STI Workshops for Schools, Colleges, Universities and Staff Training
STI Workshops from 2020 Dreams provide clear, factual and age-appropriate education about sexually transmitted infections (STIs), sexual health, safer sex, testing, prevention, treatment, consent, communication and where to access confidential support.
Our STI Workshops for Schools are especially well suited to Key Stage 4, including Years 10 and 11, where pupils are expected to build practical knowledge about STI transmission, risk reduction, condoms, testing and how to access sexual health services. The programme is also adapted for sixth forms, colleges, universities, SEND and SEMH settings, PRUs and alternative provision, youth organisations, charities, staff teams, professional groups, workplaces and corporate events. Every session is shaped around the age, prior knowledge, safeguarding context and needs of the organisation.
The aim is not to frighten or shame participants about sex. Effective STI education should help people understand risk accurately, separate myths from facts, know how different infections can be transmitted, understand how condoms and testing reduce risk, recognise that many STIs can have no obvious symptoms and feel confident accessing professional sexual health services when needed.
We use the current clinical term STI rather than relying on the older term STD, while still explaining that people may use both terms when searching for information. Sessions are non-judgemental, inclusive and designed to support informed decision-making rather than assumptions about somebody’s sexual activity, sexuality or relationship history.
Core Features of Our STI Workshops
- What sexually transmitted infections are
- STI vs STD terminology
- How STIs can be transmitted
- Why some STIs have no symptoms
- Chlamydia
- Gonorrhoea
- Syphilis
- Genital herpes
- Human papillomavirus (HPV)
- HIV
- Trichomoniasis and other infections where appropriate
- Condoms and safer-sex strategies
- Testing and sexual health clinics
- Confidential sexual health services
- Treatment and why early diagnosis matters
- Antibiotic resistance and gonorrhoea
- Consent, boundaries and communication
- Talking to a partner about testing and sexual health
- Alcohol, drugs and sexual decision-making
- Myths, misinformation and stigma
- Digital sexual-health misinformation
- Where and how to seek professional advice
- STI and sexual-health staff training
STI Awareness Workshops can be delivered as standalone sexual-health sessions or combined with related programmes on Sex Education, Contraception, Consent, Healthy Relationships, Teenage Pregnancy, Pornography, Sexting, Online Safety, Alcohol and Sex, and Staff Training.
STI Workshop Overview
What Is an STI?
An STI is a sexually transmitted infection. STIs are infections that can be passed from one person to another through sexual contact. Different infections are transmitted in different ways, and sexual contact can include vaginal, anal or oral sex as well as some forms of genital-to-genital or skin-to-skin contact.
A major learning point in our STI Workshops is that an infection does not have to cause obvious illness to be important. Many STIs can produce mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. Somebody can therefore feel completely well and still need testing after a potential exposure.
This is why STI education needs to move beyond frightening photographs or lists of symptoms. Symptoms can be useful information, but testing and professional advice are often more reliable than trying to decide whether somebody “looks infected”.
STI or STD – Which Term Is Correct?
STI means sexually transmitted infection. STD means sexually transmitted disease. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably by the public, and many people still search online for “STD facts” or “STD workshops”. However, STI is the preferred modern clinical and public-health term used by the NHS, UK Health Security Agency and Department for Education.
The reason is simple: somebody can have an infection without having developed symptoms or disease. Using STI also supports less stigmatising language and puts the emphasis on infection, prevention, testing and treatment.
For SEO and accessibility, this page naturally includes both terms, but our educational delivery primarily uses STI.
Why STI Workshops Matter in 2026
The latest UK Health Security Agency statistics show that overall STI diagnoses in England fell between 2024 and 2025, but this does not remove the need for sexual-health education. In 2025 there were still 334,151 new STI diagnoses in England. Chlamydia remained the most commonly diagnosed STI, followed by gonorrhoea, first-episode genital herpes and first-episode genital warts.
Young people remain an important priority group. UKHSA reports that STI diagnosis rates continue to be relatively high among 15–24-year-olds. In 2025, young people aged 15–24 accounted for 119,033 new STI diagnoses in England.
The national picture is therefore more nuanced than “STIs are rising” or “STIs are falling”. Some diagnoses have fallen, some have increased, testing patterns have changed and particular infections or population groups continue to require focused prevention. Good STI education should reflect that nuance rather than recycling outdated statistics.
New STI diagnoses
Recorded in England in 2025, according to UKHSA’s June 2026 annual release.
Aged 15–24
New STI diagnoses among young people aged 15–24 in England in 2025.
Chlamydia
Chlamydia accounted for 45.2% of all new STI diagnoses in England in 2025.
Current STI Statistics for Young People
For schools, colleges and universities, age-specific data is more useful than national totals alone. UKHSA’s 2025 report shows that:
🔹 Young people aged 15–24 had 119,033 new STI diagnoses in 2025.
🔹 Chlamydia diagnoses among 15–24-year-olds fell from 85,875 in 2024 to 74,917 in 2025.
🔹 Gonorrhoea diagnoses among 15–24-year-olds fell from 19,110 to 15,003 over the same period.
🔹 Among young women aged 15–24, 547,308 chlamydia tests were carried out in 2025.
🔹 Chlamydia testing coverage among young women aged 15–24 fell from 17.7% in 2024 to 16.0% in 2025.
The reduction in diagnoses should not be interpreted as proof that risk has disappeared. UKHSA continues to identify young people aged 15–24 as a group with relatively high STI diagnosis rates, and the fall in chlamydia testing is itself relevant to prevention and health-seeking behaviour.
The STI FACTS Framework: FACTS → ACCESS → CONDOMS → TESTING → SUPPORT
A distinctive feature of our STI Awareness Workshops is the STI FACTS Framework. Instead of asking participants to memorise a long list of infections, we organise learning around the decisions they may actually need to make.
FACTS
Understand what STIs are, how they can be transmitted and why symptoms alone cannot confirm whether somebody has an infection.
ACCESS
Know where sexual-health advice, confidential testing, contraception and professional support can be accessed.
CONDOMS
Understand that condoms reduce the risk of HIV and other STIs and are different from contraceptive methods that prevent pregnancy but do not protect against STIs.
TESTING
Recognise that testing is the only reliable way to know whether many STIs are present and that timing and test type vary by infection.
SUPPORT
Respond to sexual-health concerns without shame, seek professional advice and involve safeguarding support where there is pressure, exploitation, abuse or risk of harm.
Common STIs Covered in Our Workshops
The exact infections covered depend on age, available time and the needs of the group. We focus on accurate core facts rather than trying to turn participants into clinicians.
Chlamydia
A common bacterial STI. Chlamydia can have no symptoms, which is one reason testing matters. It is treatable with antibiotics, but untreated infection can cause complications.
Gonorrhoea
A bacterial STI that may cause symptoms but can also be asymptomatic. Most infections remain treatable, although antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea is an increasing public-health concern.
Syphilis
A bacterial infection that can progress through different stages. It is treatable, but diagnosis and treatment are important because untreated infection can cause serious complications.
Genital Herpes
Caused by herpes simplex virus. Symptoms can include blisters or sores, but infection can also be passed when symptoms are not obvious. Antiviral treatment can help manage outbreaks.
HPV
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a group of viruses. Some types can cause genital warts and some are associated with cancers. In a school STI workshop, the emphasis is on understanding HPV as a common sexually transmitted infection and knowing where to find accurate health information.
HIV
HIV affects the immune system. Modern treatment is highly effective. People on effective treatment who maintain an undetectable viral load do not sexually transmit HIV, commonly described as modern HIV treatment.
Depending on the audience, sessions can also discuss trichomoniasis, hepatitis, genital warts and other infections, while making clear that anyone with a personal health concern should seek advice from a qualified sexual-health professional rather than self-diagnosing from workshop information.
Many STIs Have No Symptoms
One of the most important STI facts is also one of the easiest to miss: many STIs can have no symptoms. The NHS explicitly warns that a person can have an STI without knowing it.
This matters because common myths often focus on appearance:
🔹 “I would know if I had something.”
🔹 “They look healthy, so they can’t have an STI.”
🔹 “There is no discharge or pain, so testing is pointless.”
🔹 “If I had an STI I would feel ill.”
Our STI Workshops for Schools and Colleges challenge these assumptions. Symptoms such as unusual discharge, pain when urinating, sores, rashes, itching or unusual bleeding can be reasons to seek medical advice, but the absence of symptoms does not rule an STI out.
How STIs Can Be Transmitted
Different STIs spread in different ways, so teaching one generic “sex equals infection” message is not useful. Participants need enough understanding to make sense of risk without graphic detail.
Depending on age, STI transmission education can include:
🔹 Vaginal sex
🔹 Anal sex
🔹 Oral sex
🔹 Genital-to-genital contact
🔹 Skin-to-skin contact for some infections
🔹 Contact with infected sexual fluids or blood for some infections
🔹 Sharing sex toys without appropriate cleaning or barrier protection
🔹 Blood-to-blood transmission for infections such as HIV or hepatitis in relevant circumstances
The workshop also makes clear that everyday social contact such as sitting next to someone, sharing a classroom, shaking hands or using the same toilet is not how common STIs are transmitted. This is important for reducing stigma.
STI Myth Lab: Myth, Partly True or Fact?
Our STI Myth Lab gives participants short statements to assess before the facilitator unpacks the evidence. It is designed to make misinformation visible without embarrassing individuals.
“You Can Tell If Someone Has an STI”
Myth. Many STIs can have no symptoms. Testing is often needed to know.
“Two Condoms Are Safer Than One”
Myth. Condoms should be used according to their instructions. Using more than one condom at the same time is not recommended.
“The Pill Protects Against STIs”
Myth. Hormonal contraception can prevent pregnancy but does not protect against STIs. Condoms reduce STI risk.
“You Can Get the Same STI More Than Once”
Fact for several STIs. Having previously had an STI such as chlamydia or gonorrhoea does not create reliable immunity against future infection.
“No Symptoms Means No STI”
Myth. Some infections are frequently asymptomatic, which is why sexual-health testing exists.
“Testing Is Only for People With Lots of Partners”
Myth. Whether testing is appropriate depends on exposure, symptoms, partners and professional advice — not a moral judgement about somebody’s sex life.
Condoms and STI Prevention
Condom education needs to be precise. The NHS states that using a condom every time somebody has sex is the best way to protect against HIV and other STIs. Condoms also help prevent pregnancy, but those are two separate functions and should not be confused.
Our STI Prevention Workshops can cover:
🔹 Using a new condom each time
🔹 Checking the use-by date and packaging
🔹 Using condoms according to the instructions
🔹 What to do if a condom splits or comes off
🔹 Why contraception such as the pill, implant, injection, IUD or IUS does not protect against STIs
🔹 Why some infections can still be transmitted through skin or areas not covered by a condom
🔹 Why condoms reduce risk rather than creating a guarantee of zero risk
We do not use fear-based language suggesting that “protected sex is still dangerous”. The more useful message is that different choices change risk, and condoms are an important evidence-based risk-reduction tool.
Contraception and STI Protection Are Not the Same Thing
A frequent misconception among young people is that being “protected” from pregnancy means being protected from sexually transmitted infections.
PREGNANCY PREVENTION ≠ STI PREVENTION
Methods such as the pill, implant, injection, IUD and IUS are contraceptive methods. They do not protect against sexually transmitted infections.
Condoms are the main contraceptive method that also reduces STI risk. Other forms of contraception, such as the pill, implant or coil, may prevent pregnancy but do not protect against STIs.
This distinction is particularly useful when STI and contraception education are booked together.
STI Testing – Why Testing Matters
Testing is one of the most practical parts of STI education. The workshop helps participants understand what testing is for, what a clinic visit may involve and why timing depends on the infection and type of test.
Sexual-health testing may involve:
🔹 A urine sample
🔹 A self-taken swab
🔹 A blood test
🔹 A clinician-taken swab where appropriate
🔹 Examination of symptoms in some cases
We deliberately avoid teaching one universal “wait exactly X days” rule because different infections and tests have different window periods. Participants are encouraged to use NHS or local sexual-health-service advice about when to test after a particular exposure.
The practical message is: if somebody has symptoms, thinks they may have been exposed, has had condomless sex and is concerned, or has been advised to test, they should seek professional sexual-health advice rather than relying on internet guesses.
What Happens at a Sexual Health Clinic?
Fear of the clinic itself can prevent people from testing. Our STI Awareness Workshops can demystify the process.
The NHS explains that sexual-health clinics can provide testing and treatment for STIs, contraception, pregnancy testing, HIV prevention options and other sexual-health support. Depending on the service, some testing may also be available through GP surgeries, pharmacies, young people’s services or home-testing programmes.
A clinic appointment may involve a confidential conversation about symptoms and sexual history so that staff can recommend appropriate tests. It does not mean somebody will automatically need an intimate examination.
For example, NHS guidance notes that testing for chlamydia and gonorrhoea often involves urine or a self-taken swab, while HIV and syphilis testing commonly involves blood samples.
Confidential Sexual Health Services for Young People
Young people often avoid seeking sexual-health advice because they are worried that parents, teachers or their GP will automatically be told.
NHS sexual-health services are confidential, including for young people under 16, provided the professional believes the young person understands the information and decisions involved. There are safeguarding exceptions where a professional believes somebody is at serious risk of harm.
Our workshops explain confidentiality carefully:
🔹 Confidential does not mean “nobody can ever be told anything”.
🔹 Healthcare professionals have safeguarding responsibilities where there is serious risk.
🔹 Young people should not avoid medical help because they assume disclosure is automatic.
🔹 A workshop facilitator cannot promise to keep a safeguarding disclosure secret.
This approach helps participants understand both privacy and protection.
STI Treatment and Why Early Diagnosis Matters
Different STIs require different treatment. Some bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics. Viral infections may be managed rather than cured, and prevention or vaccination is important for some infections.
The workshop avoids simplistic claims that “all STIs are curable” or that every STI causes permanent damage. Instead, participants learn:
🔹 Some infections can be cured with appropriate treatment.
🔹 Some viral infections can be effectively managed.
🔹 Untreated infection can increase the risk of complications for some STIs.
🔹 Partners may also need testing or treatment.
🔹 Having had an STI does not necessarily prevent future infection.
🔹 Professional diagnosis matters because symptoms can overlap with other conditions.
Antibiotic-Resistant Gonorrhoea – A Current 2026 Issue
Antibiotic resistance gives STI education a genuinely current public-health dimension. UKHSA’s June 2026 surveillance report states that by 8 May 2026 England had recorded 84 cases of ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhoea since surveillance began in 2015, including 25 extensively drug-resistant cases.
The numbers remain very small compared with overall gonorrhoea diagnoses, so this should not be sensationalised. However, UKHSA reports that resistant cases are being detected more frequently and that gonorrhoea has developed resistance to every class of antibiotics previously used against it.
For students, the useful lesson is not “gonorrhoea is becoming untreatable tomorrow”. It is that prevention, testing, correct treatment and following professional advice matter — and antibiotics should not be treated casually.
HIV – The Core Facts Pupils Need
HIV remains an important part of STI education, but for a typical secondary-school workshop the focus should stay practical and proportionate. Pupils need to understand how HIV can be transmitted, how risk can be reduced, why testing matters and that modern treatment is effective.
For Key Stage 4, the current PSHE Association and statutory RSE framework also includes awareness that PrEP and PEP are available to help prevent HIV in particular circumstances. We keep this brief and factual rather than turning the workshop into a clinical lesson.
🔹 How HIV is transmitted
🔹 How condoms reduce transmission risk
🔹 Why testing matters
🔹 The importance of accurate, stigma-free information
🔹 Brief awareness of PrEP and PEP and where professional advice can be accessed
Individual eligibility, prescribing and treatment decisions are matters for qualified sexual-health professionals.
Consent, Sexual Pressure and STI Risk
STI prevention cannot be separated completely from relationships and consent. A person may know what a condom is but still struggle to negotiate its use if they feel pressured, afraid of rejection or unable to express a boundary.
Our STI Workshops for Secondary Schools, colleges and universities can therefore explore:
🔹 The right to delay sexual activity
🔹 Resisting pressure and not pressuring others
🔹 Discussing condom use
🔹 Talking about testing
🔹 Respecting a partner’s boundary
🔹 How alcohol or drugs may impair decision-making
🔹 Why coercion or exploitation is a safeguarding issue, not simply an STI-risk issue
The 2026 secondary RSE guidance specifically includes sexual pressure, safer sex, contraception, STI transmission, testing, treatment and access to confidential sexual and reproductive health advice.
Talking About STI Testing With a Partner
Communication is a practical sexual-health skill. Participants can explore how to have conversations that are clear without becoming accusatory or shaming.
ASK → LISTEN → AGREE → PROTECT → TEST
The objective is not to provide a script for intimate behaviour. It is to show that sexual-health decisions work better when people can communicate honestly, respect boundaries and seek professional information when needed.
For younger groups, communication activities can stay focused on boundaries, trusted adults and asking health questions rather than sexual-partner scenarios.
STI Stigma – Why Shame Makes Sexual Health Harder
Stigma can discourage testing, disclosure and treatment. It can also turn STI education into a moral judgement about somebody’s character.
Our approach challenges language that suggests:
🔹 People with an STI are “dirty”.
🔹 Only “promiscuous” people need testing.
🔹 An STI diagnosis proves somebody has been unfaithful.
🔹 Sexual orientation determines whether someone “has diseases”.
🔹 Asking for a test means somebody has done something wrong.
A more useful approach is health-based: infections are health conditions, risk varies, testing is responsible and somebody who receives a diagnosis deserves accurate treatment and support rather than humiliation.
Online STI Misinformation and Social Media
Young people may receive sexual-health information from social media, search engines, group chats, influencers, pornography, AI tools and peers before they ever ask a teacher or healthcare professional.
Our STI Facts Workshops can help participants assess claims such as:
🔹 “This home remedy cures chlamydia.”
🔹 “You only need a test if you have symptoms.”
🔹 “You can’t get an STI from oral sex.”
🔹 “The pill protects you.”
🔹 “If somebody has HIV you can catch it from normal everyday contact.”
🔹 “A person with undetectable HIV still passes it on through sex.”
🔹 “You can tell from a photo whether something is an STI.”
Participants are encouraged to use reputable sources such as NHS sexual-health services and qualified clinicians rather than anonymous posts or image-based self-diagnosis.
STI Decision Lab: What Would You Do Next?
The STI Decision Lab turns information into decision-making without asking participants to disclose personal experiences.
Scenario 1: No Symptoms
A person had condomless sex with a new partner and feels completely well.
Decision point: Is “I feel fine” enough information, or would professional testing advice be more reliable?
Scenario 2: The Condom Split
A condom splits during sex and both people are unsure what to do.
Decision point: Which concerns may need prompt professional advice after unprotected sex or a condom failure, and where could somebody seek confidential support?
Scenario 3: “I Was Tested Last Year”
Someone assumes a negative test from a year ago confirms their current status despite new sexual partners since then.
Decision point: What does a previous test actually tell you?
Scenario 4: A Friend Is Embarrassed
A friend has symptoms but is frightened that a clinic will tell their parents or judge them.
Decision point: How can you support them without trying to diagnose or treat them yourself?
STI Awareness and the 2026 RSE Guidance
The revised statutory Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education guidance is introduced from 1 September 2026.
For secondary RSE, the statutory guidance explicitly includes:
🔹 How different STIs, including HIV and AIDS, are transmitted
🔹 How risk can be reduced through safer sex, including condom use
🔹 The importance of and facts about STI testing
🔹 The prevalence of some STIs
🔹 The impact STIs can have
🔹 Key facts about treatment
🔹 Contraceptive choices and efficacy
🔹 Sexual pressure and strategies for resisting pressure
🔹 How alcohol and drugs can contribute to risky sexual behaviour
🔹 How and where to access confidential sexual and reproductive health advice and treatment
A specialist STI Workshop for Schools can support this curriculum area, but an external workshop does not by itself fulfil every statutory RSE or safeguarding responsibility. Curriculum planning, parental engagement, policy, staff competence and individual safeguarding remain the responsibility of the school.
STI Workshops for Secondary Schools
STI Workshops for Secondary Schools are particularly relevant to Key Stage 4 and can be tailored specifically for Years 10 and 11. The emphasis is practical sexual-health knowledge rather than overwhelming pupils with specialist medical detail.
In line with the PSHE Association’s current Year 10–11 sexual-health learning, sessions can focus on:
🔹 What STIs are and how they are transmitted
🔹 Common STIs and their prevalence
🔹 Why some STIs have no symptoms
🔹 Short- and long-term impacts of untreated infection
🔹 How condoms reduce STI transmission risk
🔹 The difference between contraception and STI protection
🔹 Why regular or appropriate testing matters
🔹 How and where to access confidential sexual-health services
🔹 How to communicate about condoms and sexual health with a partner
🔹 Consent, sexual pressure and the right to delay sexual activity
🔹 STI stigma and barriers such as embarrassment or misinformation
🔹 How to identify medically accurate sexual-health information
🔹 Brief awareness of PrEP and PEP as HIV-prevention options, where appropriate to the age group and lesson objectives
The objective is for pupils to leave with information they can actually use: how to reduce risk, when testing may be appropriate, where to get help and how to make informed choices without shame or pressure.
Primary Schools and Age-Appropriate Sexual Health Foundations
An STI-specific workshop is generally a secondary RSE and post-16 topic. However, primary schools may want broader age-appropriate sexual-health foundations as part of puberty, relationships, body autonomy or transition work.
Where appropriate and agreed with the school, younger content can focus on:
🔹 Body changes and puberty
🔹 Privacy and personal boundaries
🔹 Correct health terminology
🔹 Trusted adults and asking questions
🔹 Respectful relationships
🔹 Health services and seeking help
We do not simply deliver a secondary STI presentation to primary pupils. Schools wanting primary provision can discuss whether Puberty, Healthy Relationships or broader Sex Education content is a better fit.
STI Workshops for Sixth Forms and Colleges
STI Workshops for Colleges and Sixth Forms can be more detailed and practical as learners gain independence and may be navigating adult sexual-health services themselves.
Post-16 content can include:
🔹 Current STI trends in 15–24-year-olds
🔹 Testing and window periods
🔹 Online and home-testing options
🔹 Condom negotiation
🔹 Contraception and dual protection
🔹 Antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea
🔹 Sexual-health confidentiality
🔹 Alcohol, nightlife and sexual decision-making
🔹 Supporting friends without stigma
STI and Sexual Health Workshops for Universities
STI Workshops for Universities can support Freshers programmes, student wellbeing, residences, sexual-health campaigns, student societies and targeted awareness events.
University delivery can include:
🔹 STI testing and local service access
🔹 Condom use
🔹 HIV prevention
🔹 STI stigma
🔹 Dating apps and new partners
🔹 Consent and communication
🔹 Spiking, alcohol and sexual safety where relevant
🔹 Supporting friends and signposting
The emphasis is practical adult sexual-health literacy rather than repeating school-level biological content.
STI Workshops for SEND, SEMH, PRUs and Alternative Provision
STI Workshops can be adapted for SEND, SEMH, PRUs and alternative provision using concrete language, visual explanations, repetition, smaller-group work and additional time for questions.
Depending on learner needs, we may place additional emphasis on:
🔹 What an STI is
🔹 How infections are and are not transmitted
🔹 Consent and personal boundaries
🔹 Condom basics
🔹 Recognising sexual pressure
🔹 How to ask for healthcare support
🔹 Confidentiality and safeguarding
🔹 Avoiding online misinformation
Adaptation is based on the actual group’s communication and learning needs rather than assuming all learners with additional needs require the same approach.
STI Awareness Workshops for Youth Organisations and Charities
STI and sexual-health education is also relevant outside formal education. We work with youth organisations, charities, community programmes, supported accommodation and other services that want structured sexual-health education for the people they support.
Community programmes can be adapted around:
🔹 Basic sexual-health literacy
🔹 Local testing and treatment routes
🔹 Condom access
🔹 Consent and healthy relationships
🔹 Exploitation and sexual pressure
🔹 STI stigma
🔹 Supporting people who may face barriers to healthcare
🔹 Signposting to appropriate professional services
STI Staff Training for Teachers and Professionals
STI Staff Training is available for teachers, RSE leads, pastoral teams, youth workers, support staff, university teams, charities and other professionals.
Training can cover:
🔹 Current UKHSA STI data
🔹 2026 RSE requirements
🔹 Teaching STI content without stigma
🔹 Answering difficult questions safely
🔹 Distancing techniques and anonymous questions
🔹 Consent and sexual pressure
🔹 Testing and confidentiality
🔹 Core HIV facts and prevention
🔹 Digital misinformation
🔹 Safeguarding disclosures
🔹 Signposting to local sexual-health services
Our external training supports staff confidence but does not replace statutory safeguarding training or clinical training.
STI and Sexual Health Awareness for Corporate and Professional Audiences
STI Awareness Workshops can also be adapted for adult professional audiences, workplace wellbeing programmes, charities, staff events and corporate health initiatives.
Adult-focused sessions can address:
🔹 Modern STI facts
🔹 Testing and sexual-health services
🔹 HIV stigma and accurate modern information
🔹 Confidential healthcare access
🔹 Sexual-health myths
🔹 Communication and consent
🔹 Workplace signposting and wellbeing
Corporate delivery is adapted to an adult audience and does not simply reuse school material.
Safeguarding and Sensitive Questions During STI Workshops
Sexual-health sessions can generate personal questions or disclosures. Participants should never be required to reveal their sexual history in front of a group.
Before delivery, settings should have clear procedures for:
🔹 Identifying the DSL or safeguarding contact
🔹 Managing disclosures of sexual abuse or exploitation
🔹 Responding where a young person may be at risk of harm
🔹 Providing a private route for asking for support
🔹 Signposting clinical questions to qualified healthcare professionals
🔹 Managing anonymous questions appropriately
Workshop facilitators can provide general factual education but do not diagnose infections, interpret personal test results or replace medical professionals.
A Non-Judgemental and Inclusive Approach
High-quality sexual-health education should work for participants regardless of gender, sexuality, disability, culture or relationship status. That means avoiding assumptions such as:
🔹 Everyone is sexually active
🔹 Everyone is heterosexual
🔹 Everyone will want the same type of relationship
🔹 A person with an STI has behaved irresponsibly
🔹 A person who is not sexually active does not need sexual-health knowledge
Participants can learn information without being asked to disclose whether it applies personally to them. This creates a more professional and safer learning environment.
Benefits of STI Workshops
Participants replace rumours and outdated information with current, evidence-based sexual-health facts.
Young people understand why symptoms are not enough and where confidential testing can be accessed.
Condoms, contraception, HIV prevention and testing are explained without confusing pregnancy prevention with STI protection.
Participants learn to treat STIs as health conditions rather than labels about somebody’s character.
Schools can use specialist delivery to reinforce statutory sexual-health content within a wider curriculum.
Participants know that sexual-health services are there to test, treat and advise rather than judge.
How We Deliver STI Workshops
FACTS → ACCESS → CONDOMS → TESTING → SUPPORT keeps the workshop practical and memorable.
Participants examine common misconceptions about symptoms, condoms, testing and transmission.
Realistic scenarios focus on what to do next rather than asking pupils to disclose personal information.
Statistics and public-health information are updated using UKHSA, NHS and current statutory RSE guidance.
Where appropriate, anonymous questions help participants ask about sensitive topics without public disclosure.
Secondary pupils, post-16 learners, university students, SEND groups, staff and adult professional audiences receive different language, examples and depth.
Related Sexual Health, RSE and Safeguarding Workshops
Schools, colleges, universities and organisations can combine STI Workshops with related programmes where a wider sexual-health or safeguarding programme is required.
Sex Education Workshops
Broader RSE covering sexual health, relationships, decision-making and age-appropriate sex education.
Contraception Workshops
Contraceptive choices, effectiveness, pregnancy prevention and the distinction between contraception and STI protection.
Consent Workshops
Consent, boundaries, pressure, capacity, communication and sexual ethics.
Healthy Relationships Workshops
Respect, trust, communication, boundaries, healthy conflict and recognising control.
Teenage Pregnancy Workshops
Pregnancy, contraception, decision-making, responsibility and support.
Pornography Workshops
Pornography, expectations, consent, sexual scripts and healthy relationships.
Online Safety Workshops
Online misinformation, sextortion, privacy, image pressure and digital safeguarding.
Staff Training
Bespoke RSE, safeguarding and sexual-health professional development.
STI Workshops FAQ
Book STI Workshops
Bring STI Workshops to your secondary school, sixth form, college, university, SEND or SEMH setting, youth service, charity, staff team, workplace or corporate event. Tell us the audience, age group, number of participants, location, preferred dates and the sexual-health topics you would most like the programme to address.
We can provide STI Workshops for Schools, targeted STI Awareness Workshops, post-16 and university sexual-health programmes, STI Staff Training, charity and youth-sector delivery or bespoke adult professional sessions.
STI Workshops – References and Current Guidance
Our STI Workshops draw on current UK public-health information, NHS sexual-health guidance and statutory education guidance:
- UK Health Security Agency – Sexually Transmitted Infections and Screening for Chlamydia in England: 2025 Report – current national STI statistics published in June 2026, including trends for young people aged 15–24.
- UK Health Security Agency – Sexually Transmitted Infections Quarterly Report, England, June 2026 – current surveillance of syphilis, gonorrhoea and ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhoea.
- NHS – Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) – symptoms, asymptomatic infection, testing and sexual-health advice.
- NHS – STI Testing and Treatment – information on sexual-health clinics, testing, treatment and confidential services.
- NHS – Condoms – current guidance on condom use, pregnancy prevention and reduction of STI risk.
- NHS – HIV and AIDS – public information on HIV transmission, testing, prevention and treatment.
- Department for Education – Relationships and Sex Education (Secondary) – statutory RSE content including STI transmission, HIV, safer sex, condoms, testing, treatment and access to sexual-health advice.
- Government Office for Science / Department for Education – Relationships and Sex Education Evidence Review – evidence on comprehensive RSE, age-appropriate delivery and effective teaching approaches.
These sources inform an evidence-led and non-stigmatising approach. STI Workshops provide education and awareness; they do not diagnose infections, replace individual medical advice, interpret personal test results or replace safeguarding procedures where a participant may be at risk of harm.