Keeping Safe and Healthy

Know about drugs and alcohol.

Impact on physical and mental health of non-prescription drugs, smoking and alcohol:

• Alcohol –increased risk of cancers, stroke, heart and liver disease; alcohol poisoning, personal injury
• Drugs – links to mental ill-health such as paranoia, schizophrenia, paranoia, anxiety, depression and, if smoked, to lung diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Over-dosing or taking drugs where you don’t know what may be in them can, in rare cases, lead to death.
• Smoking tobacco – increased risk of cancer, heart disease and heart attack, as well as diseases associated with blood flow (vascular diseases) and breathing (like asthma). Smoking during pregnancy can harm the unborn baby.

What the law says about drugs:

• Some drugs (like aspirin) you can buy over the counter; some drugs have to be prescribed by your doctor (like antibiotics). Both of these types are legal drugs and are used to benefit your health. There is another set of drugs that are used for recreational purposes. These are illegal.
• It is illegal to supply or possess drugs such as cocaine, heroin, LSD, amphetamines, cannabis or ketamine or psychoactive substances (sometimes wrongly called ‘legal highs’). It is also illegal to sell/supply these drugs to other people
• You will be fined (and can even go to prison) if you are caught in possession of drugs. The punishments for supplying (dealing) are even greater.

Although cigarettes and alcohol can also be described as ‘drugs’, they are subject to different laws from other drugs.

What the law says about cigarettes:

• You must be over 18 to buy cigarettes in the UK.
• It's illegal for shops to sell you cigarettes if you are underage and for an adult to buy you cigarettes if you are under 18.

What the law says about alcohol:

If you’re under 18, it’s against the law:

• For someone to sell you alcohol
• To buy or try to buy alcohol
• For an adult to buy or try to buy alcohol for you.

It is illegal to drive if you have drunk more than a fairly small amount of alcohol. You will be banned from driving for a number of years if you are caught drink driving, and will either get a fine, a community sentence or even have to go to prison.

Guidelines on alcohol consumption:

• NHS recommend no more than 14 units per week for men and women which is around 6 pints of beer; 6 glasses of wine; 14 glasses of spirits.
• It is not considered healthy to binge-drink (i.e. consume most of your units in one go) and it is recommended that you have several days in the week when you don’t drink at all.

Sources of info/support:

Websites such as NHS Choices and FRANK; GP; student support services; local community groups.

Assessment Criteria

• 1.1

  State ways that drugs and alcohol can affect physical and mental health.

• 1.2

  Identify what the law says about using drugs and alcohol.

• 1.3

  Outline key features of safe alcohol use.

• 1.4

  Identify key sources of information, advice, guidance and/or support relating to alcohol and substance misuse.

Know about sexual health, sexuality and gender identity.

Consent:

• Consent is the voluntary agreement to participate in sexual activity, including intercourse and other sexual acts.
• Legally, you can’t consent if you are under 16.
• It is important to check that you have the consent of the person you are or want to be sexually involved with because
• This is a respectful way to conduct a relationship
• If you engage in sexual activity without consent, in law you are committing a sexual assault or rape

Sexual health and avoiding STIs:

• Being sexually active puts you at risk of catching a sexually transmitted infection (STI) such as chlamydia.
• Sexual health is an issue for everyone who is sexually active, regardless of sexual orientation
• ‘Sexually transmitted’ means passed on from one person to another through a sexual act.
• You are less likely to pick up or pass on an STI if you use a condom or limit the number of sexual partners you have.
• If you have unprotected sex, it is sensible to get checked for an STI afterwards.
• You or your partner may have an STI and not know about it, because many STIs are symptomless. However, if untreated, they can lead to longer term problems including infertility.

Contraception:

• Contraception allows male and female partners to have sex without getting pregnant.
• You have to use the contraception as advised for it to work effectively.
• Some forms of contraception are slightly less reliable than others.
• Common methods of contraception: condom, contraceptive pill, coil, implant, and emergency contraception often called ‘the morning after pill’. 
• You can go to your GP or to a sexual health clinic to sort out contraception. Some forms of contraception like condoms can be bought in shops. You do not have to pay for contraception if you get it from a GP/clinic. 

Sexual orientation: whether you are homosexual – gay/lesbian; heterosexual – straight; bisexual

Gender identity: the way you feel about your own gender (male, female, a combination of both or neither). Someone who is trans/trans-gender feels themselves to be a different gender to the one they were born into.

Sources of advice on LGBQT+ issues – websites such as Stonewall, LGBT Foundation; helplines such as Terence Higgins Trust, Switchboard LGBT; student support services

Sources of advice/info on sexual health matters – websites such as NHS Direct,; Terence Higgins Trust; GP; pharmacies; contraception/sexual health clinics.

Assessment Criteria

• 2.1

  State what is meant by ‘consent’.

• 2.2

  State ways to keep sexually healthy.

• 2.3

  Identify common methods of contraception.

• 2.4

  State what is meant by sexual orientation and gender identity.

• 2.5

  Identify sources of information, advice guidance and/or support on sexual health and LGBQT+ issues.

Know about diet and exercise.

Key characteristics:

Balanced diet, portion size, keeping to recommended daily calorie levels, eating regular meals, keeping snacking to a minimum, restricting amounts of fat, salt and sugar and processed foods, keeping hydrated (water or low-sugar drinks rather than fizzy or energy drinks).

Types of exercise:

Aerobic – exercise that makes you sweat, causes you to breathe harder, and gets your heart beating faster than when you are at rest e.g. running, swimming, walking, zumba, dancing, cross country skiing, kickboxing.

Strength - exercise that makes your muscles work harder than usual, e.g. lifting weights, push-ups, sit-ups, squats, walking up stairs, yoga or Pilates. 

Benefits of exercise – physical and mental:

• Reduces risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes.
• Keeps you supple and free from joint pain.
• Improves mood and sleep and reduces risk of stress and depression.

Assessment Criteria

• 3.1

  Identify key characteristics of healthy eating and drinking.

• 3.2

  Outline different types of exercise and ways to take part.

• 3.3

  State the benefits to physical and mental health of taking exercise.

Know about keeping safe.

Awareness of potential threats/consequences of actions:

• Most of what you do/say/share on the internet can be seen by other people – this can be maliciously shared
• People sometimes pretend to be someone they are not on the internet – so that they can trick you/groom you
• People sometimes send you fake emails, mostly in order to get money off you.

Ways to keep safe online:

• Don’t share passwords
• Keep personal information private
• Don’t share intimate photos
• Tell someone about contact on line that’s made you uncomfortable
• Use site-specific reporting mechanisms
• Don’t meet someone you’ve met online without taking precautions (meeting in a public space, letting other people know where you’re going).

Awareness of potential threats:

• Theft
• Bullying
• Mate-crime
• Sexual exploitation and coercion
• Gang exploitation and coercion – e.g. County Lines.

Warning signs:

• Being asked to do things you don’t feel comfortable with
• ‘Friends’ appearing on payday; asking to borrow money but not paying it back; using your flat/possessions without permission
• Being offered rewards (e.g. a phone) to do things that are risky/illegal or without an explanation (e.g. deliver a package when you don’t know what’s in it).

Ways to keep safe when out and about:

• Keeping expensive items/money out of sight
• Telling people where you are going
• Avoiding carrying a knife or other weapon
• Telling a responsible adult about situations in which you are being made to feel uncomfortable/coerced.
• Planning journeys ahead including knowing how you will get home
• Using registered minicabs/taxis/Uber – rather than taking casual lifts
• Going out in a group rather than alone
• Keeping PIN numbers and bankcards safe
• Assessing whether people describing themselves as ‘friends’ are acting in a way that you could expect of a genuine friend.

Assessment Criteria

• 4.1

  Outline key ways to keep safe online.

• 4.2

  Outline ways to keep safe in the community.