Welcome to Head Ed, a brand new, free mental health literacy teaching resource for secondary school or college PSHE
Head Ed is made up of nine, hour-long modules for use across Key Stages 3 and 4, covering topics such as stress, anxiety, depression and resilience. Every module includes a lesson plan, bite-size educational videos, a classroom task and discussion points, learning objectives and assessment opportunities. Head Ed videos feature views from secondary school students and experts alike.
Head Ed has been designed with consideration to the RSE and Health Education statutory guidance, which will be mandatory in schools from September 2020. The content offered is developmentally suitable, with appropriate content for Key Stage 3 and 4 respectively.
stem4, creators of Head Ed, are a teenage mental health charity with a 9-year history of delivering mental health education in secondary schools/colleges, providing not only accurate and trusted information on signs and early symptoms but also offering a number of clinically developed tips and digital resources to help make change. Head Ed has been trialled successfully in over 100 schools in the UK, with feedback guiding the finished product.
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KS3 programme
Students will learn stress is a normal bodily response that can be positive and negative. They will be taught to understand how stress can affect someone, as well as how to manage it.
Students will learn that anxiety is a natural defence reaction we all experience. However, sometimes this reaction becomes extreme or is triggered when defence isn’t required. The lesson will teach the symptoms of unhelpful anxiety and how to manage them.
Students will learn the difference between low mood and clinical depression. The lesson will teach how depression can affect an individual whilst pointing towards ways to manage depression, emphasising that early help means quicker change.
Students will learn that resilience is the ability to deal with the adversities we face in life. They will be taught that mental health and ill-health are on a spectrum and that becoming more resilient can keep us on the mental health end of this.
KS4 programme
The KS4 stress, anxiety and resilience modules contain higher-level material for a deeper understanding of the topic.
Students will develop their understanding of stress as a normal bodily response that can be positive and negative. They will learn the difference between internal and external ‘stressors’ and how the effects of stress, including exam related stress, can be managed.
Students will develop their knowledge of anxiety as a natural defence reaction. The lesson will teach the physical, thought based and behavioural symptoms of unhelpful anxiety and how to manage them. Students will also learn about the management of exam-related anxiety.
Students will learn the difference between low mood and clinical depression. The lesson will teach how depression can affect an individual whilst pointing towards ways to manage depression, emphasising that early help means quicker change.
Students will learn how to boost their resilience (their ability to deal with the adversities we face in life). They will be taught the differences between mental health, mental distress and mental illness, deepening their understanding of the spectrum of mental well-being.
Students will learn that self-harm is a physical reaction to an emotion. They will be taught to understand the different ways self-harm can affect someone, as well as ways of managing self-harm.