Drugs and Alcohol
Working in the margins: an evaluation of a drugs-prevention programme for young people who have been excluded from school
School failure is associated with criminal offending and drugs problems and in 1996-1997 some 13,500 young people were permanently excluded from school. The Government’s 10-year drugs strategy identifies these young people as a main target group for drugs-prevention.
This study gives information on a drugs-prevention programme that took place from 1996 to 1999, and which was included in part of the work of ‘Pupil Referral Units’ (PRUs) who provide education for excluded young people. The programme was made up of four parts and these included:
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An assessment exercise to identify what pupils need
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A drugs-education course
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A life skills exercise
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A range of diversionary activities
Pupils were aged between 14 and 16 years, and faced leaving school with few or no educational qualifications. The study recognised that while young people who are excluded from school need drugs education, a short programme would not deal with all the problems that these young people encounter. Young people within this age group were already taking drugs and getting involved in crime by the time they reached the PRU, which suggests that this particular group needs programmes which identify and deal with problems at an earlier stage.
To link to the Briefing Paper click here 
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Last update: 26 May 2005