In this guest post Jamila Boughelaf, Project Manager at Mentor, looks at the current position of drug and alcohol education in schools and what Mentor are doing to improve standards.
Alcohol and drug education is currently a statutory part of the national science curriculum, which mainly covers physical and biological aspects of drugs and related effects on the body. But is this enough to provide children and young people with a comprehensive knowledge about alcohol and drugs?
Alcohol and drug use is only one of many risks that young people may encounter as they grow up, and it is often related to other social, personal and cultural risk factors. Addressing risks in isolation - such as addressing specific substances within the science curriculum without reflecting on related life experiences, or interlinked risk and protective factors - does not give young people the opportunity to explore the interconnections between these issues.
Research suggests that effective alcohol and drug education should be part of a holistic approach encompassing the different environments children and young people are surrounded by. It should be underpinned by a whole school approach to health and wellbeing and enhanced by family-based education and prevention programmes.[1]
For this reason, the Department for Education suggests that alcohol and drug education is included and further developed as a consistent and fundamental part of Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education. PSHE has been defined as “the curriculum that prepares young people for life” through the provision of relevant information, knowledge and skills required to face the challenges and opportunities of future life. PSHE helps young people to develop values and skills and to reflect on their place in society.
When informing pupils about risks associated with alcohol and drugs we cannot forget about the social skills, values and assertiveness needed to make informed choices. Alcohol and drug education cannot exist outside the wider context of PSHE education.
However, the current non-statutory status of PSHE education, and the subsequent inconsistency of teaching quality, means alcohol and drug education in schools is often neglected. In fact, the latest Ofsted report ‘Not yet good enough’ showed that PSHE provision was inadequate or needed improvement in over 40% of schools inspected.
Findings from a national survey delivered by the PSHE Association on behalf of Mentor also show that, as a result of poor quality PSHE, alcohol and drug education provision remains inconsistent and ‘patchy’ across educational establishments in England.
The survey outlined three key obstacles to providing effective alcohol and drug education:
- Lack of curriculum time: The varying level of importance placed on PSHE education and subsequently on alcohol and drug education within schools often impacts on the number of hours teachers are able to give to alcohol and drug education provision. This often results in a fragmented topic-style teaching approach, which consequently leads to a lack of continuous learning for pupils.
- Lack of financial capacity to secure good external support or resources.
- Non-specialist teaching: alcohol and drug education, and PSHE education more generally, are often delivered by non-specialist teachers (with no initial teacher training on the subject), resulting in varying levels of confidence among teachers and preventing continuous learning for pupils.
On the basis of these findings, the Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention Information Service (ADEPIS) was established with the aim to address existing gaps, promote evidence-based practice, provide support to schools and practitioners involved in alcohol and drug education, and to enable both schools and practitioners to improve their provision of alcohol and drug education and prevention.
Within this context, alongside numerous briefing papers for schools and practitioners, ADEPIS produced the “Quality standards for effective alcohol and drug education”
The Mentor-ADEPIS quality standards have been produced to be used within the context of a well-planned PSHE programme. The standards, used in conjunction with Ofsted and PSHE Association frameworks, enable assessment of a whole school approach to alcohol and drug education and PSHE. The standards encourage schools to build on existing skills to develop an ethos promoting health, well-being and positive social norms.
The quality standards have been developed to make sure schools apply principles for effectiveness, ensuring that:
- The alcohol and drug education curriculum is thoroughly planned to be relevant and responsive to pupils’ developmental stages and needs, and taught in the context of other personal, social and health issues relevant to children and young people’s lives.
- The curriculum builds on previous learning, is consistently re-visited and adapted to meet ever-changing needs and knowledge of students, also reflecting cultural or religious differences.
- The selected material and activities are delivered through interactive teaching styles, exploring pupils’ attitudes, and allowing opportunities to develop social skills.
- The programme of alcohol and drug education promotes positive social norms, whilst challenging myths and misconceptions around the use of alcohol and drugs among peers, by using reliable and up-to-date information.
In the coming year Mentor-ADEPIS will look at exploring innovative ways to further support schools and other educational institutions in assessing the quality of their alcohol and drug education provision. To find out more, please visit mentor-adepis.org or email [email protected]
[1] The Drug Education Forum, The principles of good drug education
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