Education Section: Part 6
Resources and lesson plans for secondary schools
Supporting secondary schools and youth groups
Bodywhys believes that teachers and youth workers are often the best placed to help detect, prevent and support young people affected by eating disorders. Teachers can effectively promote balanced guidelines in relation to food and exercise and promote positive body image within the school setting. Teachers can also work with school pastoral care teams and management staff to remove barriers which may prevent a student with body image issues or an eating disorder from reaching their full potential.
What can Bodywhys offer schools?
Staff training
Bodywhys training for school staff will provide teachers and youth workers with an understanding of eating disorders and body image issues to support them in early recognition of an eating disorder or body image concerns in a student and the correct pathways to follow should a concern arise. Early intervention and treatment of an eating disorder can greatly increase the likelihood of a successful recovery and the long term well-being of the person affected.
Talks and workshops
Bodywhys provide talks and workshops for students in secondary school to promote awareness of eating disorders and to promote positive body image and media literacy. Bodywhys can tailor these information talks to suit any year group and can also provide workshops to students in smaller groups. The content of our ‘Be Body Positive’ talks and workshops can be discussed and prearranged with teachers depending on the needs of the year or class group. Teachers and youth workers are encouraged to highlight any relevant issues to the Bodywhys Schools Team so that these can be addressed and/or suitable information and support options discussed in relation to the particular concerns.
Project ideas and workshops with project groups
Body image, media literacy and eating disorders are popular topic choices for students who are interested in participating in the Young Social Innovators programme, in the Transition Year Annual Show or as part of mental health awareness during Cycle Against Suicide or other mental health promotion events. Leaving Cert Applied students who are interested in promoting awareness of these areas as part of a social issues module may also be interested in a talk or workshop. Bodywhys input to the relevant project group can acknowledge and support their interest in promoting awareness of these important issues.
Bodywhys resources and lesson plans
The #MoreThanASelfie programme is suitable for use as part of SPHE (Social Personal Health Education) with Junior Cycle students. The resources are ideal for using with first year students and can be helpful in promoting a positive, peer supportive environment at this vital stage when students are making new friends and developing patterns of interacting that may endure for the remainder of their secondary school years. These lessons are also suitable for second and third year students. Bodywhys are in the process of developing additional resources for second year students and project materials and resources for transition year students so watch this space for more classroom resources to promote positive body image, self-esteem and media literacy in your students.
The #MoreThanASelfie programme
The #MoreThanASelfie programme was designed in collaboration with young people to promote media literacy, to promote positive body image and self esteem and to foster a peer supportive environment to promote and maintain positive body image and self-esteem. It includes a specific focus on social media, is mindful of the importance of social media to young people and emphasises promoting positive changes to social media use to minimise any negative effects to body image.
The #MoreThanASelfie programme is suitable for use with all Junior Cycle students and may be especially helpful to first year students. The transition to secondary school can be difficult for many students. Students are often given a smart phone at this time which may bring additional pressures. Delivering the #MoreThanASelfie programme to first year students may help to smooth this transition and promote a supportive classroom environment where individual differences are celebrated.
All lessons are designed to be fun, engaging and memorable for students and to encourage group and individual participation to facilitate learning. We hope you enjoy delivering the lesson plans and Bodywhys welcome any feedback or suggestions you may have on these resources or additional resources you might like to see.
Pilot testing the #MoreThanASelfie programme
The #MoreThanASelfie programme was piloted in 2018 in three participating schools which were selected based on location, gender and school type. The pilot phase included one co-educational school, one female only secondary school and one all male secondary school. The programme was delivered to participating first year students in each school.
This pilot phase of the research was carried out in collaboration with the Centre for Mental Health and Community Research in Maynooth University and all materials used were rigorously reviewed and approved by the Social Research Ethics Committee at Maynooth University.
Results of the pilot phase
The results from the pilot phase are a positive endorsement of the programme. The participant evaluation forms clearly indicate student enjoyment of the programme. The vast majority of participants indicated that the lessons were good for their class (91.4%) and that they would like a younger sibling or friend to receive these lessons (87.9%).
The results also indicate some positive changes in relation to body image and attitudes to appearance in students who received the programme, lessening the impact of the muscular ideal for males and a lessening of perceived appearance-related pressure for females. Some positive changes were also noted in relation to social media behaviours.
ABOUT THIS RESOURCE
The various lessons included in this resource are designed to achieve the following outcomes:
To promote positive body image and self-esteem in young people.
To promote open discussion on body image and influences to body image.
To promote media literacy by targeting different aspects of media literacy in an age appropriate way and to provide the students with support to challenge some of the negative messages they may see or hear.
To foster a peer supportive environment to promote and maintain positive body image and self esteem.
To promote awareness and understanding of mental health issues and eating disorders.
To promote awareness of supports available for young people and how to access help.
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE TEACHERS RESOURCE PACK?
The lessons include videos and group and individual exercises to engage the students and to promote open discussion around body image. The lessons are designed to minimise preparation time for teachers.
All lessons, including videos and group or individual exercises, are embedded into an easy to use presentation format.
Each lesson is accompanied by a facilitator’s guide which contains prompts for encouraging open discussion and answers to all issues raised in the group and individual exercises. These answers are written in language which is age appropriate for students so can be read directly to the class group.
Each lesson is also accompanied by a workbook for students to record their responses to the group and individual exercises. This workbook for students to keep will include all information on the lessons and their answers.
Facilitators guides and student workbooks include images of each slide to make them easier to follow.
HOW TO USE THIS RESOURCE
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Read through the introductory information provided in each facilitators guide on ‘things to consider before getting started’.
Log in to the resource here. You will need to enter some details about your class including number of students, school type and location to gain access.
Click on the lesson you wish to use.
Print off one copy of the facilitator’s guide for you.
Print one copy of the student workbooks for each student in the class group.
Familiarise yourself with the layout and initial slides and if you have time you can also read through the slides and the presentation. You will have additional time to read answers on the facilitators guide when students are completing the group and individual exercises during the lesson.
If you are concerned about delivering any of the content in this programme you may find the information provided by the NCCA and supports available here helpful
