's needs
Consider the specific barriers to learning that each of your young people face and try and find ways to minimise their impact. For example, if one of your students finds it difficult to concentrate in highly sensory environments, consider how you could reduce the noise or warn them of any new smells or textures, e.g. if you’re doing a condom demonstration.
2. Go at the pace of the young person
Some lessons may need longer than planned. Young people often have a lot of questions, and it is worth taking the time to answer these before moving on as this will allow learners to understand the basic concepts before building on them
3.Check knowledge as you go
This might be by having one question that acts as an indicator of understanding for that section. For example:
- ‘What does contraception do?’
- ‘What does consent mean?’
Or, you could give students a chance to ‘rate’ their understanding. It’s often helpful to do this in a way that doesn’t involve written assessment, such as asking young people to put their thumbs up, to the side or down to indicate that they understand well, a little or not at all. You could also do this by asking them to hold up a green, orange or red card.
Tagged under: PSHE association, PSHE, abuse, disclosure, water safety, st johns, first aid, KS2, KS3, KS4, canals, rivers, floods, injury, injuries, asthma, bites, stings, bleeding, choking, emergencies, life suppo
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