Update: February 2008 - new lessons added!
Leaving home is a fact of life, with most young people leaving home before they're 25. These days, finding, setting up, and keeping a home is no easy task. Information, education, and planning can make a big difference.

Housing and leaving home education plays a vital part in preparing a young person for everyday living. By using I'm Offski! lesson plans teachers, youth and housing workers are able to help young people understand that where, how, and with whom they live affects every aspect of their lives.

I'm Offski! lesson plans can help to develop knowledge and skills in: practical living, problem solving, finding a home, types of accommodation, and tenants rights.

Please note: All our lesson plans are in PDF format. They are designed to print clearly in black and white and with photocopying in mind.

Update: February 2008 - we've added three additional lesson plans to this page.

Homelessness: What do you think? (Feb 2008)	This activity asks students to consider their opinions on statements about homelessness and compares them to those in the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2006. There are three types of activity to choose from and a teacher’s answer sheet.
Homelessness: How easy? (Feb 2008)	The How easy? questionnaire is designed to challenge students’ ideas and generate discussion on how easy it is to get out of the cycle of homelessness. This lesson plan has a teacher’s answer sheet.
Homelessness: You make the law (Feb 2008)	Suitable for S5 and above, this activity asks students to make their own laws on homelessness. In doing so, students gain a basic understanding of the legal definition of homelessness and explore their own attitudes and ideas on how to prevent and alleviate homelessness. This lesson plan has a teacher’s answer sheet.
Household Chores Questionnaire	The questionnaire asks students what household chores they are asked to do and what tasks they actually do. The answers are very often not the same! The questionnaire provokes lively discussion and helps raise awareness about the practicalities of running your own place. It is a good exercise for opening up the topic of leaving home and housing and is one that students can relate to even if they think that, for them, leaving home is some way off.
Stay or Go?	Why do people leave home? And what are the pros and cons of staying and leaving? What kind of planning can you do before you leave home? This lesson explores these questions with a mix of discussion-based and practical exercises.
Getting Advice	Where can you go to get advice about housing options? Who can advise you on the challenges of leaving home for the first time? Where can you get support? This lesson raises these questions and raises awareness of a wide range of useful sources of advice and support.
Housing Options	This lesson provides a brief description of a range of housing options. Students look at case studies and try to match different people up with different housing options.
House or Home?	What is the difference between a house and a home? This lesson explores that question. The term 'homelessness' means different things to different people. The lesson explores the term and provides an opportunity to understand what rights you have if, according to the govnerment's definition, you are homeless.
How Much Will It Cost?	Encourage the students to fill in a weekly budget sheet, guessing the answers when they are not sure. Then compare their guesses to properly researched answers. Also includes two sample budgets and three case studies.
Ideal Homes	This lesson is about aspirations and expectations. Students are encouraged to think about 'Ideal', 'Would be fine' and 'No Way' scenarios about housing, job, lifestyle, etc. The exercise will lead to a discussion around different people's aspirations and expectations, as well as how people move between 'Ideal', 'Would be fine' and 'No Way' situations.
Rights and Responsibilities	Students are asked to order of statements about what the rights and responsibilities of young people, landlords, and the government according to how much they agree or disagree with them. Some sample answers (with comments) are provided along with some basic information about what the law says.
Living Together	What are the pros and cons of sharing a house? Does your best mate, make the best flat mate? If you had to run a housing association, what rules would you impose on your tenants.

Support for I'm Offski!

Visit out networks section to read about the experiences of teachers and youth workers delivering housing education in Scotland.

Have you some experience or good practice you would like to share? Follow the link in the networks section to submit a news story. We acknowledge all contributions, and, with your permission, we may publish it on the site.

home smart

home smart is a campaign runnning through the Autumn of 2006 to ensure every S4 pupil knows that basic facts about homelessness and how to avoid it. Click here for more details and free lesson plan downloads.

Practice Bites

The Practice Bites Database allows you to search through a range of youth housing and support projects and includes brief examples (bites) of innovative practice which could easily be replicated by other projects.

Search Resources

This Database of leaving home and housing education resources allows you to search for resources by local authority area, type or key words. You can also add any leaving home resources which are available in your area.

Some local authorities make use of local lesson plans in their schools and youth work settings. This section provides regional overviews of housing education work taking place within local authority areas in Scotland. Coming soon to this section.....local housing information for each local authority area including average rents and average waiting times for council housing.