Topic: Health

Understanding Addiction: Alcohol – Sarah (not her real name) had a positive upbringing with a close family unit, and she excelled at primary school. But when she started secondary school, she started getting bullied and decided to bully those people right back. It led her down a dark path, mixing with the wrong crowds and letting her school work slide. Then she started drinking alcohol, and things got much, much worse. But with the right help, she turned her life around. Watch her share her story now. Her film is unique in the series: Sarah didn’t want to tell her story on camera, so her exact words are voiced by an actor and portrayed on screen via animation (by Anh Cao).

There are three fact sheets and three lesson plans that you can use alongside the nine addiction films, which includes the introduction film, seven interviews (each focused on a different type of addiction) and a law film. Please also read the attached guidance and teacher notes that offer support and resources for young people who may already be experiencing addiction in their lives or homes.

If you are affected by any of the content on screen or would like to know more, please visit the website of charity We Are With You, who are based across the UK.

https://www.helpfordependency.co.uk/

https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk/

https://www.drugsand.me/en/

Understanding Addiction: Alcohol

Video length - 07.44

Published date - Sep 2021

Keystage(s) - 3, 4 and 5

Understanding Addiction: Cannabis – Cannabis is the most popular illegal drug in the UK, and smoking it before the age of 18 is particularly dangerous for your mental health, as Dean testifies in this film. He began smoking it when he was only 12 years old, and it contributed to numerous psychological issues. But with the right help, he turned his life around. Watch him share his story now.

If you are affected by any of the content on screen or would like to know more, please visit these websites:

https://www.helpfordependency.co.uk/

https://www.drugsand.me/en/

Understanding Addiction: Cannabis

Video length - 04.52

Published date - Sep 2021

Keystage(s) - 3, 4 and 5

Downloadable resources

Understanding Addiction: Steroids – Jack was bullied as a child and experienced traumas at home that made him want to bulk up and get muscular. He also enjoyed the attention of the opposite sex and having strangers comment on his physique. But he could never get big enough and soon became emotionally dependent on steroids. But with the right help, he turned his life around. Watch him share his story now.

If you are affected by any of the content on screen or would like to know more, please visit the website of the Alcohol and Drug Service, run in conjunction with the NHS, who operate The Juice Bar in the Hull area. Other similar services can be found across the UK if you search online.

https://www.helpfordependency.co.uk/

http://www.ads-uk.org/thejuicebar

https://www.drugsand.me/en/

Understanding Addiction: Steroids

Video length - 05.55

Published date - Sep 2021

Keystage(s) - 3, 4 and 5

Understanding Addiction: Prescription Drugs – Paul started experiencing pains in his hip due to a medical condition when he was only 14. He was prescribed codeine but as his tolerance grew and the pain worsened, he moved on to morphine. But his usage went far beyond what doctors recommended, and he experienced a series of tragedies that he wanted to mask. This led to him becoming dependent on opioids. But with the right help, he turned his life around. Watch him share his story now.

If you are affected by any of the content on screen or would like to know more, please visit the website of charity We Are With You, who are based across the UK. Paul says they saved his life.

https://www.helpfordependency.co.uk/

https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk/

https://www.drugsand.me/en/

Understanding Addiction: Prescription Drugs

Video length - 06.06

Published date - Sep 2021

Keystage(s) - 3, 4 and 5

Understanding Addiction – The first film in our series of nine is an introduction to the concept of addiction, explaining the science behind it, presenting key words, and featuring select moments from interviews with seven people who have each been exposed to a different type of addiction. This film covers the original reasons why their addictions spiralled, the effects on the individuals and their loved ones, and how recovery saved their lives.

If you are affected by any of the content on screen, or would like to know more, please visit the websites of the various charities and organisations who helped bring these films to life:

https://www.helpfordependency.co.uk/

https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk/

https://www.stgeorgescrypt.org.uk/

http://www.ads-uk.org/thejuicebar

https://adfam.org.uk/

https://www.drugsand.me/en/

https://www.collectivevoice.org.uk/

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/drug-addiction-getting-help/

http://www.rehab-recovery.co.uk/

Understanding Addiction

Video length - 08.24

Published date - Sep 2021

Keystage(s) - 3, 4 and 5

The View from the Classroom – Gender – What is gender? Is it something people are born with, or something they choose? How does someone’s gender affect their lives and choices? Students from Key Stages 4 and 5 in schools all around the country give us the view from the classroom.

Advice for young people who are thinking about gender identity can be found at the following sites:

Childline

Brook

Curriculum Mapping

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

AQA

Component 2: Thematic studies: Theme A: Relationships and families:Sex, marriage and divorce Families and gender equality - Gender roles, Gender equality, Gender prejudice and discrimination including examples.

Edexcel

Area of Study 1 - Beliefs in action – Religion and Ethics: Marriage & Family - Varying religious and personal attitudes towards gender and gender rights.

OCR

Component Group 2–Religion,philosophy and ethics in the modern world from a religious perspective - relationships and families - religious teachings about the nature and purpose of families in the 21st century, sex, marriage, cohabitation and divorce. Issues related to the nature and purpose of families; roles of men and women; equality; gender prejudice and discrimination.

WJEC

PART B- Theme 1: Issues of Relationships - Issues of equality: gender prejudice and discrimination

Eduqas

Component 1 (Route A):Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World : Theme 1: Issues of Relationships:Issues of equality: gender prejudice and discrimination

Transcript

The View from the Classroom – Gender

I am female and I do like being a female.

I'm male.

Male.

I identify as a female.

I'd say my gender is a male.

I am a woman, and I like being a woman because I don't know, I just like it and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm a male.

It's my own gender is female.

Yeah, I like being female. I think that's the way I'll stay.

Gender. Ah, there's different genders like male, female and transgender. Is it a type of gender?

Someone's gender is the way they identify themselves.

Maybe a boy that feels they're more of a girl, or the girl feels more they're a boy.

They could identify as something else, like non-binary, where they don't identify as either gender. They're just themselves.

I think someone's biological sex is like what they were born as, but then someone's gender identity is what they choose to be.

There is a difference in what you're born with and regard yourself as. But the question is, should we accept that? And is what you think more important than your physical body?

In my opinion, there's only two types, right? If you're born a man, you're born a man. If you're born a woman, you're born a woman.

We have things in our bodies that determine what we are.

It's easier to go the male or female based on their, like, sexual organs, really.

My personal belief is that there are only two genders. There's nothing else other than that.

I'm not exactly the most masculine guy, but I'm still a male in with my gender. I don't need to identify as anything other just because I'm not the stereotype.

I think some people do view it as not good and going against God's wishes, I guess, but it's kind of none of their business. It's if that person doesn't feel comfortable and doesn't feel as if they know themselves in that skin and they don't want to be themselves, it's their choice.

They're not harming anyone else, so why discriminate against them for it?

I think people should be able to change their gender because if they don't feel comfortable in their body, then if it makes them happy to change gender, that's better for them.

I think men are better at some jobs, like the hard labour jobs like building, because they have like more muscle and strength, while women, they're pretty good at doing like makeup and like nail salons and stuff like that. I know I'd be judged if I went into like the nail business and stuff.

You do get men where they are involved in makeup, hairdressing, stuff like that, and it is frowned upon by some people, but by others, they see it as them embracing their own what they are doing, what they love. And you can't stop that, because if they love what they're doing, then they should carry on doing it.

People do get bullied for like not doing things that are stereotypical for their gender. I think that's because most girls and boys are brought up like the same way, so they think they can only do certain things. But as you get older, you become more independent and you realise that, um, you can do anything you want to do.

Well, I know a few boys that do want to go into like hair and beauty and stuff like that, and they're doing quite well, to be quite honest with you. But you do get the stereotype that you are, um, gay and stuff like that because you're doing something a girl would normally do, which isn't the case. And I think that's kind of wrong that people do stereotype.

I believe gender is a social construct due to representation in the media. So for example, as simple as adverts for toys with children, we are presented with the ideas that boys like construction and girls like makeup.

I think your upbringing, like the toys you get, can affect it because a lot of girls clothes or toys have things on, like be pretty and stuff like this, where on boys it's always be strong and all of this. So it kind of teaches girls from a really early age that girls can't be strong and girls can't do this and can't do that, and boys can't.. That boys can't cry, for example, and boys can't be emotional.

I think if you're a girl and in society they mostly like girly stuff like unicorns and makeup, so bringing them up like that shouldn't really make that much of a difference. I think boys should also be brought up, as in having toy cars and stuff, because that's what you're going to do in the future, most likely.

I was brought up in like Guiding and Brownies and stuff like that, and then I went into Scouting and enjoyed that a lot more, but because I was a girl, my mum put me into brownies first. And I think a lot of people do that with children.

I think kids should be free to choose what they want to play with or what they want to wear, as it depends on how they feel really. They may not want to be in the girly stuff if they're a girl.

The gender pay gap is where on average, females tend to earn a certain percentage less than males for doing the same role in a job.

I think being a male gives me many advantages in life.

If it's a male and female who have the exact same ability, which is really top calibre, then they deserve the same pay despite the gender, because they do, they fulfil that same role.

At the end of the day, if we're both doing the same job, why is someone else getting paid more than I am? I just don't think that's right. And if you're putting it down to my gender, that's even worse. Because what's different?

Females aren't inferior to men, so they shouldn't be earning less.

People are starting to widen their horizons and people are just making new rules for themselves.

We are all just humans. So if a girl wants to be strong and pretty and all of this at the same time, she can do that, like a boy shouldn't have to sit there and hold all his emotions in and keep it all inside of him.

We should all just accept who someone is, like, we're here to be loving. We're not here to judge people and decide that this is wrong and this is right.

I just say let people be what they want to be. You shouldn't have to live by a set of rules that have been in place for hundreds of years and haven't been updated.

The View from the Classroom – Gender

Video length - 06.37

Published date - Oct 2019

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Downloadable resources

The View from the Classroom – Abortion – What is an abortion? What does the law say about abortion? What are your opinions about it? Students from Key Stages 4 and 5 in schools all around the country give us the view from the classroom.

Advice about pregnancy and abortion can be found at the following sites:

Childline

Brook

Marie Stopes

NUPAS (National Unplanned Pregnancy Advisory Service)

Curriculum Mapping

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

AQA

Component 2: Thematic studies:Theme B: Religion & Human Life - The origins and value of human life - Religious teachings, beliefs and attitudes about abortion, including situations when the mother’s life is at risk.

Edexcel

Area of Study 1 - Section 4: Matters of Life and Death - Implications of the religious teachings about the value and sanctity of life for the issue of abortion.

OCR

Religion, philosophy and ethics in the modern world:Freedom of expression • Freedom of practice • Equality in society • The value of human life •Self-determination - Potential clashes between religious teachings and scientific development in medical ethics, including: • abortion

WJEC

PART B -Theme 1: Issues of Life and Death - The origin and value of human life

Eduqas

Component 1 (Route A):Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World: Theme 2: Issues of Life and Death: The origin and value of human life.

Transcript

The View from the Classroom – Abortion

An abortion is a removal of a foetus.

A foetus is a developing unborn child.

So the law says about abortion that you have to have two doctors approval.

An abortion is only legal up to 24 weeks.

Personally, I believe it should be more like 5 to 10 weeks because, sort of at 24 weeks, the child's already started to properly develop into a person.

If a pregnancy is 40 weeks and then 24 weeks is just a bit over halfway, then a baby who's after that point will have developed most of the way and could be seen as a person.

I think it should be lengthened a bit because it's a really big decision. It's life changing and to me, 24 weeks in the grand scheme of things is nothing. So I think it should be lengthened to give people more time to think about what they really, really want and to consider different options.

But if it was longer, it might be more difficult for the person who is having the baby and it could hurt them more. The operation and stuff could be more difficult to do.

Well, at the core of it, just deciding that I don't want the child is essentially murder in a sense of that, you just deciding that you want to end the life of this child because it'd be an inconvenience to you.

I don't think abortion is murder as such. It's more like the baby hasn't been born, so if it can't survive out of the mother's womb, then you can't really be murdered, can it? Because the baby would die. Like anyway.

If you define as being life, I suppose you'd have to consider it being the same as a full a fully grown human. So I don't go as far as say it's murder, but it's, to me, you'd have to consider it to be the same thing.

I don't see it as killing personally, because it hasn't lived, it's not, it won't remember because the memory isn't developed then. So no, I don't see it as killing.

Well, but in the pregnancy, the baby is moving and you can kick and stuff, so it kind of is alive.

Is a foetus in the womb, a living thing, or is it, does it become alive when it's born?

Personally, I believe life starts when a baby is born.

I think life begins when, like the child is born, when it comes into the world.

That's when you can see the the child, hold the child, and then you can realise that that child is yours and then has its own rights.

I think really the life starts after you're born.

I think life begins when you have a heartbeat. Just because you're not born yet doesn't mean that you're not alive.

I think that life begins when, if, when the baby can survive without the mother's help, so it could, it could be born early and it could be like, maybe put in, like an incubator and it could survive.

I definitely don't think life starts right at conception where the sperm meets the egg. I think it's probably when the baby becomes self-aware and starts sucking its thumb.

If it can kick, that means it's alive.

To me, when that sperm touches the egg that is a baby, to me, that is a life to me already. Like, I believe in, like the body and the soul as two separate things, so that is a soul in there already, to me.

I believe life begins when the sperm meets the egg.

Even though it's not really breathing and everything on its own. It's still alive and it's still growing. And that's the living thing.

I think it's still life because you're still being created. You're in the process of becoming someone.

What makes the difference between a minute before it's born and a minute after it's born?

I would think a religious person would say that it's, it's a God's choice who's born and who's not. So, I can't just change God's decision.

Catholics believe sex is for procreation, and if you are to have sex, then you should allow whatever the outcome is. And have an abortion means that you're stopping, like, God's way.

Playing God is like someone does something and, like, it's like they're doing something that's not natural.

To me life comes from God, and he puts people on the Earth for reasons, to help other people, to make the world a better place.

We shouldn't get the choice to choose who lives and who dies, because ultimately it isn't up to us.

It's linked in with the sanctity of life. In essence, that life is so precious to us.

God created children like babies for a reason, and he created everyone for a reason.

What I believe is that life has a meaning behind it.

When we were growing up, we were taught that God is the one that gives us life, and God is the one that takes away life.

Islam thinks that abortions are murder most of the time. However, if it's for the greater good, for example, if the mother was to be ill, if she had the child, then it's allowed to have an abortion.

Usually Sikhs are pro-life and they would say to, go to not, um, abort.

Pro-Life is when someone believes that the woman should not have the choice to have an abortion because-

the foetus has the right to live.

Pro-Choice is when you think that a woman should have a decision in whether she has a child or not.

Abortion shouldn't be used as a form of contraception because there's already a living life form, whereas contraception is used to prevent a living life form from being created.

I feel like if you don't want to get pregnant, then try not to get pregnant. Don't just be like, oh, I'll have an abortion.

If a teenager or someone in a relationship get pregnant unplanned and they abort it, it's bad because they should have planned ahead instead of killing the, like, baby that's not even been born yet.

I think, like, abortion shouldn't be allowed. If you can't take care of your baby, then you should put them up for adoption.

I think it's a bit selfish for you to decide that you're going to abort a child just because you don't want it.

I think it's fundamentally wrong because it is killing a new life, and I don't think, I don't think that's okay, except in some cases you need to.

Such as in the cases of, um, incest, rape, or in the case of when the child will be born, it will either result in the death of the mother or the child.

I think it depends on the situation. Like if the, like, mother was too young or wasn't healthy to give birth, then it should be allowed to have an abortion.

I think that a woman should have the right to decide whether she wants to abort.

I think that abortion should be totally the woman's choice, because it's her that's going to have to carry it, her that is going to have to actually give birth to it.

I think most of the time, yeah, it should be the woman's choice because she's the one giving up her body and she's the one going through all these changes. And although a man might say that they can understand it, they really can't, and even other women can't understand it until they've been through it themselves.

I don't think anyone should be able to stop someone from doing it, because it's their decision and it's their body.

You shouldn't choose if other people should have an abortion. If you're against it, don't abort your own children. Simple as that.

The View from the Classroom – Abortion

Video length - 07.07

Published date - Sep 2019

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Downloadable resources

The View from the Classroom – Euthanasia – What is euthanasia, and what do you think about it? Students from Key Stages 4 and 5 in schools all around the country give us the view from the classroom.

Curriculum Mapping

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

AQA

Component 2: Thematic studies:Theme B: Religion and life:The origins and value of human life -Religious teachings, beliefs and attitudes about euthanasia. Religious teachings, beliefs and attitudes about euthanasia.

Edexcel

Area of Study 1 - Beliefs in action– Religion and Ethics- Matters of Life and Death - Implications of religious teachings about the value and sanctity of life for the issue of euthanasia.

OCR

WJEC

PART B -Theme 1: Issues of Life and Death --The origin and value of human life

Eduqas

Component 1 (Route A):Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World: Theme 2: Issues of Life and Death: The origin and value of human life. Theme 3: Life and Death:Death and the afterlife.

Transcript

The View from the Classroom – Euthanasia

Euthanasia is ending your life because you have an illness or a medical condition which you do not want to live with.

Euthanasia means assisted suicide. Um, when times are tough, maybe when the quality of life isn't great.

I know it's used a lot in vets. When an animal is in a lot of pain, or simply just won't live for long, rather than prolonging the pain, they'll just injection and done.

A terminal disease is when you're going to die from it in the end anyways.

Someone who's terminally ill might want euthanasia, because they won't get better, so they see it as, I can't do these things that I would like to do, and it's too much pain to live, so they choose to die instead.

Active euthanasia is where someone has used something to help a certain patient die. So for instance, a lethal injection would be active euthanasia.

In England it's not legal, I know that. Usually most people go to Switzerland.

And then passive is where-

people are allowed to die. So maybe switching off the life support machine, um, when they're suffering or very ill, they're not going to recover.

Voluntary euthanasia is where you know what's going to happen to you and you say that you want this happening.

And non-voluntary euthanasia is where another person made the decision for them, for them to die. So, for instance, a doctor or family member.

I don't really agree with it, because I think that you shouldn't end your life just because of like maybe if you're paralysed then you could still live maybe 40 years.

Quality of life is when you have a good life and you feel like you can do the things you want to do and capable of doing those things.

If the quality of life isn't good, I'd want them to have, um, you know, a nice ending to their life. Instead of being in pain, suffering.

Dying with dignity, is like, they want to go to euthanasia because they want to die before they get to a stage where they're no longer able to do things themselves, and they have to have other people to do it for them. So say, if you couldn't even, like, wash yourself and stuff like that, maybe that's classified as not being dignified.

Some people, they can't walk, some people can't do normal, everyday things that people take for granted.

If you have your family support and it's not, you're not undignified, are you? Because they're just looking out for you and helping you come through, like, your illness.

I think euthanasia should be allowed because it's their life, so they should be able to choose when they die.

I think that you're kind of wasting your life just because you want to end it, because it's too hard. But I think there's a lot of things that, like you could, that could help that, there's like groups that you go to. I think that going to euthanasia is kind of just taking the easy option.

I believe in the sanctity of life.

Sanctity of life is like how some Christians and Muslims believe God gave you that life, and only he has the right to take it away.

I think God gave us life, and we are not the ones that should be taking away our own lives.

In the Quran it says that you shouldn't. Only God has a decision to take a life and I'm not God.

This is where I will say I'm not a true Buddhist because when it comes to my religion, killing is very bad and especially when you kill yourself, that is the worst thing you could possibly do. But personally I believe it is your choice.

I think that people should let God decide when they die. He created us, that means he's gonna decide when he ends our life, because if you've been good all your life, Christians believe that you will go to heaven. Um, but if you decide to commit suicide or get assisted suicide you're gonna go to hell.

Euthanasia shouldn't be allowed, because, I'm a religious man, in the law of God, like you are still taking your own life, so it's classed as murder. So if you was to commit euthanasia, you wouldn't really have much to look forward to, because that's probably the biggest sin.

Well, it's not full out murder because they want to die and they're not living the life that they want to live.

If a cure was found after a person had had euthanasia, it wouldn't be so great because the family would be in more grief. They'd be thinking that the person would still be there with them when they've wasted their life. So that wouldn't be great in my opinion, that would be one of the negatives to euthanasia.

I think euthanasia should be allowed, but it should definitely be be their choice.

It's going to be checked by psychologists and people who know about that. So it's going to go through a series of tests to know if the person is mentally well for that. So it's not going to just be a spur of the moment thing.

If they're not mentally stable, then the choice should be going to their closest family member.

It should be taken with caution because it might just be a split second decision. So I think one day you apply for euthanasia and in a month they ask you again, if you still want to end it, then you should be allowed to have that choice. But of course, multiple doctors should confirm that you are definitely going to die. There's no way around it.

I think that there's other alternatives to euthanasia, like hospices, because they, um, you can go there for like end of life treatments. That could be a lot easier on the family as well, because at least then they've got time to take in what's going to happen. And they know that eventually the family member is going to die, but then they're dying in a nice way and not just ending it by killing themselves.

Well, I think a hospice is is a really good thing, because if you're have a terminally terminal illness and you're going to die anyway, you want to be around people, or you might want to be around people, who know what you're going through, and who understand you and are doing the best that they can to try and make your death, I guess, as smooth as possible and as comfortable as possible. And they're just trying to do what is best for you.

The View from the Classroom – Euthanasia

Video length - 06.18

Published date - Sep 2019

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Downloadable resources

Now I Can Breathe – It’s not your fault. You didn’t ask for it. You are not weak. You are strong.

Amina tells the story of how she was sexually harassed over several years by other pupils, and describes the work she is doing now to help teachers put a stop to sexual harassment in their schools.

A film by Adam Tyler

Created in collaboration with the Advocacy Academy

Winner of the Children’s Broadcasting category at the Sandford St Martin Awards 2020.

Winner of the Educational Film Award at the Learning On Screen Awards 2020.

Nominated for the Content for Change Award at the Children’s BAFTAs 2019.

Advice for young people about sexual harassment can be found at the following sites:

Childline

Safeline

Brook

…and teachers can find the government’s guidance about sexual harassment in schools here.

Now I Can Breathe

Video length - 08.55

Published date - Feb 2019

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Downloadable resources

Life Growing Up – Part 3: Taking Meds – “You can change your meds and find the ones that work best for you.”

This film, and three more like it, have been created using the true stories of young people with HIV, and performed by actors. What’s it like to find out you have HIV when you are a child? Part 3 – Taking Meds looks at the medical treatment needed, and the side effects that some of the medication can cause. The films aim to raise awareness and understanding of the experiences and needs of young people living with HIV.

Courtesy of the Children’s HIV Association – and follow the link for more help and information.