PSHE - Guidance on teaching about mental health and emotional wellbeing

Our guidance on teaching about mental health and emotional wellbeing through PSHE education was originally produced under a Department for Education grant, and has been fully updated and relaunched for 2019 to match the government’s new statutory PSHE requirements regarding Health Education, Relationships Education and RSE.

The guidance covers key aspects of teaching about mental health effectively and safely, including:

• Why it is important to teach about mental health and emotional wellbeing
• Key principles in teaching about mental health and emotional wellbeing safely and confidently
• Building teaching on mental health into a planned PSHE programme
• Addressing challenging mental health issues such as eating disorders, self-harm and suicide

See also: Lesson plans and PowerPoints

We’ve also created a FREE suite of 18 lesson plans and resources for key stages 1 to 4 — designed to be used in conjunction with the Teacher Guidance (in fact it is essential to consult the Guidance before delivering the lessons!). Topics include teaching children how to describe emotions, discuss their anxieties and worries, and develop coping strategies. Lessons aimed at key stages 3 and 4 also cover eating disorders, self-harm and depression and anxiety. The materials have been fully updated for 2019, and new PowerPoint versions published exclusively for PSHE Association members.