Alcohol interventions in secondary and further education

Plan and deliver alcohol education (universal and targeted interventions) as part of a whole-school approach to relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education or personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE). Do this by using, for example:

• classroom curriculum activities

• pastoral support, school policies (including school ethos) and other actions to support pupils in the wider school environment

• activities that involve parents or carers, families and communities (see the section on making it as easy as possible for people to get involved in NICE's guideline on community engagement).

Ensure those planning and delivering relationships education, RSE, health education or PSHE have the materials, planning time and training they need to support, promote and provide alcohol education. Be aware that there are resources available that can be used for planning and delivering alcohol education (see the Department for Education's guidance on relationships, sex education and health education).

Use a spiral curriculum when planning and delivering alcohol education.

When planning alcohol education:

• ensure it is appropriate for age and maturity and aims to minimise the risk of any unintended adverse consequences (see the recommendation on structuring alcohol education).

• tailor it to take account of each pupil's learning needs and abilities

• tailor it to the group's knowledge and perceptions of alcohol and alcohol use

• take into account that those aged 18 and over can legally buy alcohol.

Think about how to adapt alcohol education for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities so that it is tailored to the pupil's learning needs, abilities and maturity (see chapter 6 of the Department for Education's SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years).

Ensure all involved in giving the alcohol education sessions are aware of the school's process for handling confidential disclosures.

Ensure pupils understand:

• how they can raise any concerns and how they will be supported

• that any information or concerns they disclose will be dealt with at an appropriate level of confidentiality

• how disclosures will be handled if there are safeguarding concerns.

Use safeguarding arrangements to refer pupils for extra support if they have:

• raised concerns, for example about alcohol-related harm or

• had concerns raised about them (see the Department for Education's keeping children safe in education).

Use existing school policies to deal with problems (such as bullying) that may arise if a pupil's disclosures are inappropriately shared by other pupils.

Use clear referral pathways, for example into school nursing, school counselling, early help services, voluntary sector services, young people's drugs and alcohol services or to a youth worker, as needed.

Involve the pupil and their parents or carers, as appropriate, in any consultation and referral to external services.

When delivering alcohol education, aim to:

• use a positive approach to help pupils to make informed, safe, healthy choices

• encourage pupils to take part in discussions

• avoid unintended consequences (for example the pupil becoming curious about alcohol and wanting to try it, or substituting it with another substance)

• avoid using scare tactics

• avoid only giving out information, for example by lectures or leaflets.

Use school nurses, local public health officers and drug and alcohol services or other external providers to provide additional support for alcohol education.

If using external providers to supplement alcohol education:

• use providers offering content that is consistent with the school's planned alcohol education

• follow guidance on quality assurance and delivery (see the section on working with external agencies in the Department for Education's guidance on relationships, sex education and health education).

When selecting pupils to offer a targeted intervention to, avoid treating them in a way that could:

• stigmatise them or

• encourage them to see themselves as likely to use alcohol or see it as normal behaviour or

• have a negative impact on their self-esteem.

When using targeted interventions, always seek to involve the pupils in decisions about them and the interventions offered to them.

Seek consent to include a pupil in a targeted intervention. This should be from the pupil themselves, or the pupil's parent or carer, as appropriate to the situation.

Offer a targeted individual or group intervention (for example counselling or a brief intervention) to pupils who are assessed as vulnerable to alcohol misuse.

Ensure a targeted group intervention is appropriate for the age and maturity of the pupils and aims to minimise the risk of any unintended adverse consequences and stigma (see recommendation 1.3.7).

For each person or group offered an intervention, identify their specific risk factors, vulnerabilities and any concerns about their behaviour so that the intervention can be tailored to their needs. Use, for example:

• formal sources of information about risk factors (for example information provided by a level of needs assessment, children's services [including children's social care] or through the whole-school approach)

• informal sources of information about pupils' behaviour (for example reports from the local community informing the school after witnessing pupils drinking alcohol).

Avoid normalising unhealthy drinking behaviours when delivering targeted group interventions (for example by not mixing different age groups).