Young people’s experiences of Personal, Social, Health and Education in Northamptonshire

Young Healthwatch Northamptonshire was commissioned by Public Health Northamptonshire to carry out a review of Personal, Social, Health and Education (PSHE) in Northamptonshire schools. Young Healthwatch Northamptonshire designed a survey that was shared throughout the county’s schools, youth clubs and other youth services to find out young people’s experiences of PSHE lessons. The survey covered how useful the lessons were, the topics that had been taught and what they wanted to learn more about. 823 people aged between 13 and 15 completed the survey between May and October 2019. Four focus groups were also held with 100 young people across Northamptonshire.

Young Healthwatch Northamptonshire found that young people preferred to have PSHE delivered through designated lessons on their timetables, liked interaction and group work and wanted lessons to have up to date and relevant content. Many wanted to learn more about topics that will prepare them for adult life, such as money and finances. The focus groups highlighted relationships, health, sex education, and safety as important parts of the PSHE curriculum.

Young people were fairly satisfied with their PSHE lessons, with over half rating their usefulness as four or five out of five, and only one-fifth giving a rating below three out of five.

The report includes four recommendations about the content of PHSE lessons, tailoring the content to different ages and genders, the needs of home educated young people and engaging with young people.

The report includes a response from the provider, setting out the action they are intending to take in response to the recommendations.