Lesson video

- Hello, and welcome to your first lesson in this unit titled, Committed and Stable Relationships.

I'll be your teacher, Mr. Clarke, and I'm really looking forward to starting this unit with you and starting our learning today.

So let's get started, shall we? To be able to fully participate in today's lesson you're going to need to get either an exercise book or a piece of paper and a pen.

So if you need to go and get those things, please just press Pause.

And when you're back and ready to start, press Play, and we'll begin.

Today's learning has already started, because you've taken part in our introduction quiz.

And I look forward to seeing how you done with that later on.

Throughout the rest of today's lesson, we're going to be covering committed relationships and what that actually means and looks like.

We'll also be looking at the types of families and what our view of a family is and what families mean.

And finally, relationships and happiness, looking at the link between the two.

At which point, you will then be ready to undergo our exit quiz.

And I've no doubt you're going to absolutely smash it.

Keywords for today are going to be: Relationships, which is the way in which two or more people are connected or the state of being connected.

And also, committed relationship, which is a serious and lasting romantic relationship with someone.

At this point, I would invite you to make sure that you've got these keywords wrote down on your piece of paper or exercise book.

If you need to pause a video while you do that, feel free.

And when you're ready to carry on, just press Play again.

To make sure we're awake and ready to start the lesson today, I've got a bit of a question for you.

True or false, if two people are in a committed relationship they have to marry each other.

Is that true? Or is that false? If two people are in a committed relationship they have to marry each other.

What do we think? Point to the answer that you think is correct in 3 get ready, 2 and 1.

Point now to the answer that you think is correct.

Interesting, shall we see? Of course, the answer is false.

There are a range of stable and committed relationships, as well as marriage.

People are free to make a relationship choices that are right for them and we're gonna explore what some of those choices might be.

But we stress here that it is down to the individual person and that couple to decide how they want to progress in their own relationship.

That decision can't be made by somebody else or without their consent and permission.

And we'll explore a little bit more about that towards the end of today's lesson.

So committed relationships then.

Here, I've got some key terms for you.

I would like you now to match up the correct keyword with the correct definition.

Those words are marriage, cohabiting and civil partnership.

I invite you now to pause this video and try and see if you can match up these keywords with the correct definitions.

When you think you've got them, just press Play again, and we'll see if you're right.

Shall we look now what the answers were? Let's go through starting with marriage.

Where do we think that one went? Can you tell me whether you think that matched up with definition 1, the one that starts legally or formally? Does it match up with definition 2, the one which starts legally recognised? Or does it match up with definition number 3, that starts an arrangement? Point now to the answer you think is correct.

Shall we see if you're right? Okay, let's check.

That of course matches up with illegally or formally recognised union of two people as partners in a personal relationship.

What about civil partnership now? What do you think civil partnership matched up with? Is that the one which starts legally recognised or does it match up with the one which starts an arrangement? Point now to the answer you think's correct.

Okay, shall we see if you're right? Let's check.

That is of course a legally recognised union with rights, similar to those of marriage.

So both marriage and civil partnership, the defining keyword in those definitions there, is legally.

So they are both legally recognised forms of unions.

What about the next one then? Where do we think cohabiting could go? Which definition could it possibly be? Of course, it's an arrangement where two people are not married, but they live together.

So it's not necessarily legal, although it can become legal if they make that agreement and confirmation together to make some legal set of rules, but they get to decide what those are as opposed to a marriage or civil partnership where those legalities are already set out for them.

Let's look further now at the difference between marriages and civil partnerships.

So a civil partnership is a legal relationship entered into by a couple, which is registered and provides them with similar legal rights to marriage couples.

Now, whereas a marriage is formed by vows, civil partnership is formed by the signing of the civil partnership document.

And marriages are ended by divorce, whereas civil partnerships are ended by something called dissolution.

Civil partnerships were introduced in 2005 to provide legal recognition and protection for same sex couples.

Since then, the law had further developed to enable marriages between same sex couples too.

Opposite sex couples from 2019, can also choose to join in a civil partnership instead of a marriage, if they prefer.

I'm now gonna ask you a true or false question.

And I want you to point at the answer that you think is correct.

So marriage and civil partnerships are the same thing.

Do you think that's true or do you think that's false? Point now to the answer that you think is correct? Are marriage and civil partnerships the same thing, true or false? Are you ready? Okay, I'm gonna count down 3, 2, and 1.

Point now to the answer that you think is correct.

Well done if you said false.

Although both same sex couples and opposite sex couples can now choose either a civil partnership or a marriage, there are some key differences in what each term means.

And we've just explored some of those already.

We know that in marriage, vows are taken and it can only be ended by a divorce, whereas civil partnerships, a civil partnership document is signed instead of the vows, and it can only be ended with a dissolution.

Question for you then.

What is the minimum age for marriage in the UK? Is the answer 18, 17, 16 or 15? What's the correct answer for the minimum age for marriage in the UK? Point to the answer that you think is correct for me, in 3, in 2, get ready, and 1.

Point now to the answer you think is correct.

Should we see if you're right? Let's see.

The answer is 18.

Any relationship though should be freely entered into.

This means each person has the right to choose when and who they are with.

If they decide that they want to be with somebody altogether they may decide that actually they want to be single, they don't have to necessarily be with someone in the same way they have the right to be able to end the relationship at any point, not being or feeling forced to stay together.

Withdraw their consent.

They should feel that they can do that, if they change their mind about taking a relationship to a legal stage, for example, getting married.

So any relationship that you go into should be a 100% freely entered into, and as it stresses there, have the consent to change your mind at any point during that relationship.

But as we've already explored some people may not decide to enter into a relationship.

And this is something that Nicky is experiencing.

This is Nicky, and he says he has started feeling upset because everyone around him at school has started getting into relationships.

He's starting to feel that being single is a bad and negative thing.

What advice would you give to Nicky? I'd like you now to pause this video think about what advice you might give, write it down.

And when you've got that, just press Play and we'll compare some answers.

Let's look at then, some advice we might give to Nicky.

So you might have wrote down some of these.

Remembering that there is nothing wrong with being single and stressing that to Nicky.

That he doesn't have to rush into a relationship and he needs to make sure that it's right for him and makes him feel happy.

He has to make the most of the other relationships he does have.

He shouldn't focus necessarily on what he doesn't have, but focus on the amazing relationships that he does have around him with family or friends.

And there are lots of people that are yet to enter his life that he's not even met yet.

Nicky is still at school.

He's yet to go into the field of work and meet new people there.

He may decide to travel the world and meet a whole host of new people that haven't yet entered his life.

And that's really important for him to remember.

And not to compare yourself with those around you, it can feel really difficult sometimes when you see what's in front of you and think that's the world, but actually there's so much more that he's yet to explore.

And actually, he should focus on himself and what else makes him happy, and his own wellbeing and mental health.

We're gonna look at now, the types of families and particularly what comes to mind when we think of families.

I would like you to pause this video and complete this task for me.

You need to complete the end of these sentences.

I think the term blended family means.

Insert your answer.

I think the term step parent means.

Insert your answer.

When you've got an answer to those two sentences just press Play and we'll compare our results.

Let's have a look then, shall we? So a blended family is formed when a couple moves in together, bringing children from previous relationships into one home.

So let's say for example partner A has two children and partner B has one child.

They would then combine and now they've got three children altogether.

They're a blended family, and that's how we refer to that.

Now by law, a step parent only becomes a step parent upon the marriage to one of the biological parents.

So only through marriage by law, do they become the step parent? However, it's changed a lot over time.

And most people would see step parents as anyone who is taking on the role of a parent who otherwise through divorce, death or other reasons.

So it's become a lot more of a loose term compared to what it legally means and how it's viewed there.

Let's have a look at these examples.

John lives with his dad.

Charlie has two moms. Nicky lived with just his mom.

And Joseph lived with his mom and dad.

Just through these four examples here, we can see how wide and diverse that term of family really is.

Let's look at this image.

We know that there are foster and adoptive families LGBT-plus parents and partners.

There are intergenerational families where families that include grandparents as part of it.

And there are single parents and carer families.

Every single one of these people has a different makeup of a family.

John has just him and his dad.

Whereas Nicky has just him and his mom.

Chelsea has two moms, and Joseph has both a mom and a dad.

Families are really diverse and can be made up in a whole host of different ways.

And all of them are correct.

There is no right or wrong answer to what a family should look like.

And that's really important to remember as you move on not just through this lesson and the rest of this unit, but also as you progress further along in your life and make your own decisions and choices about the type of family that you want to have in the future, if indeed, you want to have one, because let's remember from the example of looking at Nicky, some people might decide that actually they want to remain single and not have their own family.

And that is perfectly fine as well.

It's all about choice and the freedom to make that choice.

And that choice is yours and yours alone.

Let's look finally looking at relationships and its link to happiness.

Stable and committed relationships can contribute to human happiness.

Do you think that's true? Or do you think that's false? Does having a stable and committed relationship of any form contribute to human happiness, do we think? Point now then, to the answer that you think is correct in 3, in 2 and 1.

Point now to the answer you think is correct.

Shall we see? Of course, it's 100% true, but why is that? Before I give you some of the answers and thoughts I have, I want you to think about your own response.

So in a moment, pause this video and draw a mind map that explores all of the different reasons behind why you think maybe a stable and committed relationship contributes to human happiness.

And when you've got that answer and you're ready to find out more, just press Play and we'll explore it together.

Okay then, let's look at some of these responses we might have.

I'm sure you've already got loads down there too.

It creates a sense of belonging, stable and committed relationships can really benefit our mental health and wellbeing, because you have someone who has shared interest with you.

You're less likely to experience feelings of isolation and loneliness.

You have someone to support you through both the good, but also the challenging times.

And you have shared experience and memories with each other.

And I think when we use stable and committed relationships we're referring not just to romantic relationships, but any form of relationship that is stable and committed to supporting and helping each other.

We've covered a lot today, but what are four new things that you've learned today about committed stable relationships? I'd like you to take this moment to reflect on your own learning and pause this video and write down what those four things are that you've learnt.

Perhaps they're keywords, perhaps it's laws and rules that you didn't know before, or perhaps it's just some of the reasons that link committed and stable relationships to your own happiness.

Whatever it might be, pause this video now and write down your four answers.

And when you've got them, press Play, and we'll come to the end of today's lesson.

Well done for your hard work today.

We've covered so much and I'm really excited to be starting this unit with you.

I can't wait to see you back for lesson 2, but before then, don't forget to complete the exit quiz.

And then, I'll see you for lesson 2, 'til then, bye now.