We are delighted to announce that for Volteface’s next research project we will be partnering with the leading drug education charity Mentor.
The project will be examining how effectively the education system is protecting young people who are using drugs, or at risk of using drugs and those who are being exploited, or at risk of being exploited into the drugs trade.
This project comes at an important time where drug use amongst 11-15 year old pupils is on the increase, rising from 15 per cent in 2015 to 24 per cent in 2016. On top of this, a recent Home Office report has found that gangs have been specifically targeting children who have been excluded from school to groom them as drug dealers. This worryingly coincides with the UK experiencing a significant rise in exclusion rates.
Volteface and Mentor are keen to gain an in-depth understanding of the experience of pupils, staff and parents in academies, secondary schools and Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), as well as professionals who work with young people outside of the education system.
If you would like to add your voice to the research, please do get in touch with us at info@blunor.pk
About Mentor UK
Mentor’s mission is to ensure that: every child in the UK receives sufficient drug prevention in schools, that parents have free access to the best information to protect children from drug harms and related risky behaviours and that policy makers prioritise prevention and early intervention. They strive to achieve this by running a wide range of programmes, including the alcohol and drug education and prevention information service (ADEPIS), offering a variety of services and tools to support schools and conducting research and informing policy in this area.
Lizzie McCulloch is Director of Policy at Volteface. Tweets @mccullochlizzi1