FOI Request - PSE Curriculum and Suicide Awareness
Request 101003326791
1. Regarding the development of the Personal and Social Education (PSE) curriculum:
a. Please provide details on the process and guidelines followed for the development and implementation of the PSE curriculum in high schools within this Local Authority.
b. Is the PSE curriculum developed individually by each school, or is there a standardized curriculum set by the Local Authority that all schools are required to follow?
2. Regarding the provision of suicide awareness training in secondary schools:
a. Please provide information on whether suicide awareness training is currently included in secondary schools.
b. If suicide awareness training is provided, please specify the following details:
i. The nature and scope of the training, including the topics covered and the intended audience (e.g., students, teachers, staff).
ii. The frequency and duration of the training sessions.
iii. The organisations or entities responsible for delivering this training.
iv. How suicide awareness training is currently included as part of the curriculum (PSE or elsewhere) or any other formal training programs in secondary schools. This includes information on specific subjects, modules, or lessons that cover these topics.
c. If suicide awareness training is not currently provided:
i. Please provide an explanation or any documentation outlining the reasons for its absence.
ii. Are there any plans or discussions underway to introduce suicide awareness training in secondary schools? If so, please provide further details or documents regarding the proposed timeline, resources allocated, and any organizations or experts involved in the planning process.
d. Please provide any statistics, reports, or evaluations conducted on the effectiveness of suicide awareness training programs implemented in schools, if available.
Response 21-06-2023
1a. PSE addresses the learning outcomes within the Health and Wellbeing indicators in Curriculum for Excellence relating to mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing, planning for choices and change, substance misuse and relationships, sexual health and parenthood
All schools follow the RSHP https://rshp.scot/ and use this guidance to develop further teaching modules.
b. PSE curriculum in schools is created using the Curriculum for Excellence Experiences and Outcomes for Health and Wellbeing (please refer to documents supplied through the following links):
https://education.gov.scot/Documents/hwb-across-learning-pp.pdf
https://education.gov.scot/improvement/documents/hwb30-booklet.pdf
https://education.gov.scot/Documents/health-and-wellbeing-eo.pdf
2a. Suicide awareness is included in the PSE curriculum for secondary schools, with a growing number of secondary schools undertaking the Mental Health training offered by a member of staff who has completed the train the trainer. There is also a train the trainer programme to build sustainability in training all staff to have an awareness
b. i. Training for staff https://www.cypmh.co.uk/ One secondary school has undertaken the Mental Health Champions training for young people, which includes suicide awareness with a view to extending this to all schools. Topics:
An Overview of Mental Health and Wellbeing (at https://www.cypmh.co.uk/)
Factors Influencing Mental Health and Wellbeing (at https://www.cypmh.co.uk/)
Applying Prevention Based Approaches to Mental Health and Wellbeing in Schools (at https://www.cypmh.co.uk/)
School Staff Wellbeing (at https://www.cypmh.co.uk/)
ii. . It is anticipated that this will be offered termly, with the time commitment of 3 face to face sessions (3hours) and 4 online sessions (4-6 hours)
iii. Education
iv. This will vary within programmes designed by individual schools to deliver PSE
c. i. Not applicable
ii. There are very early discussions being undertaken through the Moray Suicide Prevention Group regarding where Suicide ASSIST training is to be focused going forward. Within the Grampian area an additional 6 trainers have recently been trained to expand the capacity to provide training.
Within mental wellbeing support for Children and Young People we ensure all local professionals within Local Authority commissioned services that may be accessed through school have all received appropriate training.
d. Not held. No such report or evaluations have been undertaken. Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.