Drug Education and Early Interventionin Nottingham City Schools

Efficient Needs Assessment into

Effective Curriculum Planning

Karen SmithThe DrugAware Award ProgrammeEarly Intervention Team Nottingham City Councilkaren@thdrugawareaward.co.uk078550744710115 8764797

The DrugAware Award Programme

Content

Context

Data to Inform Curriculum Planning - Mainstream

Dvibe data

Case Study

Benefits and Outcomes

Targeted Intervention

Ngage

Case Study – Targeted and Specialist

Implications for Curriculum Planning

Summary

The DrugAware Programme?

A complete, multi-component standard-based quality mark

and response for the school / YP setting

All the resources to meet that standard aligned to all markers for

best practice and existing standards (Ofsted, PSHE assoc,

Healthy Schools) to give confidence in practice

An approach that covers both mainstream and vulnerable pupils.

(Primary/Secondary/Academy/PRU).

Combines the workforce training, data, resources and structural

implementation necessary to bring relevance and effective focus

to the task of tackling substance misuse through early

intervention and prevention.

A bespoke in-school education link worker drug and alcohol

support and advisory service

Flexibility of approach and ‘distance travelled’ implementation

.

Resources and Tools

Implementation Support

•Web support

•Member area for downloads and tools

•Unique login

•News and shares

•Step by step guidance

Efficient Needs Assessment into Effective Curriculum Planning

Usual pastoral processes

D-Vibe

Planned mainstream programme

Assessment

Ngage Assessment

Targeted programme

Ind

ivid

ual

Inte

rven

tion

D-Vibe Survey

Coverage

• Risk behaviours / prevalence

• Normative environment

• Preference and experiences

• Key knowledge

• Skill perceptions and skills

• Attitudes

• Tests for common misinformation

• Built in, fidelity check questions

• Built in risk prompts with customisable local

service information

Normative Environment / Prevalence

Perceptual / Skills

D-Vibe Reports

• Downloadable spreadsheet data• Specialist mini reports

E.G. Healthy Schools, All schools, Brief curriculum check, resilience score• Detailed drill-down functions for all questions by ethnicity, vulnerability,

gender etc..

D-Vibe Case Study

• Data collected in all years• Reports highlight curriculum and pastoral/safeguarding

concerns

D-Vibe Case Study

• Downloaded and put into graphs to ‘persuade’ HOY and governors to reinstate KS4 drug education programme

Alcohol

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Y7 Y8 Y9 Y10

Used Alcohol

Drunk in last 4 weeks

Heard of the Compass school drug worker?

Confidence to Refuse

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Y7 Y8 Y9 Y10

Very confident to refuse alcohol

Very confident to refuse drugs

Linear (Very confident to refuse alcohol)

Linear (Very confident to refuse drugs)

D-Vibe Case Study

• Downloaded and put into graphs to ‘persuade’ HOY and governors to reinstate KS4 drug education programme

Cannabis

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Y7 Y8 Y9 Y10

Year

%

Come across cannabis

Used Cannabis

Very confident to refuse drugs

Chart Title

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Y7 Y8 Y9 Y10

Heard of the Compass school drug worker?

Linear (Heard of the Compass school drugworker?)

Current drug programme had been run in lower KS3 only for

last 2 years and dropped at KS4. Content for ‘who helps’ is only in

Y8

D-Vibe Case Study

D-Vibe Case Study

Outcomes:•Used to redevelop PSHE and pastoral / referral pathway linking to sexual health•Re-boot of school dug worker service profile in school•Reinstatement of focused Drug Education year 10•Better focus with content on identified teaching and learning weaknesses•Targets set at end of KS4 for longer term

•Survey to be used to evaluate success of changes

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

UsedAlcohol

Comeacross

cannabis

UsedCannabis

Drunk inlast 4weeks

Heard ofthe

Compassschool drug

worker?

Veryconfident to

refusealcohol

Veryconfident to

refusedrugs

Awareunplanned

sex -alcohol

Aware ofrisk ofalcoholassualt(boys)

Aware ofrisk ofalcoholassualt(girls)

Prev Y10

Y10

Target post test Y11 in 2012

Case Study – Targeted and Specialist

D-Vibe

Assessment

Usual pastoral processes

Planned mainstream programme

Ngage Assessment

Targeted programme

Ind

ivid

ual

Inte

rven

tion

24% Vulnerable due to:LAC / FosteredExcludedSEN / DisabilityPolice/YOT involvementOf these11% problematic substances use (alc/can)1% class A exposure>10% parental use affected

Can drill down by numbers of vulnerable(not individuals)

The Ngage Assessment ToolkitEasy Engagement for Early Identification and Referral for those considered vulnerable

For working with young people aged 10 years upwards

For staff in universal, targeted and specialist services to enable them to assess the needs of the children and young people

To support workers to identify strengths, risks or additional needs

To provide the young person with the opportunity to talk about issues they may be experiencing

Ngage Assessment Toolkit: Benefits

To identify content for target education programmes

To identify request for service to targeted and specialist services

To help identify if a CAF should be initiated or where a CAF has been initiated to support assessment and action planning

To identify if there are any safeguarding issues requiring access to social care

Inclusion of a targeted sessions for identified individuals? Separate target programmes for small groups?

Appropriate materials to reflect experiences of young people?

Staff confident to teach vulnerable students?

Differentiate young people ‘by need’ within mainstream classroom management and add additional support where required (and to avoid skewing mainstream learning)

Increase awareness of link between inclusion / SMART interventions and attainment/attendance

Implications for Curriculum Planning…

Over 500 Staff trained around their understanding and teaching

practice for drug issues

Over 80 school staff trained to conduct needs assessments with

vulnerable pupils – including 15 secondary / Learning Centres using

the NGage toolkit

130+ referrals into Specialist YP Drug/Alcohol service annually / re-

entry rate of 4% (compared to 48% in YOT)

Length intervention 6 weeks average comparable to 12 weeks in

other settings.

Citywide data collected from 82 (almost 79%) of all DrugAware

schools (cohorts totalling 9,000 young people)

Implications for the City…

Snapshot –KS3 Learning Centre Over 2 years • Number of young people assessed with the NGage Assessment Toolkit

Risen from 5% to 98%• Referrals have risen initially by over 400% and remained active at level• Referrals exceed incidents in all DrugAware Schools

(suggesting they do not wait for incidents to identify need)• Parental positive involvement in aspects of drugs programme

Risen from 10% to 55%• Skills and confidence to refuse drugs/alcohol (illustration of safety

skills)Risen from 45% to 75%

• Knowledge of drug services Risen from 3% to 38%• Knowledge of recovery position (illustration of safety skills)

Risen from 11% to 58%• Prevalence Cannabis use fallen from 41% to 37% by end Y9*• Comparison with group of early Y10 in KS4 PRU who have not yet had

DrugAware implemented showed cannabis 57%

* this is a time when cannabis use generally increases dramatically from 12-14 to approx 50%

Data snapshots: Vulnerable Young People

Pre-delivery stage:

Pre-programme training and preparation with staff –

Provide preparation and follow up materials/resources/tools

Link baseline data, using interval measures where possible, to

materials and SMART learning outcomes

Ensure it is done

Ensure your delivery (teaching and learning styles) meets expectations

/ needs of young people

Invite external specialists to monitor / observe and feedback on

performance

What Works: Summary

Evaluation Stage:

Ensure follow up data is collected after programme implementation

Ensure that individuals who require more specialist assessment of individual needs are referred (EG vulnerable young people – Ngage)

Process and qualitative evaluation can be useful but make it meaningful and invite criticism as well as praise

Avoid using only closed questions or ‘measurements of enjoyment’

Don’t rely on ‘broad comment’ to use as evaluation of a programme – Use measurements that prove efficacy in the field you provide (E.G. To what extent did it increase reported confidence against a baseline)

Do, Review, Renew, Do: constant cycle

What Works: Summary

For more information

Anna Power, DrugAware Programme Lead Nottingham City Council Early Intervention TeamLoxley House, Station Street, Nottingham NG2

3NGtelephone: 0115 8764797 email: anna.power@nottinghamcity.gov.uk      web: www.thedrugawareaward.co.ukBuy: www.earlyinterventionresources.co.uk