adepis - understanding your pupils’ needs - adepis seminar
DESCRIPTION
What is efficient needs assessment? How can needs assessment inform an alcohol and drug education programme?TRANSCRIPT
Understanding your pupils’ needs
Who we are
Funded by the Department for Education Run by Mentor, in partnership with DrugScope
and Adfam
Supporting secondary schools, primary schools, FE Colleges and anyone working in formal or informal settings with children and young people.
Drug Education Practitioners Forum
• Membership benefits include:– Exchange of information, ideas and
opinions on drug education– Sharing and disseminating good practice– Raising awareness of drug education
resources, projects and initiatives– Providing a voice for drug education
practitioners– Maintaining a profile for drug education
and through contributions to other relevant groups including national Government
• Membership is free and open to all those involved in supporting and providing drug education in formal and informal settings.
• To join the forum please contact Carol Marsh: [email protected]
Delivering effective alcohol and drug education in the classroom– Standards to shape the development
and delivery of alcohol and drug education.
The school context for effective drug education– Standards to develop a protective and
supportive environment, high quality drug education, backed up by clear school rules and support provision for pupils with additional needs.
Working with schools as an external provider.– Standards to evidence strong
safeguarding procedures, how staff or volunteers are supported, and developing productive relationships with schools
How schools can use the quality standards?
The quality standards will help schools and practitioners to:Identify key requirements for effective alcohol and
drug education;Self-assess their position in relation to alcohol and
drug education;Understand the vital steps to build on their
existing competences and improve the provision of alcohol and drug education.
Effective alcohol and drug education:
is needs-led and age-appropriate, putting the pupil at the centre;
is an interactive process of learning; enables pupils to explore their own and other people’s
attitudes and values; challenges misperceptions about the prevalence and
acceptability of alcohol and drug use among peers; and develops pupils’ personal and social skills to manage
risk, solve problems and communicate effectively.
Needs assessment
A needs assessment aimed at informing an alcohol and drug education and prevention programme should be structured to address the following areas:
The current situation in relation to alcohol and drug knowledge and use in the target group;
The risk and protective factors in the target group;The consequences of alcohol and drug use in the
target group.
How to assess the current situation
Accessing and analysing existing national and local sources of data
Carrying out informal observation of the school community
Carrying out formal needs assessment activities (including group workshops, interviews with pupils and school surveys)
Risk and protective factors
Protective factors Risk factors
1. Belonging to a vulnerable group
1. Social and Cultural Factors
1. Interpersonal and Individual Risk factors
Positive temperament
Intellectual ability Positive and
supportive family environment
Social support system Caring relationship
with at least one adult
In education/ employment/ training
Looked after children School non-attenders Mental health
problems Drug misuse by
parents Abuse within the
family Homeless Young offenders Young sex workers
High levels of neighbourhood poverty and decay
High levels of neighbourhood crime
Easy drug availability Widespread social
acceptance of alcohol and drug use
Lack of knowledge and perception of drug-related risks
Physiological and psychological factors
Family dysfunction Behavioural
difficulties Academic problems Association with
peers who use alcohol and drugs
Early onset of tobacco smoking
Early onset of alcohol and drug use
Where should teachers begin?
Informal observation of pupilsThrough what pupils say teachers may notice specific issues, harms or risk factors that may lead to risky behaviours. For example, this could be realising a pupil is a young carer, or that a pupil is looked after (perhaps by a kinship carer), or noticing certain risky attitudes towards substance misuse.
Trustful and open atmosphere in the classroom to ensure pupils’ responses are honest
Universal needs assessment
General overview and understanding of the overall target group:
Risk and protective factorsKnowledgeValues and beliefsBehaviours
Key questions
What do our pupils know about alcohol and drugs (and related issues)?
What are the misconceptions (including levels of use and acceptability) related to alcohol and drugs, which we need to correct?
What are the risk and protective factors in pupils’ lives?
Draw and write/ draw and tellExplores pupils’ knowledge,
understanding and/or values;Allows understanding peers’
values and beliefs;Allows assessment and class-
based research to inform class-specific programme planning;
Does not constrain pupils’ responses.
(Image: A Way In: Williams, Wetton and Moon, 1989, Jugs and Herrings)
Needs assessment, assessment for learning and assessment of learning...
(Image: McWhirter, J.M., Collins, M., Wetton, N.M., Bryant I., and Newton Bishop J.A. (2000) Evaluating safe in the sun, a curriculum programme for primary schools Health Education Research: Theory and Practice 15(2) 203-217).
Surveys and questionnaires
Explore pupils’ behaviours and attitudes;Collect detailed quantitative and qualitative
data around pupils’ behavioural and lifestyle choices;
Allow comparison of collected data to national statistics or previous years’ surveys;
Highlight schools’ strengths and weaknesses, or existing gaps in the programme of alcohol and drug education.
From needs assessment to individual screening
During needs assessments pupils may disclose information and concerns that may be considered as signs of serious issues in their families and individual lives.
If this happens, teachers should follow child safeguarding procedures outlined in the school safeguarding policies.
Screening tools
Help teachers and those working with children and young people identify whether they have alcohol or drug related issues or needs.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommend the use of “existing screening and assessment tools to identify vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people aged under 25 who are misusing – or who are at risk of misusing – substances”.
(PH4 Interventions to reduce substance misuse among vulnerable young people: guidance 28 March 2007)
These tools include the Common Assessment Framework and those available from the National Treatment Agency [now Public Health England].
Why is needs assessment important?
Allows to plan appropriate and relevant programmes of alcohol and drug education;
Enables to meet all pupils’ needs – avoiding stigmatisation of the most vulnerable;
Enables to implement a programme that builds on positive social norms and values;
Enables to implement a programme that develops those skills that pupils will need to address and overcome difficult situations (also in relation to substance misuse).
Further resources
• European drug prevention quality standards, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/manuals/prevention-standards
• The Prevention Hub, Mentor International http://preventionhub.org/
