We’re developing new PSHE resources for schools!
We are very excited to have secured UKRI Impact Accelerator Account pilot funding to develop new Personal Social Health and Economic (PSHE) lesson resources for key stages 3 and 4.
Between September 2025 and February 2026 we are working with Tooled Up Education, the PSHE Association, Internet Matters, and young people in years 7-10, to develop lesson plans that focus on the issues young people experience on social media that are most important to them.
We’ll also be speaking to parents and teachers about the challenges they face in supporting young people’s social media use, and developing some guidance based on both their and young people’s feedback.
Why is this work needed?
Social media plays a central role in young people’s everyday lives, shaping how they connect and communicate with friends, access news and information, and develop interests and hobbies.
However, while social media provides opportunities, we know it also brings challenges for young people. Often cited concerns centre on access to dangerous and harmful content and individuals, cyberbullying, and navigating mis- and disinformation. Alongside these challenges are some more subtle issues that young people must manage on a daily basis. These include feeling left out, worrying about being judged by what others see about them online, and not feeling totally in control of their social media use.
PSHE lessons offer an invaluable opportunity to explore this range of issues and support young people to develop critical social media literacy skills. However, existing classroom resources have a narrow focus on online safety and high-profile risks, overlooking the subtle, everyday dynamics of social media.
This project responds to this gap in provision. By collaborating with young people, teachers, and parents, we are co-create PSHE lessons and guidance that reflect real experiences, address authentic challenges, and empower both young people and the adults who support them to navigate social media with confidence and care.
What will we do?
We will run a series of workshops with young people and roundtables with parents and teachers, alongside regular meetings with our project partners. These conversations will ensure that the voices of students, families, and schools shape the lesson plans from the start. Based on this feedback, we will refine and test the resources before sharing them more widely.
Project partners
The national body for Personal, Social, Health and Economic education in England. PSHE Association works to support schools and teachers in delivering high-quality PSHE education. Offer a suite of quality-assured lesson plans, guidance, and advice for teachers and schools. Also provides training and professional development for educators to help them teach PSHE with confidence.
Internet Matters is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to helping parents, carers, and professionals keep children safe online. They provide advice, resources, and practical tools to help families navigate the digital world and empower children to use technology safely and responsibly.
Tooled Up Education is an digital platform thatprovides evidence-based resources to support parents, teachers, and school staff in raising and educating children. Their goal is to ensure that educators and parents are as ‘tooled up’ as they could possibly be when it comes to supporting the happy and healthy development of the children in their lives.
A secondary school in Rochdale with a diverse student body. The school has cultivated a strong, deeply ingrained culture over the past 15 years, centred on its core values: CHANGE (Composed, High standards, Agency, Numeracy and literacy, Growth mindset, Empathy). This framework is consistently used by all staff to promote a clear and shared understanding of expected behaviour and attitudes.