Launch time! And new videos begin….

We have most certainly invested in the longer days and worked our little socks off this April!

Not only have we finessed ‘The Fundamentals’ Programme of 5 hours teaching ready for launch next Tuesday (WAHOO!), but we have already filmed the next five films for a further programme of teaching, to be released before the summer is out.

Not forgetting our two crazily busy and energetic days at the ‘WhatNext’ Careers Fairs, brilliantly organised by Tim Gladman from Bassetlaw District Council. Hundreds and hundreds of children passed by our stand and walked away with bracelets, key rings, leaflets, condoms and hopefully a new inquisitiveness into important topics like safe sex or where to go to get help for concerns about STIs, pregnancy or unhealthy relationships. The lovely Kerry Bishop and Liz Everitt from Trihealth Bassetlaw rocked up to share the stand at the Worksop gig in April, with hundreds of glow-in-the-dark sperm key rings (obvs) that were an astonishingly huge success with students and trade-standers alike. (I don’t think I’m that astonished about that really).We were exhausted at the end of the day by the sheer number of students that came up to see us. Mostly for the novelty key rings, but hopefully to learn more and share worries. Meanwhile we buzzed with reward and fulfilment. So lovely when a plan comes together….

It is a huge moment for us next week when the films and lesson plans that we have spent so many hours on finally land in schools. We are so proud of the PSHE Association Quality Assurance Mark we have obtained for ALL the resources we have made to date, and simply cannot wait to hear what others think.

Please do check out the videos and consider a purchase for your school or home!

A special thank you to Dr Naomi Sutton as ever for making this journey such fantastic fun. The giggles have been endless despite the piles of work involved.

Let us know what you think!

Epic work together!

It has been a pleasure to meet and work with Candace Thomas over the past few months from the organisation Epic.

It will be great to visit Scotland next term and deliver our sexual consent workshop as part of the newly established ‘Scottish Youth Programme’ which covers a range of topics from good mental and physical health to sexuality. This wrap-around approach is certainly one favoured across the country, but delivering it effectively is quite another matter! I was honoured to be asked to get involved.

It matters to us that the students have high quality take-home goodie bags (using sustainably sourced materials), that will help them think on and reach for relevant organisations in the future should they need them. Empower to Plan will promote and help us generate these funds. Please watch this space for when the fundraiser is launched.

Let’s talk about sex…

Who would have thought that putting boxes to collect questions in all local schools would generate the response we have received in preparation for our film project next term!

We have been overwhelmed with sensible and thought-provoking queries from students aged 13 to 15 years.

This is far and away the most excited I have ever been for a work project. To be working with the brilliant and gifted Dr Naomi Sutton is something I am particularly thrilled about. Learning and educating at the same time is what medicine is all about. ‘Watch one, do one, teach one,’ was the mantra we were raised on at medical school. I’m not quite sure we can fully apply this theorem here without doing ourselves some sort of injury, but we are certainly going to enjoy the challenge!

Bring on September! If you have any other issues you want us to explore around sex and relationships, plant them here. We will share them anonymously and aim to answer your questions as best we can.