Background
to the Research
- The
CCGAAD was set up by then Minister of State Sir John Wheeler and supported
by HPANI. The provision of up-to-date information on action being
taken to combat drug misuse and to support the work of the CCGAAD
has become a key element of the NI Drugs campaign.
- The
Department of Education for Northern Ireland has previously issued
guidance to both schools and youth organisations on drug education
programmes, while HPANI has surveyed 10-17 year olds in Northern Ireland
to assess their knowledge and awareness of drugs. Additionally, the
1998 Minister for Health and Social Services targeted the youth service
in his 1998 strategy plan.
- This
report presents findings from a survey carried out by the Education
and Training Inspectorate. The findings presented relate to drug education
policy and management, current practice, inter-agency approaches,
and monitoring and evaluation.
Research
Approach
- The
Inspectorate carried out a survey between 1996 and 1998 to ascertain
the extent and effectiveness of drug education and associated pastoral
support in post-primary schools and colleges of further education.
Visits were also made to 39 youth centres, 9 VHQOs and two youth projects,
and discussions took place with the five ELB youth advisers. Interviews
also took place with groups of young people and their leaders.
Main
Findings
- The
youth service provides a good quality of pastoral care for the young
people. Most youth group leaders know their members well, can relate
to their circumstances and are at hand to offer advice, guidance and
support: the members know they can talk with confidence, to a leader
about a drug-related issue.
- Only
a minority of the youth groups make additional provision for members
who have problems with drug misuse.
- Over
50% of the youth groups have written policies and guidance on drug
education; in about half of the remainder there are programmes or
procedures in place to deal with drug-related incidents, but no written
policies. About a quarter of the groups have no policy in place.
- Over
half of the youth groups which are affiliated to individual schools
and led by a youth tutor use the school's drug policy and guidelines.
The youth tutors have little knowledge of what the young people have
experienced within the school's personal and social education programme
which might inform the youth centre provision: drug education was
absent from the programme offered in a majority of the groups led
by youth tutors.
- VHQO
guidelines are variable in quality and scope. All VHQOs visited recognise
the need for a written policy and clear procedures: in a significant
minority of cases this commitment has yet to be translated into practice.
- All
ELBs provide guidance to youth centres in their areas on health education
or drug education; a majority of this guidance is not sufficiently
specific to youth groups.
- In
general, training is still at the level of raising awareness about
drug education. A more systematic and planned approach to training
is required by ELBs and VHQOs to facilitate the delivery of effective
drug education programmes. The good work of a small number of youth
workers is informed by pursuing personal study in this area.
- There
is significant diversity in terms of quality and availability of current
drug education programmes in the Youth Service. About half of the
youth groups provide supportive and effective programmes.
- Inadequate
levels of staffing and leaders with insufficient training were two
features common to poor programmes.
- Resources
to facilitate an effective drug education programme are poor in a
majority of youth groups.
- There
are examples of good inter-agency work on drug education in a variety
of settings, and of innovative harm-reduction programmes with young
people who have drug-related problems. The leaders report that the
young people respect the rule that drugs are not allowed inside youth
centres.
- The
monitoring and evaluation of drug education programmes are poorly
developed: there is evidence of most groups monitoring programmes,
but in a majority of instances the information gathered is not used
to influence future practice or to disseminate successful practice.
- The
most successful practice was observed when the programme had well
developed policies and procedures, and adequately trained staff that
had confidence in their own ability to monitor and evaluate the outcomes
of all the programmes offered in their centres.
Conclusions
- The
good quality of pastoral care and support which is available to the
young people in the majority of youth centres visited during this
survey creates a climate which is conducive to the development and
delivery of a comprehensive drug education programme. However, the
quality of drug education provision is inconsistent. There is a need
for greater co-ordination of training, methodology and planning to
maximise the potential learning for all young people, and to ensure
that the youth service can support those young people who are at risk.
|