Lesson video

Hi everyone.

My name is Ms. Wittams-Howarth.

Today we're gonna be learning about sex and other aspects of health.

Now, some parts of the lesson might be upsetting or worrying, or uncomfortable.

You are required to be accompanied by a trusted adult, and if at any stage you are upset or concerned, or have questions, then please pause the video, and close the screen and speak to that trusted adult.

Let's get started.

The outcome for today's lesson.

I can explain how to access confidential sexual and reproductive health advice and treatment.

Before we get into the lesson properly, let's have a look at some ground rules for today's lesson.

Firstly, Laura says, "Listen to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

When disagreeing, challenge the statement, not the person." Secondly, Andeep says, "Respect privacy.

We can discuss examples, but don't use names or descriptions that identify anyone, including ourselves." So for example, you could talk about my friend and then we don't know who it is.

We don't know if it's you, we don't know if it is a friend.

We don't know if it's something that you've seen on TikTok or YouTube or something.

Also, remember that there is no judgement.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without the fear of being judged.

And that also means that there are no silly questions.

If you've got a question, I'm sure plenty of other people will have asked it before, or will want to ask it in the lesson today.

And then lastly, you can choose your level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or to join in the discussion.

We are never gonna put anyone on the spot, and that includes your trusted adult.

We have some key words for today's lesson.

They'll be highlighted in bold all the way through, so keep a watch out for them.

Confidential.

That means keeping information private and not sharing it with others without permission.

Sexual health clinic, that's a place where people can get advice, testing and treatment for sexual health issues.

Then we have general practitioner or GP.

Sometimes they're also called your family doctor.

They are a doctor who provides general medical care and advice.

And then we have reproductive health.

That is the health of the reproductive system and the ability to have a healthy reproductive life.

In the lesson today, there are two parts.

Firstly, where I find reliable health advice and secondly, how can you access confidential advice and treatment? So let's start here.

Where do I find reliable health advice? Social and reproductive health is a sensitive topic, and misinformation can lead to confusion poor decisions and even risks to your health.

Even if it might feel uncomfortable to talk about, it's really important that you feel able to talk about this.

Accurate information empowers you to make safe, informed and responsible choices about your body and the relationships that you have.

It's important to find reliable sources of information on these topics.

So what are reliable sources? Reliable sources are places where you can find factual, accurate, and up-to-date information.

The NHS website provides detailed, fact checked information about sexual health and reproductive health, including contraception, STIs, and puberty.

It's also kept up to date.

So as things change or develop, those things are reflected on the website too.

How well have you been listening? True or false? The NHS website is an example of a reliable source of health advice, true or false? So if you said true, you'd be absolutely right.

Well done.

General practitioners or GPs can also give you reliable and confidential advice about sexual and reproductive health? Sexual health clinics are another confidential and non-judgmental source of reliable information.

They provide services like STI testing and contraceptive advice too.

You may also find near you that there is a youth clinic and that's specifically designed for young people where they can get sexual health advice and treatment too.

If you ask your trusted adult, they'll be able to help you find out more.

Also, there are pharmacies.

They offer advice on sexual and reproductive health, and they also provide some contraceptive methods too.

Not all information sources are reliable.

When looking for sexual and reproductive health advice avoid social media.

While influencers and content creators may share their opinions, their advice is not often fact checked or accurate, or indeed up to date.

Unverified websites or blogs.

Websites without proper credentials or references might spread misinformation.

There are some great reliable websites out there though, so if you ask your trusted adult, they might be able to signpost you to those.

Friends or peers as your only source of information is also not very reliable.

They probably mean really well, but they might not have accurate knowledge or up to date knowledge, or the experience to be able to provide that reliable advice that you want.

Also, sexual and reproductive health is really personal, not just about that sexual reproductive part, but often the rest of your health has a bearing on what advice or what treatment you might need.

So it's really important to talk to a qualified health professional.

So let's check how well have you been listening? Which of the following are reliable sources of health advice? A general practitioner, a sexual health clinic, or an unverified blog? Have a think.

So if you said a general practitioner or a sexual health clinic, you'd be absolutely right.

Really well done.

So Jack needs advice on sexual and reproductive health.

Firstly, I'd like you to tick the reliable sources of information.

They're going to come up on the screen in a few moments time and I would like you to have a look, and tick which ones you think are reliable.

Then the second part of the task.

For the second part, I'd like you to write advice to Jack explaining why the unticked sources should be avoided.

So you're going to need to use all of the things that you've learned in this lesson so far.

So here are the sources of information that you need to choose from.

NHS website, social media, unverified websites, and GP or general practitioner.

So which of these four are reliable? Now what I suggest you do is pause the video and then have a go.

We'll take some feedback in a moment.

So part one of the task, you had to tick the reliable sources of information, and you should have ticked the NHS website and you should have ticked GP.

Well done if you got that correct.

So for the next part of the task, you needed to explain why social media and unverified websites were not accurate and reliable sources of information.

What could you have said? Your answers might have included the following ideas.

So for social media you might have said, "You shouldn't rely on social media as influencers and content creators might share their opinions, but their advice is not often fact checked or accurate or even up to date." And for unverified websites, you might have said, "You should avoid websites without proper credentials or references as these might spread misinformation." Well done if you go that right, and if you picked out some of those key points too.

Great work.

Let's move on to the second part of the lesson.

How do I access confidential advice and treatment? Now there are different ways of accessing information or an appointment.

You might call for an appointment or to get advice.

Sometimes you might have to ring up a GP surgery, for example, to make an appointment.

You might be able to book an appointment online.

Again, some GP practises have an online booking system, and some services, for example, particularly youth drop-in centres for sexual health, they have a walk-in option, which means you don't need to have an appointment, you can just show up.

So there's three different ways that you can access appointments.

And usually that information can be found out on the website.

Your rights.

So you have the right to access confidential advice even if you are under 16, and you don't need to have a grownup with you.

Medical professionals will only break confidentiality if they believe that you or someone else is in danger, and they will most probably discuss that with you first.

How well are you listening? You have the right to access confidential advice even if you are under 16, true or false? Have a little think.

So if you said true, you'd be right.

You are absolutely entitled to confidential advice even if you are under 16.

What to expect.

So when you get to that appointment, what might happen? Medical professionals might ask personal questions to help provide the right care and information.

Now that might feel awkward and uncomfortable, but remember that they probably have heard exactly the same stuff that you are telling them before.

They've been in years of training.

They've done tonnes of practise, they will have heard it.

You're not gonna shock them.

And they're asking the questions, not because they want to be nosy, but because they want to give you the right advice and the right care.

And you can ask questions so that you can feel more confident and informed, and they're not gonna laugh at you, or they're not gonna believe that your questions are silly.

Actually, they really welcome questions 'cause it means that you are really engaged and you are really interested in looking after yourself.

So they'll be really happy if you ask questions.

And it really is common to feel worried or nervous before an appointment.

And there are some things that you can do to help.

So you might want to write down questions, or worries, or just issues that you want to discuss before your appointment.

You could do that on a bit of paper, you could do it in the notes section of your phone.

Doesn't really matter, but you are really welcome to take that with you and the health professional really won't mind either.

Also, it's really important to remember that health professionals are there to help and not to judge.

So whatever you tell them, they're not going to think badly of you.

They just want to get the right information and that they would rather that you were completely honest, and they're much happier with that.

They're there to help you, they're not there to judge you.

The third thing you could do is to take a trusted friend or grownup to give you support if it helps.

And that can be useful in lots of ways.

They might help remind you of things that you wanted to talk about.

They also might help you remember what the health professional has said.

Sometimes there's a lot to take in.

So that is also another really good thing to do if you're feeling worried.

And health professionals don't mind if you do that.

They're really comfortable if you take somebody with you to give you a bit of support.

So let's check how well have you been listening? What are some strategies you can use to help feel less worried or nervous before a health appointment? Should you avoid asking questions during the appointment? Should you write down your questions or worries beforehand? Should you remember that health professionals are there to help and not to judge? Or should you bring a trusted friend or adult for support? Now there's more than one right answer.

How well are you gonna do? Now, here we go.

I'm going to give you a couple of seconds to think about that and then we'll take some feedback.

So if you said you could write down your questions beforehand, you'd be correct.

If you said, remember that health professionals are there to help and not to judge, you'd be correct too, and to bring a trusted friend or adult for support, also correct.

So well done if you got those three right.

Good work.

So let's do a task.

Sofia is feeling nervous about visiting a sexual health clinic for advice about contraception.

She's worried that the visit won't be private and she feels unsure about what to say during the appointment.

There's three parts to this task.

So part one, write one short paragraph explaining how confidentiality works in this situation and why Sofia shouldn't worry about her privacy.

Part two, list three strategies Sofia can use to feel more confident and prepared before the appointment.

And then part three, identify one trusted source of confidential sexual health advice Sofia could use if she doesn't feel quite ready to visit the clinic.

So have a go at this.

I suggest you pause the recording while you do, and then we'll take some feedback in a little while.

Off you go.

Let's take some feedback.

Sofia is feeling nervous about visiting the sexual health clinic and I asked you to start with to write one short paragraph explaining how confidentiality works in this situation, and why Sofia shouldn't worry about privacy.

So confidentiality means anything that Sofia shares with the sexual health clinic will remain private.

The staff are trained to keep Sofia's information safe and will only break confidentiality if they believe Sofia or someone else is in serious danger.

This means that Sofia can trust them to provide advice and treatment without involving anyone else unless absolutely necessary.

So she can be completely honest, she doesn't need to worry.

Part two, I asked you to list three strategies Sofia can use to feel more confident and prepared before the appointment.

So the three strategies she could use, write down any questions or worries before the appointment to feel organised and ready.

She could also keep in mind that the health professionals are there to help and not to judge.

And thirdly, she could take a trusted friend or adult for support, particularly if she feels nervous going alone.

So well done if you got all those three or any of them.

Well done.

And then task three, identify one trusted source of confidential sexual health advice Sofia could use if she doesn't quite feel ready to visit the clinic.

So Sofia could use the NHS website, which provides accurate and confidential information about sexual and reproductive health.

The website includes advice on contraception, so Sofia could find out stuff for herself.

She might also choose to use it before she goes to the appointment.

So she's feeling informed and a bit more confident.

Well done if you got that.

So let's have a summary of the lesson.

Some sources of information are more trustworthy and reliable than others.

Trusted and reliable sources of health information include the NHS website, a GP, or medical professional at the pharmacy or a sexual health clinic.

You have the right to access confidential advice about sexual and reproductive health even if you are under 16.

If someone felt nervous about an appointment, they could write a list of questions beforehand or take somebody they trusted to the appointment with them.

And on this last slide, here are some places where you can get support.

So there's a reminder about the NHS website, and also Childline, which is a website and phone line which can offer confidential advice and support.

And you're free to use any of those at any point.

Thank you for learning with me today.

Great work, thank you for all of your contributions, and I'll look forward to seeing you again soon.

Take care of yourselves.

Bye-bye.