Drugs & Alcohol
Drugs Scene: South London Prevention Project Evaluation
“Drugs Scene” was a project developed by 5 London boroughs to increase the quality of drugs education in their area and to help co-ordinate school-based drugs education and parental intervention. A theatre-in-education company trained teachers and youth workers in drugs education skills. They also gave performances to parents in the participating areas on the steps the schools were taking and how they could assist in drugs prevention. The Drugs Prevention Advisory Service (DPAS) have published an evaluation of the project and its effect on drugs education in the area.
The "Drugs Scene" project ran from 1995 to 1998 and was managed by a partnership of education authorities, the youth service, health promotion and voluntary agencies. The project included:
5-day training sessions, and associated training packs, for teachers and youth workers
sessions for parents held at participating primary schools
6000 handbooks for parents and 2000 handbooks for youth workers
2 Drugs Scene events including exhibitions of art work by children based on drugs-related issues.
The feedback from the teachers and youth workers at the training events and from the parents at the theatre events was excellent. The effect of the program was found to be greatest on those schools where limited progress had been made in drugs education, but the program had little impact on those schools where drugs education was either well-advanced or in those schools that had no drugs education policy.
To find out more, download DPAS
Briefing Paper 7: "Drugs Scene: an evaluation of a drugs prevention
project in South London" 
PDF (289 Kb). Published 2001.
Last update: 25 May 2005