Department of Health and Social Care
We’ve partnered with DHSC to create activities which inform, empower and mobilise young people around the risks and realities of living in a pandemic, and what they can do to help others during this time.

COVID-19: the facts
Over the past year we’ve heard a lot about COVID-19. We’ve spoken to the experts to find out what exactly it is, how people catch it, and how we can stop it spreading.
Last reviewed: 30 November 16:30
Resources co-created with and from an original concept by LifeLab, based at the University of Southampton, Southampton Education School and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR, or the Department of Health and Social Care.
What are the signs?
How does COVID-19 affect different people?
A word about words
How can we prevent the virus from spreading?
What is a coronavirus test and what does it show?
There are different types of coronavirus tests: a sample can be collected with a swab or from salvia (spit). They can be analysed with different scientific techniques.
These tests show if the person who had the test had COVID-19 when they were tested. People get a positive or negative result. The tests don’t tell people if they’ve had COVID-19 before the test. A negative result does not protect people from catching it in the future.
Activities
COVID-19 catchphrase
Work together to look at the whole picture and discover why it’s important to have all the facts about coronavirus.
Suitable for: Beavers and Cubs | Takes: 20 minutes
Run this activityFigure out the facts
Get quizzical and test your coronavirus knowledge with your friends.
Suitable for: Beavers and Cubs | Takes: 10 minutes
Run this activityCOVID-19, what does it mean?
Sort the facts from fiction with this coronavirus quiz.
Suitable for: Scouts and Explorers | Takes: 25 minutes
Run this activityMove over mythbusters
When it comes to coronavirus, it can be tricky to spot the difference between truth and misinformation. Can you learn to be a fact finder?
Suitable for: Scouts and Explorers | Takes: 30 minutes
Run this activityKeep apart, but do it with heart
Coronavirus means we have to stay further apart than normal. Find out why, and come up with new ways to live your values.
Suitable for: Beavers and Cubs | Takes: 60 minutes
Run this activityCombat the negative impact
Taking action to slow coronavirus can be tough. Work together to help make an action a little easier.
Suitable for: Scouts and Explorers | Takes: 1 hour
Run this activityTesting timeline
Work together to work out what happens when you take a COVID-19 test.
Suitable for: Beavers and Cubs | Takes: 25 minutes
Run this activityTesting doesn’t have to be trying
Coronavirus tests can sound tricky, but by focusing on the facts we can all take action to boost our own and others’ wellbeing.
Suitable for: Scouts and Explorers | Takes: 45 minutes
Run this activity