Young people

Multi–component programme

Blueprint was designed as a multi-component programme in line with reviews that show that such programmes are more effective than school-based lessons alone.

Each component has a key role to play in achieving programme objectives. The five components of Blueprint were:

Schools
Development of an intensive and participative series of 15 lessons delivered over a two-year period in 23 schools
Parents
Parents and carers involved through specifically designed materials and the offer of workshops on parenting skills
Community
The component designed to ensure co-ordination with the prevention activities of other partners, such as DATs, resulting in the creation of sustainable School Alliances
Health policy
Awareness raising about the principles of effective drug education with PCTs and local strategies to reduce underage sales of alcohol, tobacco and volatile substances
Media
Development of positive media relations in the areas around the 23 schools to engage with and inform the wider community about drug education

School component

There were 29 schools taking part in the programme (23 receiving the intervention), all in four LEA areas – Cheshire, Derby City, Derbyshire and Lancashire.

Key features of the school programme:

a two-year curriculum of 15 lessons – ten in Year 7 (spring 2004) and five in Year 8 (spring 2005)
nearly 200 teachers received 6 days of training to deliver the lessons
lessons designed to be interactive and enjoyable, and to build the knowledge, skills and attitudes of young people around the world of drugs
a key focus on normative education which challenges young people’s perceptions about how widespread drug use really is
over 40 high quality teaching and learning materials developed specifically for the programme including teacher manuals, pupils books, classroom posters and cards giving young people information on local drug services
support for delivery available from dedicated School Drug Advisers based in the LEAs

Parent component

Research shows that good parenting is a key protective factor for young people against a range of risk-taking behaviours including drug use so work with parents and carers was an integral component of Blueprint:

all families of pupils who have been part of the programme have received a fact pack and drug wheel resource to give them factual and legal information on the effects and risks of drugs, and activity packs to help them to talk to their children about drug issues
parents were invited to Lesson 10 of the Year 7 programme to see a presentation of their children’s learning about the world of drugs and will be involved in the development/review of the school’s drug policy
all parents were also invited to workshops designed to help them develop skills around communicating with teenagers about a range of challenging issues including drug use, sex and relationships, bullying, pressures at school and looking after themselves.

Community component

This component involved the coordination of the programme’s delivery with the prevention activities of key local stakeholders such as DATs/CDRPs, Government Offices, Healthy School programme co-ordinators, School Drug Advisers and Primary Care Trusts.

The aim was to develop shared principles of working among local partners and provide a foundation that enables the programme to be sustained – an Alliance in Education for each Blueprint school.

It was also intended that Blueprint messages about drugs and drug use could reach beyond teachers, pupils and parents and out into the wider local communities. This proved a challenge in some areas so the Centre for Ethnicity and Health at the University of Central Lancashire were given the job of devising strategies to reach out into minority ethnic communities in and around the 23 schools and give advice on the cultural sensitivity of materials produced.

Health policy component

Blueprint was designed to raise awareness of the principles of effective drug education among health professionals. A leaflet called Principles into Practice giving guidance on how to design and commission effective programmes has been sent to Directors of Public Health in all the English Primary Care Trusts and to DAT/CDRP co-ordinators.

Blueprint also offered grants to Trading Standards services in the four areas in which Blueprint schools were located to develop local strategies to tackle underage sales of alcohol, tobacco and volatile substances. This is the only part of the programme tackling the supply of drugs.

Initiatives included:

development of DVDs to raise retailers’ awareness of their responsibilities around underage sales
circulation of point of sale materials such as posters and leaflets reminding young people that some products cannot be sold to those who may be underage
promotion of Proof of Age cards for young people
organising test purchases in local hotspots

Media component

The media component had an important role in reinforcing Blueprint messages about drugs and drug use engaging both among those directly involved in the programme and those in the wider community. It has really supported the work of the other four components and helped raise awareness of and commitment to the Blueprint programme and drug education more widely.

The component has been amazingly successful:

25 local print and broadcast media titles agreed to become media partners
2 Blueprint sessions run for local editors and journalists to give them a taste of the Blueprint lessons
150 pieces of coverage in local media 100% of the content reflecting positively on the programme
18 roadshows run in Asda stores near our schools which attracted over 10,000 visitors and gave out over 5,000 leaflets.

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