2011
• EU and UK youth’s views on drugs
The European Commission commissioned a survey of young people’s views on drug issues. This briefing paper looks at the key findings from the survey and analyses the results that have come from the UK.
• Principles for Supporting School Drug Education
Children and young people often find visitors to school a useful and informative part of their learning, but equally we know that for visits to be successful there need to be shared understanding about the nature and content of the session/s.
This short briefing is intended to set out principles that visitors and schools should consider applying in ensuring a good experience and outcome from using external support in a school’s delivery of drug education.
• The Coalition’s Policy Developments
An update of the coaltion government’s policy developments after their first year in power.
• Prevention and Reduction – Strategies for Schools
The DfE have published a paper looking at what works in prevention. The paper describes what the international evidence shows about interventions which have been shown to have an impact on youth crime and anti-social behaviour. Much of the evidence comes from the field of substance misuse prevention.
There are some clear messages for schools prevention activities which we have sought to prГ©cis here.
• PSHE update
This briefing provides an update on what we know so far regarding the Department for Education’s internal review on how to support PSHE teaching in schools.
• Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol
A prГ©cis of the WHO’s suggestions for reducing the harms done by alcohol to young people. Interventions they recommend include price controls, alcohol education, public health campaigns and community programmes.
[Download: WHO – Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol]
• The Principles of Good Drug Education
Choosing the best approach to drug education is a key task for educators. There is no shortage of guidance, information, and materials but choosing the most relevant and supportive for the group or groups you lead depend on a number of factors outlined in this paper.
• Elements of Effective Drug Education
The Drug Education Forum’s paper on the learning cycle can be downloaded here.
The paper looks at each element of the cycle covering guidance on needs assessment, planning, delivery/intervention, reflection and assessment and evaluation.
• Frequently Asked Questions on Drug Education
A paper explaining some of the terms associated with delivering drug education, including what we mean by needs assessment, risk and protective factors, normative education, and the difference between universal, targeted and selective prevention.
• PSHE and Drug Education in England
This briefing is a prГ©cis of research carried out by the Centre for Education and Inclusion Research to assess the state of PSHE teaching in England. Issues covered include the frequency that schools teach drug education, the way in which it is taught and the elements that have been identified in delivering effective PSHE education.
• Early Intervention
A briefing on Graham Allen’s report on Early Intervention: The Next Steps published in January 2011.
The briefing gives an overview of the report and highlights the programmes and developmens of particular interest with regard to children and young people’s substance misuse and drug education.
2010
• Drug Strategy Consultation Response
The Drug Education Forum’s response to the consultation on a new drug strategy. We emphasise the need for comprehensive universal drug education, delivered by trained professionals, that works with and supports parents and communities.
[Download: DEF Response to the Drug Strategy Consultation 2010]
• The Coalition 2010
An update of the coalition government in the first few months of office.
• Ofsted – PSHE Education in Schools
A short prГ©cis of a report into PSHE education in schools published by Ofsted in July 2010. The prГ©cis focuses on what the inspectors have to say about drug education in primary and secondary schools.
• Update on Random Drug Testing
Following a recent study published by the US Department of Education on The Effectiveness of Mandatory- Random Student Drug Testing (2010) in US schools it seems timely to update our briefing on drug testing in schools (DEF, 2006).
• The US Drug Strategy
A prГ©cis of what the US drug strategy has to say about the Obama Administration’s approach to drug prevention.
The strategy focuses on empowering communities, providing prevention interventions in a range of settings, supporting the commissioning and dissemination of research, looking at how enforcement agencies can support prevention, and tackling drug driving.
• US Prevention Strategy
Notes from a lecture given by Deputy Director of the Office for National Drug Control, Professor Tom McLellan, in which he talks about the development of ‘prevention prepared communities’.
[Download: Prevention Prepared Communities – the US Drug Prevention Strategy]
• Chair’s Report 2010
A report detailing the work of the Forum over the previous 12 months presented to members of the Forum at the AGM in March 2010
• Tellus 4
The TellUs 4 survey contains the data used by government to measure the prevalence of drug use by young people.
Illegal drug use seems to be falling with 9 per cent of pupils saying they had ever tried drugs in TellUs 4, compared to 11 per cent last year.
2009
• The Two Sides to Fear
An article originally published in Druglink in 1994 about the use of fear based messages with young people in relation to drug use. The article argues that fear is a strong motivator for many young people, but not all and for the latter group these messages are counter productive.
The article is hosted here with permission.
• Blueprint Final Report – Executive Summary
The Home Office’s Blueprint drug education programme research project was an evidence-based, multi-component programme that was piloted in 23 schools in England during the spring terms of 2004 and 2005.
This report outlines key learning points for future education programmes and the implications this has for policy development in this area.
• Delinquent youth groups and offending behaviour
A friendship with deviant peers is an identified risk factor for possible pathways to early and more problematic patterns of drug use. This briefing paper examines the evidence for this as identified in Delinquent youth groups and offending behaviour: findings from the 2004 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey.
2008
• Tellus 2008 – Survey Findings
The Ofsted’s latest TellUs survey includes questions about health behaviours, including ones on smoking, drinking and sub-stance misuse.
It provides the data that the government will use to judge the success or failure of the Public Service Agreement which includes National Indicator 115 on young people’s substance misuse.
• Use of Alcohol among Children and Young People
PrГ©cis of research into young people’s attitudes towards alcohol.
• Boys and Girls Use of Drugs
A paper looking at the differences between boys and girls use of drugs using the findings from the 2007 survey of school pupils carried out by the Information Centre.
• Precis of the Drug Strategy
A summary of the government’s drug strategy focusing on what it says about children and young people.
• Drug Use 2007
A paper examining the findings from the government’s annual survey of school pupils in England.
[Download: Drug use, smoking and drinking among young people in England in 2007]
• The Reclassification of Cannabis
A short briefing on the advice given to the government on cannabis by their statutory advisers, the ACMD, and the governments decision to reclassify the drug to Class B.
2007
• A Response to Pathways to Problems
The Drug Education Forum’s response to the ACMD’s report into drug services for young people.
• Public Service Agreements
A briefing note on the contents of PSA 14 and 25. The PSAs are developed as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review and describe the government’s ambitions for services for the period 2008 – 2011. PSAs 14 and 25 deal with substance misuse. This briefing note looks at what they say about children and young people and the services to them and their families.
• Young People’s Drug Use
A briefing on young people in England’s smoking, drinking and use of illegal drugs.
• Drug Education and School Policy
A briefing on what the government’s annual survey of young people aged 11 – 15 says about drug education and school policies.
• DAAT Survey Report 2007
Results from a survey of Drug and Alcohol Action Teams in England. This is the second survey of Drug and Alcohol Action Teams that the Drug Education Forum has conducted. The results of this survey highlight the concerns that Drug and Alcohol Action Teams have about funding. This year has seen a 10% cut in the Young Peoples Substance Misuse Grant, and the responses have been clear.
2006
• Involving Children and Young People in Drug Education
This report describes examples of practice across a range of settings where children and young people have been actively involved in the development of drug educational approaches and/or policy. Examples of young people’s involvement were gathered through interviewing children, young people, teachers and youth workers in four settings and we have also been provided with examples by members of the Drug Education Forum.
[Download: Involving Children and Young People in Drug Education]
• Random Drug Testing in English Schools
This paper is intended to provide a short overview of the current knowledge about random testing and to raise some questions that we hope will aid the debate on this subject.
• Key Figures 2006
We often assume we know what children and young people’s use of drugs are. This briefing is intended to give the reader an, at a glance, overview.
2004
• Is that legal?
In February 2004, the government published Drugs: Guidance for Schools on the provision of drug education and the development of school drug policies to manage drug related incidents.
This report carried out shortly after the guidance was published investigated local awareness of the new guidance and sought comments on the content of drug education and the development and implementation of drug policies in schools.
We interviewed governors, teaching staff and pupils. The study cannot be said to be representative but provides a useful – and somewhat concerning – snapshot 7 – 8 months after the launch of the new guidance.
• School Drug Policy Review Process
A document that helps schools (and others) think about the process of developing a drug policy which will include drug education and managing drug incidents.
The paper was developed by the government’s Blueprint team and is hosted with permission.
• Advice for Teachers on Delivering Drug Education
Practical advice for teachers on the delivery of drug education.
[Download: Advice for Teachers on Delivering Drug Education]
