Esteem

We are thrilled to welcome two new Schools Workers to the team, who bring a wealth of experience with them as well as sharing our passion for relationships and sex education.

Michelle will be working with us for 2 days a week, delivering RSE in London schools and developing our new racial identity project.

"Hi, my name is Michelle and I am really happy to be part of the team. I am a South East London girl and, before joining acet UK, have worked alongside children and young people of all ages from many backgrounds as a teacher, nurse, and schools worker.

In spite of COVID, this academic year has been a significant year of training expansion for us. By rapidly adapting to the lockdowns and offering our accredited training online (with agreement from Open College Network West Midlands), we have been able to deliver relationships and sex education (RSE) training to an increased number of people and are delighted that we have been able to smash our targets!

Our accredited course covers a range of topics which are split across the 6 sessions as below.

When we run the course in person, the topics are covered over 4 longer sessions, so the order of the course will differ slightly.

Session 1:

• An introduction to relationships and sex education (RSE) and related legislation
• Child development and puberty
• Body image and the influences and pressures on young people from the media

Session 2:

The AIM Qualifications Level 4 Accreditation for “Teaching relationships and sex education” will equip learners with the attitude, knowledge, and skills to provide high-quality relationships and sex education (RSE) in creative, relevant, and effective ways. During this accreditation, you will find out more about different topics in the field and different educational approaches with a view to providing excellent RSE.

Objectives of the accreditation 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

What a fortnight! The Champions for Children appeal has come to a close and together we have raised £10,000 in 14 days! 

We'd like to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone who gave during the two weeks and also to our wonderful pledgers and the amazing Childhood Trust who provided the funding which doubled all the donations made during the appeal.

RSE day is a chance to celebrate all the amazing relationships and sex education that is happening in the lives of young people. 

Throughout the pandemic, the amazing members of the Esteem network never stopped finding new and effective ways to support young people. We had members switch to providing live video link lessons; making and delivering mental health care packets for young people; creating brand new video-based RSE resources; and being incredibly flexible in working with local schools if and when the situation allowed for it. 

The pandemic, lockdowns and school closures have had such an impact on young people's emotional wellbeing due to the restrictions on connecting with others and the effect on their schooling.

Esteem emotional wellbeing lessons help students identify and talk about their feelings, and develop coping strategies to help them manage their fears and anxieties.

Without high-quality relationships and sex education, many young people 'learn' about sex from online pornography which is so easily accessible and, unfortunately, we have seen a sharp rise in porn use over the past year during the pandemic as more time has been spent online.

By age 13, 80% of girls are manipulating the pictures they post of themselves online and more screen time, but less connection, during lockdowns has made things worse. According to Young Minds, 67% believe the pandemic will have a long-term negative effect on their mental health with 58% saying the worst thing is feeling lonely and isolated.