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The brand new online training modules available from Teaching Resource Support offer teachers a more flexible approach to introducing students to the topics of SRE, finance, drugs and alcohol.

The online training modules have been developed by ASTs and PSHE experts and modified into online modules by experienced educational author, Steve Martin.

Each of the courses can be delivered via web link for individual completion or presented in the classroom as a group activity. The bespoke distribution tool allows you to track and monitor your training exercises.

There are currently 4 modules available to Premium Plus members which can be accessed via your TRS Dashboard:

Sex and Relationships
Young people are increasingly turning to the Internet and social media for sources of information about a huge range of topics. However, this can have damaging effects when it is used for information about SRE.

This SRE module helps to inform students about the potential for finding false and misleading information from these sources.

Managing Your Money

This training module is designed to help young people appreciate the concept of ‘money’. We explore the issues of paying for things – that everything has a price, and we need to accumulate enough money to obtain these items and budget accordingly.

Drugs Awareness

Having the right information to make the right choices.

In this KS4 training module, we think about illegal substance abuse and learn about the law in relation to drugs as well as sources of further advice both inside and outside school.

Alcohol Awareness

Alcohol can affect people of any age, but research indicates that the human brain continues to develop into a person's early twenties, and exposure of the developing brain to alcohol may have long-lasting effects on intellectual capabilities and may increase the possibility of alcohol addiction.

This course will build awareness of the harms of under-age drinking and the damage it can do to our bodies as well as on society.

These training modules are available to Premium Plus members - join now!

Research suggests that nearly 70 % of children in the UK have had some kind of bullying experience – yet bullying is a sensitive and complex subject which can be difficult to talk about. One way to tackle it is through the inclusive and accessible medium of film. To tie in with Anti-Bullying Week 2014 (November 17-22) Into Film, an education charity supported by the BFI with Lottery funding, has developed a new resource featuring six carefully selected films – three for secondary - to promote discussion about bullying and related themes such as friendship, on-line safety, standing up for what is right and the power of groups, positive and negative. Films are free to order for all schools with an Into Film club.

Titles for secondary are The Social Network (2010, 12), about the founders and impact of Facebook, tense British drama UWantMeToKillHim (15, 2013) and futuristic sci-fi movie Ender’s Game (2013, 12). Related activities range from a Character crossroads discussion and worksheet to researching successful people who were bullied as a child, and creating an educational Talking Heads film about different types of bullying and how to stop them. Download the resource here.

Other great resources from Into Film which can be used for Anti-Bullying Week are InRealLife, which uses the hard-hitting documentary of the same name to explore a range of issues relating to the Internet including cyberbullying, and Staying Safe Online, with films and activities for primary and secondary linked to e-safety. All resources are available to download from the website.

Into Film is an education charity that puts film at the heart of young people’s learning. Into Film Clubs are FREE for all state funded schools and non-school settings and offer free access to thousands of films and education resources for learning through and about film, as well as opportunities to learn about filmmaking and go behind the scenes of the film industry. Inclusive and accessible for all students, film clubs help promote young people’s social, moral, spiritual and cultural development helping schools achieve OFSTED requirements.

Supported by the BFI with Lottery funding, together with funding from the film industry and a number of other sources, Into Film incorporates the legacy and staff of two leading film education charities, FILMCLUB and First Light, building on their experience and success in delivering programmes of significant scale and reach to children and young people across the UK.

For further information about Into Film and to start an Into Film Club visit: www.intofilm.org/schools-film-clubs or call 0207 288 4520.

I have two daughters. One receives her month’s pocket money and manages it carefully, so that by the time she receives the next month’s instalment she still has a little left. This has enabled her to build up a little savings that she tops up with birthday/Christmas/holiday gifts from her grandparents.

Now, my other daughter has a different strategy. She receives her pocket money and has blown the lot within the first week and spends the rest of the month applying the ‘puppy-dog eyes’ trying to extract any extra funds she can out of her Mum and Dad!

Unfortunately, the worrying fact is, that it is my second daughter that appears to typify the lack of financial capabilities and knowledge of young people today.

According to a survey conducted by Barclays Bank and the charity Personal Finance Education Group (PFEG), 42% of under 25s could not interpret the difference between being in credit and overdrawn on a bank account statement, while more than a third did not know the correct meaning of APR, in relation to interest charges on loans or credit cards.

Another frightening statistic, highlighted by the survey, was that 13% of the young people that took part, did not know what an overdraft was, with 8% believing that it was a low-cost, one off loan from a bank.

The chief executive of PFEG commented by saying that “It is clear that many young people are entering adult life with dangerous gaps in their financial knowledge that could lead them into serious financial difficulty.” She continued by stating that “These findings underline the need for all schools to teach their pupils about personal finance, to equip them with the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to manage their money well.”

For the sixth year, between 9th - 15th June, PFEG are running their ‘My Money Week’ event, the aim of which is to enhance the financial capability of young people in both primary and secondary schools. The ‘My Money Week’ event is all about teachers inspiring young people to gain skills, knowledge and confidence in money matters, to allow them to become financially literate in order to thrive within our society.

‘Teachers Resources Support’ can assist teachers who are wishing to use this special week to highlight and teach financial capability to their learners by means of a number of high quality, engaging financial capability resources.

Team work is encouraged at many points within the resources and this potentially allows students’ presentation skills to be practised and developed, as well as providing a competitive element for some of the activities.

On the one hand, the lessons look at the important concepts of saving, investing and lending money and, on the other, borrowing money. Investing (and the relative risks) and interest rates are considered, and different sources of credit explored, with an indication of their relative costs.

All-in-all, the lessons provide learners with ample opportunities to gain broad financial skills and knowledge as it is fair to say that in recent years, with the much reported ‘age of austerity’, personal financial security and the managing of household bills has become increasingly more difficult and so it is it is crucial that young people receive good understanding and knowledge in the area of financial capability, as in the future, no one knows what financial burdens we may encounter.