What is good drug and alcohol education?
Why do we need good drug and alcohol education?
Since 2020, all state-funded schools in England and Wales have to deliver Health Education, along with Relationships Education in primary schools, and Relationships and Sex Education in secondary schools. DfE guidelines published in June 2019 outline what this should cover. This incorporates the majority of topics included under Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE).
In addition to this there are other trends which make the delivery of effective drug and alcohol education in all schools vital for the health and wellbeing of young people.
- The number of 11-15 year olds in England and Wales who reported having taken drugs in the last year rose by 50% between 2014 and 2016 (NHS Digital 2017).
- Permanent exclusions relating to drugs and alcohol rose from 400 to 565 over a 10-year period to 2016-17 (Volteface 2019).
- Convictions of 14-18 year olds for possession with intent to supply a controlled drug in England and Wales rose by more than 66% between 2012-13 and 2016-17 (Volteface 2019).
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Drug-related hospital admissions for mental and behavioural disorders rose by 12% over the 10 years to 2016-17, and drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2016 were the highest on record (NHS Digital 2018).
What is good drug and alcohol education?
There is a considerable body of literature evaluating school-based intervention programmes aiming to prevent or reduce substance use. This identifies common characteristics of effective programmes and indicates the need to take account of students’ developmental stages in programme design and delivery.
Characteristics found to be common across effective intervention programmes included the following:
- based on accurate information, having appropriate theoretical framework(s) and supported by empirical research
- having a focus on harm minimisation and skill development (eg refusal skills, self-management skills)
- challenging norms (eg alcohol and other drug use is not as widespread as young people might think)
- using interactive styles and methods, and maximising students’ interest by using up-to-date materials and information
- promoting student resilience and social connectedness
- encouraging strong relationships and communication between students, parents and stakeholders
- incorporating elements of several prevention models and which are multi-component
- consisting of a series of sessions, not one-off workshops or talks and including ‘booster’ sessions or continuous exposure
- appropriate training and support for teachers.
(UNODC 2018; Das et al. 2016; Lee et al. 2016; Warren 2016; see also Faggiano et al. 2014; Foxcroft and Tsertsvadze 2011).
