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What is the Young Health Champions Programme?

The Young Health Champions programme is a guided-learning programme which leads to a qualification; RSPH Level 2 Award for Young Health Champions. The programme is for young people between the ages of 14 - 24 who want to help their peers develop a healthier lifestyle and make their voice heard around health and wellbeing issues.

The qualification consists of 22 guided-learning hours and has the flexibility to be delivered in any educational setting.

What does the Programme achieve?

The Young Health Champions programme gives young people across the country the skills to take control of their health and wellbeing. The programme explores what the most prevalent risks to the health of young people are including substance abuse, social media and smoking and how to address these risks to make healthy lifestyle choices.

The programme also helps to improve the overall mental and physical health of Young Health Champions and empowers them to encourage others to adopt similar healthy behaviours. Young Health Champions also learn about health services in their local area and how to signpost others to these. The course culminates in developing a health promotion campaign and delivering it to peers.

The outcomes and feedback from our Young Health Champion alumni have been overwhelmingly positive. A survey of Young Health Champions revealed:

  • 90% experienced an increase in confidence
  • 90% changed their health behaviours including quitting smoking and taking more exercise
  • 95% were now aware of their local health service and knew how to signpost others to them

What positive outcomes does the Young Health Champions Programme provide?

As well as helping to improve the health and wellbeing of young people across the country, the Young Health Champions programme aims to educate and inspire the next generation of public health professionals.

The Young Health Champions programme provides a recognised and accredited qualification, covering numerous study areas, including:

  • The AQA GCSE Biology curriculum
  • The AQA GCSE Health and Social Care curriculum
  • The CACHE Level 2 Health and Social Care curriculum
  • The PSHE Association Key Stage 4 Suggested Programme of Study.

It also gives an insight into an exciting range of public health careers, ranging from Medicine to Health Promotion. The qualification uses workplace scenarios, which help young people transition more easily from education to employment and gain skills and experiences they can add to their CV.

The programme also aims to increase young people's confidence, by empowering them with knowledge about their community, support groups and where to access health advice. The programme's students also work on skills to deliver presentations, mentor their peers and develop a health promotion campaign that they’re passionate about.

Case studies

The Young Health Champions programme can be delivered in any education-based setting including schools, colleges, young-offender institutions or community settings. Our Young Health Champions case studies show the different organisations who have taken part in the programme and the successes they’ve had.

Care UK

Care UK, the UK’s leading independent provider of health services in prisons and youth offender establishment, has been delivering a successful Young Health Champions programme at HMP Dovegate. The programme has helped improve the health and …

Friends, Families and Travellers

Friends, Families and Travellers is a national charity that works to promote the health and wellbeing of all Gypsies, Travellers and Roma. They've been delivering a Young Health Champions programme to help improve the health outcomes of the …

How to get involved with the Young Health Champions Programme

Complete our contact form to find out more about the Young Health Champions qualification and how you can get involved.

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