We recognise that CPD is not just about sitting in a classroom or in front of a computer. We have collated a list of documentaries that support the PSHE curriculum to help develop knowledge around specific themes. This list is not about documentaries that are suitable for young people – young people state they don’t want videos any longer than 15 minutes in their sessions but to give professionals greater knowledge into various PSHE topics.
Balanced Lifestyles
Emma and Matt Willis challenge a group of Year 8 pupils at the Stanway School in Colchester to give up their smartphones completely for 21 days.
Body Image
The new generation of weight loss drugs is now available on the NHS and Panorama has exclusive access to one of the UK’s top hospitals as it rolls out Wegovy, also known as Ozempic.
In China, looking good is crucial for career success, fueling a booming cosmetic surgery industry. Beauty videos and apps make surgery easily accessible, but the demand has led to a shortage of qualified practitioners and licensed clinics, resulting in daily accidents. This documentary explores industry pioneers and shares victims’ stories of botched surgeries and recruitment scams.
Bullying
Little Mix star Jesy Nelson goes on a journey of rehabilitation as she opens up about the abuse she has suffered at the hands of cyberbullies and its effects on her mental health.
Consent
Drama set at an elite school where the lines of sexual consent are dangerously blurred. When a serious accusation is made against ‘one of their own’, how will the school react?
Zara McDermott uncovers a ‘rape culture’ raging in Britain’s schools. She speaks for the first time about her own sexual assault by a schoolboy, and asks what needs to change.
Diet and Nutrition
Chris van Tulleken shares a personal view at why ultra-processed foods are so irresistible and how they have come to dominate food culture
What’s the truth around ultra-processed food? Joe Wicks and Dr Chris van Tulleken execute a highly provocative stunt to convince the government to change our food laws for good.
Baby food in plastic pouches has revolutionised the way many parents feed their children. Quick, convenient and in a wide range of flavours, they are marketed as healthy alternatives to homemade food. But as reporter Catrin Nye discovers, some are worryingly low in essential vitamins and minerals, while others contain more sugar than the NHS recommends an infant consumes in an entire day.
Weight-loss jabs promise rapid results – but what happens when you stop? Weight can return, hunger rises, and health gains may fade. Discover the science and stories behind the trend.
Domestic Abuse
The remarkable story of Alex Skeel, a 23-year-old man from Bedford who survived an abusive relationship with his girlfriend Jordan Worth.
Journalist and presenter Ellie Flynn brings together a group of 20 young people aged 18-25 for a social experiment, to see if they understand what constitutes coercive control.
Drama that tells the true story of what happens to a teenage girl when she falls in love with the wrong man, a charmer who ends up dominating every aspect of the young woman’s life.
When 15-year-old Holly Newton split up with Logan MacPhail, he hacked her social media accounts, tracked her movements and brutally attacked her. Can the police prove the attack was premeditated?
Eating Disorders
Record numbers of young people are being treated for eating disorders. Zara McDermott explores the reasons behind this explosion and asks if social media is part of the problem.
Exploitation
Reporter Tir Dhondy investigates sextortion scams targeting teen boys, tracing the case of Evan Boettler from the US to Nigeria, where she meets the scammers sextorting young men
The documentary features five young women who survived unimaginable abuse and rape telling their stories of gang grooming spanning 20 years.
A look at the hidden world of girls in gangs and the extent to which teenage girls are being criminally and sexually exploited.
Jordan Stephens gets himself sextorted, to expose the tactics criminals use to sexually blackmail young British men and boys. He tracks down his blackmailer and attempts to confront them.
The true story of the young victims in the 2012 grooming and sex trafficking case in Rochdale.
Teenager Joe Dix was groomed on social media by a county lines gang. Despite his parents’ attempts to get him out of drug-dealing, he kept getting pulled back in, with tragic consequences.
Friendship
The shocking story of Gemma, a young woman with a learning disability who was abandoned by the system and brutally murdered by people she thought of as friends.
Gender
In this intense drama, the Miller family is plunged into turmoil when 13-year-old Jamie Miller is arrested for murder. The tragic death of a young girl is at the heart of the story, which unfolds through the perspectives of Jamie’s family, friends, and the detective and psychologist investigating the case, all striving to uncover the disturbing truth behind the violence and misogyny among young people. Please see April 2025’s Digest on why we recommend that this drama is not utilised in the classroom with young people.
Esther Ghey tells the powerful and emotional true story of her daughter Brianna, a sixteen year old trans girl who was groomed by a murder obsessed classmate.
The cast of the long-running soap explore the issues raised by Joel’s misogyny storyline. On the way, they meet individuals whose lives were turned upside down by the effects of misogyny and discover those who are trying to change the narrative.
James Blake joins three young men to explore why they’ve turned to the so-called manosphere to achieve success, and how it’s influenced their real lives
Stacey investigates the growing community of ‘tradwives’ – women who have rejected career ambitions in favour of becoming the archetypal traditional housewife.
"Honour" Based Abuse
Powerful contemporary drama. A young woman falls in love with the wrong man, with tragic consequences for everyone.
Jobs
Will AI leave millions of Britain’s skilled work force without a job? From health care to the law and more, Dispatches investigates, pitting human versus machine to find out who’s the best worker.
Laws
Documentary exploring the human cost of Britain’s current law on assisted dying. Hear the moving stories of five people who all want the right to die when they wish.
Managing Challenges (Resilience)
Following the remarkable story of 18-year-old Billy Monger as he attempts to become the first-ever amputee to race competitively in a single-seater racing car.
The story of Mo Salah’s unlikely rise to global stardom – how the Liverpool icon defied the odds and never gave up on his challenging journey to the top
Mo Farah reveals the truth about his childhood, the journey he made to the UK as a young boy, and the subsequent years that led to him winning two gold medals at the 2012 Olympics.
Follows boxer and influencer Tommy Fury as he navigates personal and professional challenges, offering a raw look at identity, relationships, and resilience. 6 x 30 minutes programmes.
Mental Health
Roman Kemp explores the mental health and suicide crisis affecting young men. When Roman lost his best friend, he had no idea he was struggling. Now, Roman is searching for answers.
Money
Docudrama about 19-year-old Jerome Rogers, who found himself under a crushing debt and who eventually took his own life as a consequence.
Online Safety
Follow Bedfordshire Police as they respond to a horrifying crime in Luton, where a young man murdered his own family. The documentary shows the intense work of officers and detectives as they uncover not just a brutal triple murder but also a plan for something even more devastating.
In this intense drama, the Miller family is plunged into turmoil when 13-year-old Jamie Miller is arrested for murder. The tragic death of a young girl is at the heart of the story, which unfolds through the perspectives of Jamie’s family, friends, and the detective and psychologist investigating the case, all striving to uncover the disturbing truth behind the violence and misogyny among young people. Please see April 2025’s Digest on why we recommend that this drama is not utilised in the classroom with young people.
In this intense drama, the Miller family is plunged into turmoil when 13-year-old Jamie Miller is arrested for murder. The tragic death of a young girl is at the heart of the story, which unfolds through the perspectives of Jamie’s family, friends, and the detective and psychologist investigating the case, all striving to uncover the disturbing truth behind the violence and misogyny among young people. Please see April 2025’s Digest on why we recommend that this drama is not utilised in the classroom with young people.
Esther Ghey tells the powerful and emotional true story of her daughter Brianna, a sixteen year old trans girl who was groomed by a murder obsessed classmate.
Having posted his life on social media, James Blake found that his identity was stolen and used in scams. In a fight to get his identity back, he uncovers a world of organised crime.
Docudrama telling the true story of Breck Bednar, a 14-year-old schoolboy who was lured to his death after being groomed online by Lewis Daynes while gaming.
Please read here advice from the PSHE Association about why using this resource with young people is not in line with best practice principles in PSHE education.
Examines serious crimes where social media played a significant role, meeting victims, friends and families, and gaining insight from police, psychologists and other experts
A documentary that shares how a catfish killer was caught in northern Ireland.
This documentary-drama hybrid explores the dangerous human impact of social networking, with tech experts sounding the alarm on their own creations.
Parenthood
Too often dismissed, young dads across the UK are quietly redefining fatherhood. Joe Swash meets four men breaking stigmas and showing what it truly means to show up.
Pornography
In an exclusive investigation, Channel 4 News reveals more than 250 famous Britons have been targeted by sexually explicit deepfake images
Stacey Dooley spends the weekend with 23-year-old Lily Phillips, a high-profile adult content creator who has sparked both fascination and outrage in equal measure.
Vicky boldly immerses herself in the world of deepfake pornography – making her own sex tape. She also speaks to the victims and perpetrators of one of the darkest uses of AI.
When Zara McDermott left Love Island in 2018, she was told that naked photos of her were circulating worldwide. Now she’s looking for answers.
Pregnancy and Fertility
Broadcaster and musician Myleene Klass discusses the trauma of her miscarriages, with the aim of breaking the taboo which often surrounds this type of pregnancy loss. Myleene opens up to her husband for the first time and meets women from across the country who share their experiences of baby loss, including close friends
Relationships
Documentary exploring how Match Group and dating apps reshape love, asking serious questions about safety, profit and whether we have been trapped by the swipe.
Self-Examination and Screening
An intimate, personal and humour-filled look into the ins and outs of male fertility with Love Island star Chris Hughes and his brother Ben.
Sexual Harassment
Grace and Daryl are living happily in Watford when a dangerous stalker starts to rip everything apart. No one can help them. They need evidence. So they start to film everything…
Actress Emily Atack explores why she is sexually harassed online on a daily basis and seeks to understand why the blame for unwanted sexual attention is so often put on the victim.
Social experiment hosted by journalist and presenter Ben Zand in which a group of people come together to try to understand what constitutes sexual harassment.
Ellie Flynn goes undercover, exposing the harsh reality of sexual harassment against women and girls in Britain today, from ‘dick pics’ to being flashed, groped, spiked and raped.
Similarities and Differences
Comedian and TV presenter Alex Brooker examines his disability to acknowledge for the first time how much it impacts on who he is.
Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock explores racism across the music industry and confronts her own experiences as the only black member of the band.
Explores whether society is adapting fast enough to allow equality amongst the deaf and hearing worlds, Rose challenges the perception of deafness as something that needs to be cured and highlights the beauty of sign language and the deaf experience.
Stacey Dooley gives viewers an insight into the life of Romany women as they navigate their way through life amid the negative perception of their community.
Smoking & Vaping
Jordan North asks, should I quit vaping? Is it bad for me or not? To find out, he uncovers the truth about vaping and realises there’s a lot he didn’t know.
Vaping THC to get high is discreet and on the rise for 16-24s, but horror stories of vape juice being spiked with dangerous chemicals and of hospitalisations are putting users off.
Substances
This raw documentary sees Busted’s Matt Willis open up about his struggles with addiction and the pressure it puts on his family, as well as looking into what helps him and others stay clean.
Former legal high monkey dust has created headlines as a ‘zombie drug’ with a city-wide epidemic in Stoke-on-Trent. Users and dealers tell their stories.
This documentary reveals the extent of nitrous oxide use, filmed in Birmingham over a summer. Please note this was filmed prior to the reclassification of nitrous oxide as a class C drug with up to 2 years for possession.
This documentary looks at young ketamine users in Plymouth, whose consumption has moved away from parties and into their bedrooms, as they use the drug to self-medicate.
This documentary follows young drug users who have grown up with generational drug use in Fife.
This documentary explores the impact of cocaine in London, where users say it has been normalised.
This documentary meets users and dealers in South Wales where crack is being labelled as the new cocaine.
This documentary meets men in their 20’s who use sex pills regularly and the drug dealer mixing cocaine with viagra for a ‘weekender’. There is also a visit to a porn set.
Youth Violence/Knife Crime
Idris Elba confronts the reality of knife crime, speaking to those most affected – from the streets to the system – in a quest to uncover how we can break the cycle.
In this intense drama, the Miller family is plunged into turmoil when 13-year-old Jamie Miller is arrested for murder. The tragic death of a young girl is at the heart of the story, which unfolds through the perspectives of Jamie’s family, friends, and the detective and psychologist investigating the case, all striving to uncover the disturbing truth behind the violence and misogyny among young people. Please see April 2025’s Digest on why we recommend that this drama is not utilised in the classroom with young people.
If you have any recommendations please email Natalie (Staffordshire) or Ellie (Stoke-on-Trent)