Families: Relationships and human happiness

Respectful relationships: Respect and friendship

Online and media: Rights, responsibilities and keeping safe

Mental wellbeing: Talking about emotions

Internet safety and harms: Reality vs the online world

Healthy lifestyles: Physical fitness and healthy eating

Health and prevention: Basic health

Changing adolescent body: Puberty and menstrual wellbeing

Families: Stable relationships and marriage

Respectful relationships: Stereotypes and bullying

Online and media: Harmful contact

Mental wellbeing: Recognising concerns

Internet safety and harms: Body Image

Drugs and alcohol: Smoking and Alcohol

Health and prevention: Sleep and routines

First aid

Families: Being safe and reporting concerns

Respectful relationships: Recognising and reporting criminal behaviour within relationships

Online and media: Indecent image sharing

Being safe: The law (consent, exploitation, and harassment)

Intimate relationships: Positivity and health

Mental wellbeing: Common types of ill health

Internet safety and harms: Relationships and social media

Drugs and alcohol: Prescription and illegal drugs

Health and prevention: Immunisation and vaccination

RSHE (PSHE)

Y7 RSHE (PSHE)

Key Stage 3

Year 7

UNIT

In this lesson, we will re-cap the signs of puberty in both boys and girls, look at some key definitions relating to these changes, and try to understand more about the function and appearance of our reproductive organs as we become teenagers. 

Exploring puberty

﻿Hello, my name's Mrs. O'Neill. And this is the first lesson in a series of lessons, all about puberty and menstrual wellbeing. As part of a unit on the changing adolescent body. Today's lesson is going to be all about exploring what is meant by puberty and what young people can expect to happen during that phase of their life. It may be that this lesson recaps a lot of what is already been learned in primary school, and that's absolutely fine and will really help to set the scene for the lessons to come. However, for some of you, it may be that you've never studied this topic before, and that's absolutely fine. Let's make a start. So do remember that this lesson will cover issues about puberty and growing up that may be sensitive to you. We do recommend checking with a trusted adult before starting or doing the lesson or doing the lesson with a trusted adult nearby. If this is something that you're concerned about. So for today's lesson, you are going to need an exercise book or a piece of paper and a pen or something to write with. Let's look at the agenda for today. Let's have a look at the agenda for today's lesson. Hopefully you've completed our intro quiz. If you haven't, just pause the video and hop back and complete that before we start. We're going to go through some of the key words. I'm going to set the scene for this lesson and the lessons ahead. We're going to talk about what talking about puberty really entails. We're going to look at the changes for those who were born as a biological female, and those were born as a biological male. And then we're going to look at our exit quiz today, and you'll be able to see how much you've learned and the knowledge that you can take away. There is one more thing I'm going to ask you to please have at the ready as we embark on this lesson, and that's an open mind and a lack of embarrassment. The content of today's lesson may at times be something that you feel a little awkward about, and while that's completely fine and normal, to get the most out of today's lesson, I'd like you to please leave that behind at the door and be ready to take part wholeheartedly. So let's look at some of the key words for today's lesson. Puberty describes changes that take place, where you physically become able to reproduce. By that we mean make babies. It's part of growing up for everybody. Penis is the male part of the body used for sex and urinating. Sometimes it's referred to as private parts or genitalia. Testes sit beside the penis and create sperm. The Adam's apple is the male voice box that sticks out on males, usually. Vagina is the term for the internal female genitalia or private parts. The vulva describes the parts of the female genitalia. A period describes the normal monthly cycle of bleeding for females, also known as menstruation. And breasts describe the pair of glands that extend in front of the chest on females. So, first of all, I'm going to ask you a question and I'm going to ask you to reflect on this for a couple of seconds. You might want to jot a couple of ideas down, or you might just want to think, how does talking and thinking about puberty make you feel? So how does talking and thinking about puberty make you feel? Give you a moment. It may be that it makes you feel uncomfortable, embarrassed, scared, frightened. It might be that actually you're quite interested and you genuinely understand that looking to the future, these changes are going to happen. And maybe it doesn't phase you. Let me make clear that all of these responses are absolutely normal. There's a variety of reasons why people may have real anxieties about puberty and it's absolutely fine. At the end of this lesson, I will give you some information about who you can contact if puberty and the idea of puberty and talking and thinking about puberty is something really uncomfortable to you. But for now, I just want you to keep those ideas to one side, because at the end, we're going to come back to this question and I hope that maybe your response may have changed slightly. And if it hasn't though, then that's also fine. So let's set the scene. Let's think about what this lesson in fact, this series of lessons is going to be all based around. So I want you think back to primary school lessons, did you have a lesson or a talk about puberty? Puberty is the word that describes the changes that take place to your body and your brain, as you physically become able to reproduce or make babies, that doesn't mean that you ever have to do that. That is a personal choice, and for some people, the ability to reproduce might be something that medically is difficult for them, but puberty is essentially the body's way of getting ready for that process. But it's also about growing up and the changes that take place in your body at the start of this process. For this lesson, we will talk about boys and girls separately at times. Our biological sex, whether or not we are born as a boy or girl, will affect the changes that happen to you. Now it might be that your gender does not match the biological sex that you were ascribed at birth. In which case, puberty we know, might be an even more anxious time for you than it might be for people whose gender matches their biological sex from birth. Again, please do bear in mind that everything we discuss in this lesson is for everybody and for all young people. And if you do need extra support at the end of the lesson, as I've said earlier, we will be signposting you towards some organisations that will be able to help a little bit further if you need it. So we're going to do a true or false question now. Just to test if you've been listening. Changes that take place during puberty relate only to the body. Is that true or is that false? Please point to the screen to the answer that you think is correct now. Shall we see if you're right. It's false because changes also take place in the brain during puberty, not just in the body. So let's set the scene a bit further. Puberty normally starts between the age of nine and 11, but that can vary. You might have noticed some of these changes happening to you and you might feel like you're the only one going through these changes. But let me assure you, as I've already said, this word normal is something we need to remember because these changes that happen to you are normal. You will not be the only person to have experienced these emotions or these physical changes. So this lesson is intended to be a recap because we expect that most primary schools will have covered this content, but it might be the first time that you've covered it, which is of course fine. And hopefully, as you now go forward into future lessons as a secondary school pupil, this lesson has given you that information to really help you on your way. Everyone experiences puberty in the same way. Is that true or is that false? Point to the screen now. Okay, that's false because everyone will experience puberty differently or they may do, and that's normal. Here's some general signs of puberty that all young people can expect. Some growth at the hands and feet, pubic hair or hair around the genitals that will begin to grow. Sweating more, perhaps change to sleep. And some emotional changes, specifically for those young people whose biological sex is female. They can expect breast growth, hips widening, vulva growth and their periods to start. And there are future lessons within this unit specifically about periods. So, multiple choice. Which of these changes happens to everybody regardless of their sex? Please point to the right answer. Is it breast growth, period starting, pubic hair growth or hips widening? So one of these remember, happens to everybody. It is pubic hair growth that have, will happen to everybody, no matter what their biological sex or gender. So for those who are born as a biological male, they can expect the following changes to occur. Facial hair growth, the Adam's apple that I mentioned before, muscle growth and genitalia growth, the testes followed by the penis. So I would like you to complete the sentence. I'd like you to pause the video for a moment and write down how you would finish this sentence please. The biggest challenge for young person going through puberty would be. Pause the video, complete the sentence and press play when you're ready to continue. Huge thanks, hopefully you finished that sentence now. Huge, thanks. Hopefully you finished that sentence now. And there's no right or wrong answer here because for every individual young person, the biggest challenge will be different. For some, it may be more about the emotional changes, for some, it may be generally all the changes to the body, for some, it may be associated with their gender and how that might be different from their sex that they were assigned at birth. And they may not be comfortable with the changes. For some, it may be that actually the biggest challenge is the knowledge and the knowledge and understanding around what's happening or indeed how to communicate about it. So have a task here for you. I would like you to please pause the video and to organise the following different aspects of puberty or words associated with puberty into categories. Do we associate the word or the aspect of puberty with boys, with girls or with both? Remember here by boys and girls, we are talking about biological sex. So pause the video, organise your key words here and your aspects of puberty into those three categories and press play when ready to continue. Wonderful, thank you so much for completing that task. Shall we see if you are correct? So before we go through the answers here, let me make clear this is not an exhaustive list of the changes that will happen during puberty. Certainly we're covering here some of the main ones, and as these lessons in this unit progress, we will also cover some more, hopefully this gives a really good overview of the changes that you can expect to occur. So in your column for girls, for those who were born as a biological female, you may have got the answers correct. And if you have, that will say periods, breast growth, and vulva growth. For boys or those who are born as biologically male, erections or hardening of the penis is something that will begin and will begin to happen and may happen at completely random and times that there's no explanation for in the mind of the male, but it's the body preparing itself to be able to have sex in the future, when old enough. The Adam's apple will grow. And that's part of the development of the area around the voice box, as the voice will also deepen during puberty. the testes will grow and ejaculation will become possible and will be something that happens regularly. And perhaps also something that happens without warning or without any kind of desire from the male for that to happen. For both girls and boys, we can expect more sweating, emotional changes, growth at the hands and feet, pubic hair growth and sleep issues. It's certainly worth pointing out at this point in the lesson, that a small proportion of young people may be what's known as intersex. What that means is that they have aspects of both female and male genitalia. This is normally something that's noticed at birth or when a young person is a baby or small child. Again, if this is something that concerns you or you're worried about, please see the details of who to contact at the end of the lesson if you are seeking more information and that's relevant to you. So let's return back to this question that we looked at at the very start of the lesson. How does talking and thinking about puberty make you feel? Just take a moment to reflect if the answer has changed or stayed the same, jot down your thoughts, pause the video for a moment to do that, then press play when ready. Wonderful, thank you, for some of you, you may now have an added confidence in some areas and you may feel differently. For others of you, the same concerns may still apply. And again, that's absolutely fine. And hopefully, if your concerns and anxieties are something that is really bothering you, we can point out where you can go for more information or help. So Childline, an organisation that can offer free advice over the telephone at any point is contactable on 0800 11 11. A trusted adult is also someone you can turn to. That might be a teacher or someone that works in school. Someone within your family, someone you can confide in or ask questions. So you might want to identify who your trusted adult is. You can of course see your GP or other health professional, and for lots of information about puberty if you want to find out more, please visit the NHS website because there's lots of information there that will be factual, correct. And give you a lot, lot more in depth knowledge than this lesson provides if that's something that you're interested in. Thanks for joining me today in this first lesson all about the changing adolescent body with a focus on exploring puberty. I do hope that you'll join me for future lessons in this unit where we'll go into in more depth, some of the changes that you can expect to happen as you go through this part of your life. I look forward to seeing you next time. Thank you, goodbye. And remember, please don't forget to complete today's exit quiz.

In this lesson, we will learn about neutron growth and 'rewiring' in the brain that leads to emotional changes. We will also find out about something called the 'learning spurt'.  

The brain during puberty

﻿Thank you for joining me today. Today's lesson is about the brain during puberty. And this lesson covers issues to do with puberty and growing up. And if that's sensitive to you, do check in with a trusted adult before starting the lesson or ensure that a trusted adult is nearby. Thank you. My name is Mrs. O'Neill. And this is the second lesson in a unit all about the changing adolescent body. In the first lesson, we looked at what was meant by puberty, the changes that take place to young people as they start to mature into adulthood. Today, we take that further and we're going to focus on the changes that happen to the brain. Thank you for joining me. And so, in this lesson, you will need something to write on, an exercise book or a piece of paper, and something to write with, a pen or a pencil of any kind. Let's look at the agenda for today's lesson. We're going to start off with the intro quiz, which I'm sure you've already completed. We're going to look at some keywords. We're then going to look at something called neuron growth and brain rewiring. Little bits of a crossover there with science. We're going to look at something called the amygdala, which is to do with emotions and impulses. And then I'll direct you towards your exit quiz. So let's start with the keywords and terms for today's lesson. We're starting off with neuron. Essentially, a specialised cell. A basic part of the brain. Learning spurt, describes the years after puberty. Learning can become easier and faster. Amygdala, probably the trickiest of all the words that you'll come across today. Can you say the word amygdala back to me, please? Thank you. It's the parts of our brains linked to emotions and impulses. And finally, the word adolescence. So puberty, which we looked at last time, describes the initial years where those changes happen to our bodies that prepare us to become adults. And adolescence is the years that follow puberty. Really it's the later teenage years. So I'm going to ask you a question, something I'd like you to consider. I'd like you to consider, just think about, how you think puberty might affect the brain? So going through puberty, changes to the body that happen between the years usually aged nine to about 13, 14 years old. How do you think the brain might be affected? Think about the behaviours of some teenagers that you might know, older brothers and sisters perhaps, might be changes you yourself are or have experienced. Okay. Hopefully, today's lesson will answer the question as to why the behaviour of teenagers is sometimes tricky, sometimes difficult, and why emotions might not be the same as they were when you were a younger child or for people once they've grown up. So let's start by looking at neuron growth and brain rewiring. When we're thinking about how during puberty, the brain essentially rewires new cells and gets rid of unconnected brain cells. So it's new cells. Rewiring is more of an informal descriptive term rather than a scientific one. But it describes really well what's happening in our brains. Brain function also speeds up during this time. Can lead to something called the learning spurt, where learning and where brain function actually starts to speed up. So in a moment, I'm going to ask you to reflect on this information on this slide. On the slide here, you can see that there are four different options. One of these options is essentially false, I mean it's truth. It doesn't happen to the brain during puberty or adolescence. So let's go through those options and remember, we're trying to identify the option that is false, that doesn't happen during puberty or adolescence. First of all, neuron growth. The rewiring of brain cells. The learning spurts, where learning becomes easier and faster for many. Brain function slowing down, not able to work as fast. And unconnected brain cells being gotten rid off. I would like you to reflect on these options, to think about the option that doesn't take place during puberty and adolescence, and I'd like you to point to the screen, please, for the option that is incorrect. Do that now. Let's see if you are correct. Well done, if you got the fact that brain function slowing down is not correct and doesn't happen during puberty and adolescence. Because in actual fact, it is the opposite that is true. Brain function actually speeds up. And that connects to the term learning spurt that we've mentioned. Well done, if you got that right. So, we are now going to do a task. Again we are reflecting on the learning about the brain during puberty and adolescence that we have just talked about. First of all, I'm going to ask you to recall. To recall how the brain changes during puberty and adolescence. And then, going to ask you, to make a list of examples that happen to the brain during this time. I'm going to ask you to pause the video now. When you've completed the task that's on the screen, please press play and we will review your answers. Thank you for rejoining me. Let's have a look now and see if your answers match the examples I'm going to give you. So, for the recall part of your task, you may have talked about the fact that the brain rewires. You may also have mentioned neuron growth. In your list, you may have talked about the brain speeding up or the learning spurt taking place. Now let's move on to talk about the amygdala. That's the tricky word we mentioned earlier. And it's all to do with emotions and impulses. So, there's some information here on the screen, about the amygdala. And it's important first of all to remember that during puberty the brain is essentially maturing. The brain is itself growing up. And when making decisions young people will rely more on the amygdala. And the amygdala is the part of the brain linked to emotions, aggression and impulses. You yourself may be going through changes we associate with puberty and adolescence, and may be able to identify times where you've felt perhaps angry, you might've done something really irrational, behaved a little bit out of character, you may have felt really emotional, you may have older siblings or friends who you can recall a time where their behaviour has been out of proportion or what you may have considered at the time overemotional. And that is more than likely to have linked to the amygdala in their brains. The part of the brain that as teenagers, often young people are relying on. I'd like to finish this sentence, please, the amygdala is part of the brain linked to... You might want to jot this down or you may simply want to speak it out loud. The amygdala is the part of the brain linked to... Now, does your answer match mine? Emotions, aggression and impulses. If you got any of that aspect of the answer within your answer, well done. So, the fact that young people are relying on the amygdala part of their brain, it means that their behaviour might mean they take more risks, have stronger emotions or be a little bit angry, find it really hard to express themselves or had to deal with certain social situations. Now, I do not want to scare you. This is not about young people becoming monsters. Young people can still be warm, sociable, and make really sensible decisions. But sometimes they might need a little bit of extra help, during the teenage years of puberty and adolescence. So that leads us on to this question. Young people will never be able to make sensible decisions during puberty? Do you think that that is true or do you think that that is false? Please point to the correct answer, now. Indeed it is false. Because young people can still be warm, can still be sociable, they can still make really good decisions, but as we've said, just might be a little bit more tricky at times. They may need a little bit of extra help. And the thing to reiterate here is, this is completely normal to be feeling a little bit like, a little bit more aggressive, a little bit more emotional, struggling to handle certain situations, it's really, really normal. You may have heard adults talk about teenagers being hormonal. Essentially, this is what they're referring to. So, we're going to look at a scenario now. And this is the basis of a penultimate or second to last task of today. So this scenario is a situation. And it's all about John. John is 13. And for the last week or so he's been in a really bad mood. His dad made a simple comment the other day, reminding him, you didn't put two sugars in my tea, John. And John screams, he completely overreacts, I can never do anything right, can I? John storms off to his room and cries for the first time in a long time and he feels really confused. His friends asked him to come and play football, and he doesn't even want to leave his room. And this is rare a character for John. So your task, which is going to appear on the next slide, relates to this scenario. And you will be able to download a worksheet with this scenario on and with the task on, if you need it. So here's your task. You're going to consider why John might be feeling angrier and less sociable than usual. I want you to imagine that you are a really close friend of John. You're going to draught an imaginary email offering words of reassurance. Try to explain to him why he feels the way that he does using the knowledge that you've learned from today's lesson. You might want to use the phrases that are on the screen and on the worksheet here to help you put your imaginary email together. When you're ready to do the task, press pause. When you've completed it, please return. Thank you. Thank you for rejoining me. I'm wondering if the sorts of things that you've put in your email have mentioned some of the scientific words we've used today like neuron growth, brain rewiring or amygdala, which are some of the reasons why teenagers or young people going through puberty or adolescence, like John probably is, would feel particularly emotional. You may have mentioned to John that he shouldn't worry because his feelings are absolutely normal and that's something I'd like you to reflect on as well. And to realise that if you're confused about some of the emotions you're going through at the moment, if you're going through puberty or adolescence, you actually understand that it's normal to feel the way that you do. We're going to end today's lesson now with a short reflection about our learning so far. I'd like you to think of three describing words for the changes to the brain during puberty. It can be any three words and I'm happy for you to simply think of them, to speak them out loud or to write them down. So I'm just going to give you a moment to do that. Three describing words for the brain during puberty. Okay. Shall we see if any of your words match my list? Can you see any of your words on my list there? Well done, if any of your words match mine. And I'll also remind you of the word normal, which we've come back to again and again today, to help you understand that the changes that are happening to you are normal too. Thank you so much for joining me today. I really hope that I'm going to see you again in our next lesson. Where we'll be exploring some more of the reasons and examples of changes, that happen to young people during puberty and adolescence. Have a wonderful day. Thank you. Please don't forget to complete the exit quiz for today's lesson. It's been wonderful to have you with me today. Goodbye.

In this lesson, we will learn about attraction caused by sex hormones. We will link this to ideas about body image and social behaviour, and explore normal emotions and behaviours in response to first sexual feelings.  

First sexual feelings

﻿This is the third in a series of six lessons, all about the changing adolescent body. Having already looked at puberty and the changes that we can expect to take place to the human body as it grows up and having already looked at the brain and changes that take place during puberty and adolescence. We now look at first sexual feelings. And we've been like that how we become prepared and our expectations of first adult sexual relationships. If the topic of today's lesson sounds like it may be sensitive to you, please do complete it with a trusted adult nearby or speak to them first or afterwards to discuss your emotions or any further questions that you may have. Let's begin. And so, like in not previous lessons together on this unit, all you're going to need in terms of equipment today, is something to write on, an exercise book or a piece of paper and something to write with a pen or pencil of any kind. When you've got those things we'll begin. Our agenda for today is as follows. Hopefully you've already completed today's introduction quiz. We're going to go on to look at our key words and terms for today's session. We'll also then going to move on to look specifically at hormones and attraction. Before looking at how to manage risks and emotion, before then me directing you to complete our exit quiz for today. Onto our keywords. You can read these for yourself as they appear on the screen. First of all, we have the names of two really important hormones. They are each Oestrogen and Testosterone. Perhaps you could repeat those words after me, as I now say them Eostrogen. Testosterone. Brilliant, thank you so much. These are the hormones that lead to an interest in sex during and after puberty. And that links to the idea of attraction, which basically means when you fancy somebody, which is the language that you may be more used to using with your peers. And then a really adult way to masterbation which describes self touching of the genitals. Okay. So we starting today with a scenario. I'm going to read this to you. You can read along with me, and then you're going to be given a question to reflect on, on the back of this scenario. Chelsea's 13 years old, the last week or so she's been struggling with a changing her feelings towards a boy at school. In science lessons her partner is Joseph. And just recently she's noticed how handsome he is. When he talks her, she can't look at him how embarrassment. He's also really clever. And Chelsea gets butterflies in her stomach When he talks to her. She had similar feelings about a famous footballer once, this time it feels far more real. She thinks that she'd liked Joseph to be her boyfriend. She never tell anybody that. Okay. So that's our scenario. I'm thinking about that scenario, that situation with Chelsea and her feelings towards Joseph, want you to think about this question. Consider, Chelsea is attracted to Joseph. Why is attraction important for human beings? Any ideas? Can you jot those down for me, please? You might want to pause the video, just take a moment or two to do that and then press play and rejoin me. Okay, thank you. Hopefully you've had chance to consider the answers to that question. Let's have a look at some possible responses, about why human attraction is important to human beings. Attraction is important for finding a partner, sharing common interests. Essentially it relates to biology. It's about finding somebody to reproduce and it feels nice to hike somebody else. You may have thought of other reasons, because there are many reasons as to why feeling attracted to somebody, is an important human emotion that many people experience and enjoy experiencing. Might be worth adding that, if you've not felt that emotion, that's absolutely fine. Some of us may be older before we experience that emotion. And in fact, some people, it's not an emotion that comes naturally to them at all in their life. Just something worth remembering. So how does link to science? Want to now look at hormones and how that links to attraction? So during puberty, it's the hormones that we mentioned earlier, testosterone and eostrogen, that make people more interested in sex. It's essentially a chemical reaction in our bodies. And it's completely normal to fancy all the people, which is what we mean by attraction, attraction being for more specific terminology, just because we might be attracted to somebody or we might fancy them. It does not mean we are ready to have sex. Those two things don't necessarily go hand in hand. And that's really important to remember. You might fancy somebody doesn't mean you're ready emotionally or even physically to have sex yet. So let's just look at where we're up to in terms of our understanding through the use of this multiple choice question. There are two hormones on the list of four here that contribute to sexual feelings and attraction. I would like you to identify which ones they are, point to the first one now. And if you could now point to your second choice, brilliant. So you should have chosen two hormones that you think are linked to attraction to fancying people. Let's see if you are correct. So our correct answers are testosterone and eostrogen. Have you got those right? If not, don't worry. We going to return to our scenario now. And we're still talking about the same individuals here. Joseph feels a little uncomfortable in science, because Chelsea has started to act a little strangely around him. It has crossed Joseph's mind that Chelsea might fancy him. Joseph thinks Chelsea's great but, Joseph is certain that he likes boys that way not girls. He really, really likes a singer from a famous boy band. Although he knows he'll probably never meet him, until he someone he likes as much in real life. Isn't doing any secret crush. Joseph knows he isn't ready for an adult relationship. I like you to consider the following. Joseph knows he isn't ready for a sexual relationship. So please copy and complete. The possible risks of rushing into a sexual relationship before we are ready include. So you might want to pause the video for a moment as you think, copy and complete that sentence and press play to resume when you're ready, Okay, you may have included something along the lines of Joseph not being emotionally ready, or the risk of being upset or regretful, and possibly unwanted pregnancies and STIs. Thank you for rejoining me. I'll look at your answers to the question about the possible risks associated with entering into an adult relationship, before you're ready. Do they match mine? So don't being emotionally ready and answer to do with emotions would be a really good one. And our emotions being impacted by being in a relationship that we weren't ready for, lead us to being upset, could lead us to feeling regretful perhaps. The relationship probably won't go in the right direction and won't make us happy if we're not ready for that yet. Also, if the relationship is physical, is a sexual relationship before we are emotionally ready, that might lead us to taking risks that could lead to unwanted pregnancy, or possibly sexually transmitted infections. All of these aspects of adult relationships and particularly of the risk taking that might be involved in adult relationships. Before we are ready to embark on them, We're going to go on to look at in a couple of slides time. Your answers may be different from mine. You may have thought of even better ideas and that's absolutely fine. So this slide just gives a little bit of information and a definition of what masturbation is. Just something that many young people will begin to explore and become familiar with, after they enter puberty and beyond. perfectly normal. But it's also perfectly normal not to masturbate as well. That brings us to managing risks and emotions, at this tricky time of puberty and adolescence. Young people might feel ready for sex during puberty or adolescence. Remember the age of consent is 16. And having sex sooner than this is illegal because it's likely that young people are not emotionally prepared. Sex between an adult and child is illegal. Of course, there's also the physical risk of sexually transmitted infections or an unwanted pregnancy if precautions are not taken during sex. And evidence suggests having sex, when not emotionally mature, may lead to more risk taking. on the back of that. I'd like you to consider what emotions someone might experience if they get involved in an adult relationship before they are ready? just think of two or three different emotions someone might experience if they embark on that relationship before they are ready? Have a think and say those emotions out loud. Yep, scared, frightened, regretful, upset, terrified, sad, fearful, lots of examples. And I'm sure you thought of something. So linked to our tasks today, we are now going to complete one final main task in today's lesson. I'm sure you are familiar with my maps. You're going to create a mind map today. I'm going to give you a template just in case you are unsure. You're going to try to add two examples to each section of my mind map template. So the mind map is all about healthy first relationships. I put three different branches onto my mind map here. Communication. Activities. Behaviour. And for those three different branches, you're going to think of two examples. So just to illustrate a little bit further before you go ahead and do this on your own, if we think about what would be healthy behaviour within a first relationship, one example might be to be never cruel or violent. So you can see I've linked that example to my behaviour branch on my mind map. So I would like you to now pause the video and to copy and complete my mind map, adding two examples of your own to communication, to activities, and a further example to behaviour. You might be able to add more than two, and if you struggle, even just adding one example to each branch would be fantastic. So remember we thinking about healthy first relationships in a healthy first relationship, what activities would be healthy? How should we communicate? and what behaviour is healthy? please pause the video to complete the task now. Thank you so much for rejoining me. So please have your mind map in front of you that you've completed or tried to complete to the best of your ability. Remember, we're thinking about healthy first relationships. Have you made any similar points on your mind map? To the ones that I'm going to list now below on the slide. So in terms of communication, you may have put points along the line, or lines off. It's important to share feelings, talk about shedding trust, talking with kindness and respect, listening to each other. And if we disagree to do that respectfully. In terms of activities, enjoying sharing interests together, going to a concert, going to a cinema enjoying time, not just together, but also with your own friends. It's also really important. On behaviour. Healthy behaviour in a first adult relationship. Respecting each other's boundaries and choices, so important. Never being violent or cruel. Not breaking each other's confidence. If one of you tells the other something that's meant to be private, it's kept that way. Making joint decisions and never putting pressure on each other to take the relationship further in any way than the other person is ready for. I wonder if you got similar answers to mine, you may have thought of different ones, which is absolutely brilliant. Just have a look and see if any of my ideas, match ones that you've written down. We now going to move on to the final reflection of today's lesson. So final scenario, and you're going to use your reflections on this scenario to help you with the final reflection question that you'll be thinking about when we move on to the next slide. Joseph is now 16, through joining his local gym. He's met a boy called Adam, Joseph and Adam have started seeing each other two or three times a week. They attend the gym together. They like going to the cinema and they've talked about being in a relationship and being in each other's boyfriends, but they're both happy just to take the time and to get to know each other. Joseph's also spending time with Chelsea, he's good friend. because they help each other with their studies. But Joseph and Adam treat each other with patience and respect. So think about the positives of this relationship before we move on to the next slide. I'm going to leave you with a question today, something to ponder on over the coming weeks. And it might be something that at some point in your life, you've sort of drawn having already thought about this really important question. What do you think most important feature of a healthy first relationship is? If you can really think about that question and have that in your mind, hopefully something that you will draw on and use and refer back to, perhaps when you're ready to have your first adult relationship, or perhaps when you're talking to friends about their first adult relationship. So I'll leave that question with you. Thank you so much for joining me today. I would really like it, if you would complete today's exit quiz, don't forget to do that. And hopefully I'll see you next time, in our next lesson, in this unit about adolescent and the changing body. Goodbye.

In this lesson, we will learn about the importance of regular washing and hygiene in relation to particular body parts as we become teenagers. 

Hygiene

﻿Hello, I'm Mrs. O'Neill. This is lesson four of our six-lesson unit on the changing adolescent body. We've already looked at the changes we can expect to take place during puberty, both to the body and the brain. We've looked at first sexual feelings and relationships. We're now going to look at the importance of hygiene during puberty, which is in direct relation to the changes happening to the body that we've already discussed in previous lessons. I'm looking forward to today's lesson. I hope that you will enjoy it too. Thank you. Do remember, if this lesson topic is a little bit sensitive to you do complete it with a trusted adult nearby. Let's begin. So for today's lesson, you are going to need something to write on, your exercise book, or a piece of paper, or something. In today's lesson, you are going to need something to write on, so an exercise book, or a piece of paper, and something to write with. A pen or a pencil of any kind. On to today's agenda. As usual, we will have an exit quiz at the end that I'll direct you to. And you should already have completed today's introductory quiz. The topics that we'll be learning about during today's lesson are going to be general hygiene during puberty. We'll also then move on to more specifically, hygiene related to the penis, and then hygiene related to the vulva, which are the male and female genitalia. However, even though you might think, well, I don't have a penis, that part of the lesson isn't relevant to me, it's still really important you understand, because one day you might have children. You might have family members that you need to advise. So the whole of today's lesson is really important not just the parts that you might think are more specifically relevant to you. Keywords for today. Hygiene simply means keeping clean to be healthy. Discharge, so the mucus produced by the vagina. And cystitis, which is an unpleasant and uncomfortable inflammation of the bladder. We'll also be mentioning the term smegma today, which is a thick, white substance that collects under the foreskin. So the word foreskin itself is also important that we understand that that means, refers to the skin that covers the end of the penis. It's the skin that circumcised people have had removed. Often males at birth are circumcised, sometimes for religious reasons, sometimes for health reasons. And often many, many males are circumcised later on during their life for a variation of reasons. So if you've been circumcised, it means you no longer have the foreskin. So first off, let's consider in general why is hygiene important? Please have a think. Please make a little list on your piece of paper, just over the course of 30 seconds or so, reasons why hygiene is important, two or three bullet points. Okay, have you thought of two or three? Should we see if your ideas match mine? So hopefully you came up with two or three ideas about why hygiene is important that match mine. But this list here gives us a really good overview of why it's important to be hygienic. Now, during puberty there's a particular importance on hygiene. Let's just talk about some of the general hygiene information that's relevant to all young people going through puberty. It's worth knowing and remembering that during puberty, it's more than likely young people will sweat more and perhaps may have increased body odour. That therefore links very much to the fact that washing is really important. It's important to wash regularly during puberty. So for example, whereas maybe aged eight or nine, it was acceptable and you felt perfectly clean and fresh having a bath maybe two or three times a week, that needs to be increased during puberty. Many people during puberty will have a really good wash or clean, ideally a shower, daily. Deodorant is something that young people during puberty or adolescents may start to use regularly. Deodorant certainly can help you feel fresh. It can help you smell fresh, but it only works alongside washing to keep you clean. It's not a replacement for washing, and actually it can lead to sort of not very nice smells if you're just trying to cover up a lack of washing with deodorant. So washing is really important because you are going to sweat more. You are going to experience more body odour during puberty, and that's perfectly, perfectly normal. So these are the general facts you need to be aware of. So thinking about those facts, thinking about that information that we just talked through, there are four examples of information here. One of these is false. As I go through them, have a think about which one you think is false. Washing more regularly during puberty may be needed. Using deodorant is just as good as washing during puberty. It's normal to sweat more during puberty. And it's normal to produce body odour during puberty. Which of those four options is false. Point to your screen now, pointing particularly at the option that you believe is false. Shall we check your answer? Deodorant, using deodorant just as good as washing during puberty is false, is incorrect. Deodorant needs to be used alongside regular washing. It can help us feel fresher. Can help us feel cleaner but only when used alongside regular washing. Did you get it right? Hope so, but if not, don't worry. So now we're going to look at hygiene relating to the penis. It's really important the penis is kept clean. The whole of the pubic area should also be washed. Now, we mentioned foreskin before. If you have a foreskin, it's important that that's pulled back to wash it properly. So that smegma is removed. Smegma is a thick, white substance that will collect under the foreskin if it's not cleaned regularly. And that doesn't smell so nice. So it's something that needs to be removed. Germs will be collected there. It's not a pleasant substance if it's not removed regularly. So, that's something that you need to be aware of. If you have a foreskin, or if you might at some point in the future need to advise someone who does. So, relating to the information we've just discussed, let's think about that term smegma. Smegma is a harmless substance that can be left alone. Is that true or is that false? Please point to the screen now. So are you pointing to true or false? Shall we see if you're correct? It's false, smegma collects under the foreskin and it needs to be removed regularly for hygiene reasons. Onto the vulva. So the vulva is the name of the exterior part of the female genitalia. It's outside the body, and this is the area that will be wiped after going to the toilet. And it's really important that the vulva is wiped from front to back. From front to back. This will help prevent cystitis, which is a bladder irritation, and other elements as well that may come about through if we're not wiping from front to back, can cause other imitations also. So wiping from front to back is really good advice. The vagina produces clear mucus to help keep it clean. And the discharge that's produced, which is often linked to ovulation, it's part of the menstrual cycle. That's nothing to worry about, and it's supposed to be a little bit wet all the time. The vagina should be washed normally. Now, if you go into any chemist, any supermarket that has feminine products in there, as they call it, the aisle normally, that feminine products aisle, they will sell products that are specifically designed to clean the vulva. You don't need them. The vagina is self-cleaning. And inside the vulva, as we've said, it's designed to be a little bit wet. The substances that the vagina produces help to keep it clean. It's a self-cleaning part of the body. So these female washes, as they're so-called, are not necessary. In actual fact, there's some evidence to suggest that they can cause further irritation for some people. So they really are best avoided. So, let's just test ourselves some of the knowledge that we've just gone through there. After going to the toilet, we should always wipe from front to back. Is that true or is that false? Point to the correct answer please. It's true. Now, that advice is given there for people who have a vulva. However, if you don't have a vulva, that advice is not going to do you any harm either. It's something that we can remember, we can pass on to relatives, to perhaps children that we may have in the future that we need to advise on their hygiene. We wipe from front to back. We're going to a task now. This relates to hygiene in puberty. And we're going to need to reflect and think back on the knowledge that we've just been going through. So I'm going to ask you to consider, to think, first of all what would your top five tips be to others regarding hygiene in puberty? And I'd like you to write five sentences for me. Five sentences about hygiene in puberty. You might want to think specifically about the penis or about the vulva. And you might want to think also in general, advice for anybody. And I've given you two sentence-starters. You don't have to use these at all, but they're there just to get you going, just in case you need them. If you can't manage five sentences, try and aim for three. And if you can manage more than five different pieces of advice, absolutely fantastic. So when you are ready, please pause the video to complete the task and resume when you have completed it. Thank you. Thank you for rejoining me. I asked you to write five sentences, your five top-tips for hygiene in puberty. I wonder if your answers matched mine. My examples involve washing regularly, the smegma removal, use of deodorant alongside washing, wiping from front to back after using the toilet, and staying away from the special soaps that are sold to keep the vagina clean. You may have come up with some different ones. You may have come up with the same, but hopefully you've been able to prove to yourself that you've got a really good understanding now of the importance of hygiene and specific aspects of hygiene during puberty. So I'm going to leave you to consider a phrase that I'd like you to finish off for me, please. I want you to think about the main reason why hygiene is important for everybody during puberty. Consider the main reason. And keep that in your mind now. And keep that in your mind as perhaps you go through puberty and adolescence, or when perhaps you need to remind yourselves of some of the specifics around hygiene and why it's important. You can keep this phrase in mind. Thank you so much for joining me today. And I'd like you to please now complete today's exit quiz. I really hope that I'm going to see you in our future lessons in this unit of the changing adolescent body. Have a wonderful day. Thank you.

In this lesson, we will learn about the typical cycle length of a period. We will look at reasons why periods are sometimes irregular, and the variety/choice of period products available. 

Menstrual health: expectations and period products

In this lesson, we will learn about what constitutes a 'heavy' period and why this can happen. We will also learn that sometimes periods can also be painful, and we will explore options to help cope with this.  

Menstrual health: understanding periods

﻿Hello. I'm Mrs. O'Neill. Thank you for joining me today. This is the sixth and final lesson in our changing adolescent bodies unit. We've looked at changes to the body during puberty. We've looked at changes to the brain. We've also looked at hygiene and first sexual relationships and sexual feelings. Last lesson, we focused on periods or menstruation. Today we're going to continue that. Today's lesson is called understanding periods. We're going to try and look little bit deeper and get a little bit more understanding about periods and how they affect us. And this lesson, just like last lesson, is relevant to everybody. Whether you are someone who has periods or who doesn't, this is really important information for everybody to have that's relevant for everybody in their lives. Let's begin. In this lesson, all you're going to need equipment-wise is an exercise book or paper to write on and some kind of pen to write with. Please grab those items now if you've not got them already. Let's look at the agenda for today's lesson. I'm hoping that you've already completed today's intro quiz. And at the end of the lesson, I'll be directing you towards the exit quiz. We'll be looking today at what is meant when we use the term heavy periods. We're going to also consider painful periods, what that means and how we can help to ease the pain associated with periods. We're going to look at who we can seek advice from and help, if we are suffering from heavy or painful periods, or if we need to advise somebody ourselves who is. So let's look at the keywords for today. Heavy period. This essentially describes a period where there is blood loss of more than 80 millilitres. It's not expected that people measure that blood flow in millilitres. It's not something that people tend to do regularly, but that amount gives a benchmark if someone is concerned, and there are ways to measure perhaps using menstrual cups, which we talked about last lesson, as a way to understand if the period is heavy or not. But essentially if a period products has to be changed far more frequently than it's expected to be based on the instructions that go with that period product, we can assume that perhaps the period is heavy. Most people come to know their bodies, their cycles, their periods quite well to understand if their period is heavy or not. And we'll also be talking about period pain, which is stomach or lower back cramps that often occur either during or just before a period. I want to start with the question. If you were concerned about something to do with your health, and it doesn't need to be period related, who could you talk to about it? Take a moment or two to think of two or three examples, or to jot that down, your two or three ideas, and then I'll share mine with you in a moment. Okay I'm hoping that you've thought of two or three examples of someone you might speak to if you have concerns about your health. You want to tell me what those examples are? Okay, let's have a look and see if they match mine. So who can you talk to with health concerns, your GP, your doctor. If that is something that you've written down, well done, it's a really obvious and correct answer. Everyone should have a registered GP, and you should all be able to access an appointment if you need to. Many GPs now have online services and you can ask questions or even seek online appointments as well through the service that they provide, if they have it. So that might be something worth looking into for you if you have health concerns in the future. Obviously, liaising with a trusted adult where appropriate too. A school nurse. So your schools should have a school nurse that visits a particular time of the week or particular time of the day. And you should be able to access an appointment through with the school nurse. You might want to find out how you go about doing that. Some schools will have a drop-in lunchtime session, for example, with the school nurse, where you can turn up without an appointment, some schools, you might need to go through the school receptionist, or email a certain person, or speak to your form tutor, perhaps, in order to access the school nurse. Worth finding that out if you don't know already. A parent or trusted adult at home. Also really good person to talk to if you're concerned about your health, because they can often give you some reassurance or help you access some more specialist advice if needed. So there's a really important question. What is a normal period? And to be honest, a normal period is different for everybody. Normal period for one person may not be normal for another. And I just want to really emphasise that, especially for those of you who may be experiencing periods for the first time, and maybe comparing to your friends, please don't. Don't let it concern you if your experience of periods is different to theirs. But essentially the definition of normal menstrual period bleeding is losing less than 18 millilitre, having periods that last less than seven days, and needing to change a tampon or sanitary pad or towel every four to six hours on the heaviest day. Some of you, your normal period may be slightly outside of those parameters. And that's fine. So true or false question. Is it normal to change tampons or parts every hour during a period? True or false, please point to the correct answer on the screen now. Let's see if you are correct. It's false, because actually in a normal period, if we're going to use that word, a tampon or sanitary towel or pad should need to be changed every four to six hours. It may be a little more often on heavy days if that's normal for you. However, every hour we would consider to be a heavy period. So continuing this theme of heavy periods that we're looking at now, we talked about heavy bleeding being more than the 80 millilitres, longer than seven days, and needing to change more than every four hours. And so adding to that, it's not usually necessary to measure blood loss. Most women have got a good idea like I said before about what's normal for them. And if things change, they can normally tell without having to measure. And if those changes are concerning without reason that might be a time to seek some medical advice. But for most women, listening to their own instincts is probably the best way to measure or not whether a period is heavy and does need some medical attention. So we have a multiple choice questionnaire, which is not a sign of heavy periods. So there's four options. One of them is incorrect or false. Is it more than 80 millilitres of blood loss? Is not a sign of every period. Periods lasting more than seven days, less than 50 millilitres blood loss, or changing a tampon every two hours. Please point to which answer you think is not a sign of heavy periods. Let's see if you are correct. The fact that less than 50 millilitres of blood loss is not a sign of heavy periods. That's the wrong statistic in there, because we should've been looking at 80 millilitres. Now let's turn our attention to period pain. I want to start by saying that period pain is normal. Light exercise can help and normal day-to-day activities can continue. So yes, a bit of discomfort, cramping within the tummy, or the lower back is really common and is normal. And if your day-to-day life can continue, then that pain isn't something to be concerned about. If you've got my old pain, and again, if that's associated with periods or not, or some kind of discomfort, what do you do to make yourself feel better? Again, just think of two or three examples, or maybe jot those two or three examples down. Just going to give you a moment to do that. Again, why not tell me what your examples are? Thank you very much. Let's now see if they match my ideas. So mild pain. What can you do? The examples I've given here, taking a mild painkiller, something like Paracetamol. Must say, shouldn't be taking any medication without adult supervision, so please make sure that if you are a child you are taking any medication under adult supervision with their permission and their knowledge, et cetera. But yeah, a mild pain killer can take away mild pain, whether that be tummy cramps, headache, lots of examples. Sometimes an enjoyable activity can help to distract us, so that could be going for a walk, going for a run, going to the cinema, doing something to keep ourselves occupied to take our mind off the pain and discomfort can sometimes really help. You might want a comforter, hot water bottle, for example, something that can help alleviate the pain by giving good comfort. Nice, hot drink is another example there. Remember, we're talking here about mild pain, not serious pain. Well, there may be times when people need to seek help over their periods. Please speak to a parent, trusted adult, school nurse, teacher, or GP if: there is pain that interferes with regular activities. So if during your period, the pain stopped you from getting on with your day-to-day life, then that is perhaps a problem. Maybe there is a genuine worry that the periods are too heavy, changing the sanitary protection product far too often, to being aware that, actually, the loss is quite a lot, that is something that you may think, mm, "I perhaps do need to speak to somebody." Periods that regularly last longer than seven days, or generally, you've got questions, you don't like the look of your menstrual blood, or there's just something that instinctively isn't quite right, don't be afraid to seek help. It's more than likely that your mind will be put at rest, but there are some medical conditions that you may be suffering from, and there may be medication or there may be particular activities or procedures that can be recommended by a medical professional to help. Like I say, in most cases, people will be completely fine. There's nothing to worry about at all. But if you are concerned, please don't be afraid to seek that advice. Let's look at another scenario. This links back to our last lesson, and we met Chelsea then when she was considering which period product to use. So we're going to continue with Chelsea's understanding about her periods by looking at her story and considering our own responses to that. Your Chelsea's friend, and she's confided in you, having started her periods a few months ago, that she's worried. As her friend, I would like you to think of a minimum of three questions you would ask Chelsea to help her understand if she needs to seek medical help or advice from a trusted adult or medical professional. So let's just recap this. Chelsea has told you as her friend that she's worried about her periods. What three questions would you ask her to advise her whether or not she needs to speak to an adult or medical professional? I've given you two examples there of how you might start your questions. You don't have to use those, and you might want to push yourselves a little bit further with a bit of extra challenge. You might want to imagine what Chelsea's answers might be if her periods were normal or even indeed not normal. So when you are ready to attempt this task, please pause the video and resume when you have completed it. Please pause the video now. Thank you for rejoining me. So let's look at some possible questions that you may have come up with to ask Chelsea in order to see if her periods are something thing that she should be concerned about to the point where she does need to speak to a trusted adult or medical professional. My possible questions that you may have come up with something that's similar to, are: are your periods painful? Do your periods last more than seven days? And are you changing your period product more often than every four hours? With the first question, you may have mentioned it a little bit further, and you may have asked Chelsea if the pain is manageable if it's the sorts of pain that she can still get on with her day-to-day life with. And if not, then again that's perhaps another area where she might be concerned over, and she might want to seek just an extra little bit of reassurance from an adult or from a doctor or a school nurse, just to make sure that everything's okay. Well done if you came up with similar questions, and well done if you were able to think of some of the answers that Chelsea may have given in order for her periods to be proven to be completely normal, or perhaps something that she needed just to seek the extra bit of advice over. That brings us to the end of today's lesson. I'm going to end with the final reflection. Periods are nothing to be embarrassed about. Why is this statement important to remember? And I want all of you watching this video to think of an answer to that question, why periods are nothing to be embarrassed about? And there may be a time in your life where you need that reassurance yourself or you need to give that reassurance to someone, a friend or family member, who may be feeling embarrassed about their periods. Again, just a reminder, 50% of the world have or have had periods. Therefore, people really shouldn't be embarrassed. Can you think of a main reason something that you would use to reassure yourself or others as to why being embarrassed of periods is something that we should never be? I really, really want to say thank you to those of you who have stuck with me through all of these lessons about the changing adolescent body, some really difficult topics, some thought provoking topics. And I hope that you've gained some knowledge, some reassurance, some learning from the series of lessons that we've gone through together. There's lots of information out there to help reassure you further about changes that happened during puberty and adolescence. First point of call should always be a trusted adult, teacher, school nurse, who will always be able to point you in the right direction if you have any concerns at all. Thank you so much again. Please don't forget to complete today's exit quiz, and hopefully I'll see you in another of our RSHE lessons. Goodbye.

Unit Overview: Changing adolescent body: Puberty and menstrual wellbeing

Lessons: