Public Health England (PHE) has launched a new programme in schools set up to teach life skills to children, helping them deal with the modern world
Resources for teachers produced by PHE will teach life skills to children tailored for the modern world.
The resources will tackle specific modern issues such as cyber bullying, body confidence, substance abuse, and exam stress.
The Rise Above for Schools programme aims to equip secondary school pupils with the life skills to help them develop good mental health and cope with stress both at school and in their future careers, with a particular focus on problems caused by social media use.
It also targets physical health issues such as smoking and alcohol and drug addiction.
Studies suggest that tackling such issues has a major positive impact on young people’s mental health, employability, and academic achievement in the future.
The Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) lesson plans have been produced in collaboration with teachers.
PSHE Association Subject Specialist Jenny Fox said:
“The lesson plans provide opportunities for students to engage in active learning and to discuss and reflect upon the social and emotional aspects of issues they face on a daily basis.”
“The lessons are consistently well-matched to the needs of young people and enable them to demonstrate progress as their understanding and skills develop.”
The lesson plans
PHE has released a paper detailing the Rise Above lesson plans and the best way to use them.
They advocate discussion in classrooms to ensure pupils are taking away valuable lessons, showing video clips to provide another source of information, taking a positive approach over ‘shock tactics’, and utilising practical group activities.
They encourage an inclusive ‘safe’ learning environment and implore teachers to ensure all students are included and ground rules are set early to allow for a better experience.
The plans will include video clips as part of the lessons, featuring popular vloggers and YouTubers to engage young people and encourage them to listen.
They hope that with these techniques they will allow teachers to open up conversations with their pupils and relate to them on the issues they face.
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