Health education in the school curriculum
In September 2020, a new subject became part of the national curriculum – health education. The new guidance set out by UK government covers topics such as:
- Relationships and sex education
- Health and mental wellbeing
As part of this, teachers must now include healthy living in their lesson planning. Specifically, students must now learn about the benefits of an active lifestyle, a healthy diet, and the dangers of drugs, cigarettes and alcohol.
Our part in the new curriculum
Prevention plays an important part in the new health education curriculum – leading healthy lifestyles to prevent conditions such as heart disease and cancer. At York Against Cancer, we’re playing our part by creating resources for teachers discussing cancer prevention. These resources will cover topics such as:
- The dangers of smoking
- The benefits of maintaining a healthy weight
- Sun exposure awareness
- Awareness of screening programmes available, for example breast, cervical and bowel cancer
- The benefits of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine
We’ve teamed up with ENTHUSE to promote this new addition to the curriculum. This includes a £20,000 investment into a partnership with the University of York’s National STEM Learning Centre. Working with six schools, our aim is to teach schoolchildren vital lessons about cancer prevention and healthy lifestyles and hopefully inspire them to think of cancer research as a future career.
Students will also benefit from the partnership, with opportunities to visit laboratories at the University of York and see our landmark advancements in bladder cancer research.
Awareness has always been a cornerstone of the work that York Against Cancer does. Working in partnership with local schools and ENTHUSE, we hope to spread this awareness even further, and help those living with cancer.
Need to contact us?
Call us on 01904 764 466 or email office@yorkagainstcancer.org.uk and one of our friendly team will be happy to help.
