Youth Social Action Resource Hub

Teaching young people about developing and sustaining healthy habits is important as it can help by preventing health conditions such as obesity and diabetes to improve mental health, increased confidence, better social skills, resilience, and a more positive outlook. A healthy lifestyle will give the young people a strong foundation of physical and mental benefits. This will set them up for the rest of their lives.

Guidance on how to plan Youth Social Action projects using the steps process 1- Teacher Resource: Teaching HH: - The resources below support the teaching of the skills needed so pupils can carry out their social action projects on health: 2- Lesson 1: What is a healthy system? (PowerPoint and PDF) - To understand how health systems function and define what health is. 3- Lesson 2: When is food giving me energy? (PowerPoint and PDF) - To explain the role of physical activity and nutrition in physical and emotional health. - To create a charter on health. 4- Lesson 3: Lesson 3: How can I take action about my health? (PowerPoint and PDF) - To plan the skeleton of a social action project that could improve health in my school/local area/somewhere in the world. 5- Lesson 4: Lesson 4: Taking action (PowerPoint and PDF)

Did you know that it takes 10–20 years for a plastic bag to break down and 450 years for a plastic bottle to do so?
  Project Pristine is a youth-led litter picking scheme in which volunteers travel to beaches and collect litter in rubbish bags. There are three core aims: to protect marine life, clean beaches, and explore the ocean, as well as raise awareness about the issue. Other key partners were involved who helped with publicity and schemes like ‘Adopt a Spot’ where Project Pristine adopted and committed to regularly cleaning a beach with one of the worst litter problems.  

Young Food Ambassadors came together to launch their very own Right2Food Charter, calling on the Government to listen to their stories and those of millions of other young people across the UK who were living with increased levels of hunger and food poverty. They delivered their Right2Food Charter to 10 Downing Street with Dame Emma Thompson who is also supporting their advocacy. Since then, they have joined forces with Marcus Rashford’s #EndChildFoodPoverty campaign to make sure no child in the UK goes hungry.

11 young Traveler peer researchers were trained in basic qualitative research skills and assisted in creating a questionnaire. The peer researchers interviewed 44 x 15 - 25-year-old Travelers in London about the barriers they have faced around education, both in school and at home. They were also asked for their recommendations for improvements to the education system. The research found that the experience of bullying in school is more of a norm than an exception for young Travelers in London.

KIDS, a UK national charity supporting young people with Special Education Needs & Disabilities (SEND), co-created a secret shopper initiative in North London with some SEND young people. As well as choosing a range of local venues to be evaluated against disability-friendly, accessibility and inclusiveness criteria, the project tackled loneliness for this group. The project addressed disability awareness across community organizations in Islington, raised the profile of disabled young people in the area, and made the community more inclusive, benefitting all local disabled people. 32 young people participated.

Made in 2020, 'Like A Person' is a short film, which was created by the LGBTQ+ young people of the Swindon-based Out of the Can youth project. This educational film captures the young people’s experiences in school and at home of allyship from those around them (e.g., teachers, parents, fellow pupils) and the huge difference that this makes in letting them be themselves and thrive. Examples include not misgendering a young person (using their chosen name and pronouns) and setting a positive example by standing up for a young person who was being bullied.

A guide that assists in applying the skills of research to the 5 step process of Youth Social Action