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Employees of NCC, Health Workers, Voluntary Workers and others working with children and young people may have specialist guidance available to them, for example a drugs education policy in schools or a drugs incidents policy in youth centres. The purpose of this additional generic policy document is to ensure that all have an understanding of the background to the National Drugs Strategy, issues relating to confidentiality, the law relating to drugs and the practicalities of handling incidents.
The policy has been produced in consultation with a wide range of colleagues who have considerable experience of working with children and young people. We hope it is of practical help in your support of children and young people in our shared endeavours to reduce the problems caused by drugs.
John Berridge
Chair of the DAAT
Kate Davies
Co-ordinator and Manager of the DAAT
2.1. Background & Context: National Targets: The Children and Young People and Substance Use Policy has been produced by Nottinghamshire County Council and the Drug and Alcohol Action Team Partnership.This was written in response to growing concerns about substance use amongst children and young people. Successful partnership work has also highlighted concerns of workers from various agencies about the need for shared protocols and policies, to ensure consistent, coherent messages and a cohesive minimum standard of service provision for children and young people.
The policy also contributes to Nottinghamshire County Council and Drug and Alcohol Partnership joined up strategy, which aims to work to the Government’s revised targets, in order to effectively contribute at a local level to the National Strategy 'Tackling Drugs'.
- Young People:
Reduce the use of class A drugs and frequent use of any illicit drug amongst all young people under the age of 25 especially by the most vulnerable young people.
- Reducing Supply:
Reduce the availability of illegal drugs by increasing; the proportion of heroin and cocaine targeted on the UK which is taken out, the disruption / dismantling of those criminal groups responsible for supplying substantial quantities of class A drugs to the UK market and the recovery of drug-related criminal assets.
- Contribute to the reduction of opium production in Afghanistan, with poppy cultivation reduced by 70% within 5 years and elimination within 10 years.
- Communities:
Reduce drug related crime, including as measured by the proportion of offenders testing positive at arrest.
- Treatment and Harm Minimisation:
Increase the participation of problem drug users in drug treatment programmes by 55% by 2004 and by 100% by 2008, and increase year on year the proportion of users successfully sustaining or completing treatment programmes.
2.2. Background & Context: Consultation with Young People:
Title of the Policy & Terms:U&S (You and Substance Use) Policy:
The title of the policy was initiated by a group of young people attending the Ascent PRU Project. They came up with the title U&D Policy, which stands for You and Drugs Policy. This idea was simple and easy to remember, but it was felt that the title should also acknowledge that the new policy covers all substances. It includes the widely misused illegal substances such as tobacco, alcohol, volatile substances, prescription and over the counter medicines.
The title of the policy was debated at length and it was agreed that the document should be a policy for all of US working with children, young people and issues relating to substance use, hence the U&D policy became the U&S policy.
Substance use, as opposed to substance misuse, was chosen to be used in the title of the policy. The reason for this decision is based on the following definition of substance use:
Substance Use:
Substance use is substance using through which harm may occur, whether through intoxication, breach of boundaries or the law, or the possibility of future health problems, although such harm may not be immediately perceptible. Substance use will require interventions such as management, education, information, guidance and support, and prevention work to reduce the potential for harm.
Substances:
Includes all illicit substances, volatile substances (solvents), over the counter and prescription medicines, "magic mushrooms", alcohol, tobacco, and other legal substances i.e. caffeine, khat, amyl nitrites. This policy will apply to any new trends involving different substances and substance use, having the potential to cause harm to children and young people.
2.3. Background & Context: Consultation with Young People:
Artwork for the policy:The artwork for the policy was facilitated by Jonathan Bevan from County Youth Arts and Leah Sareen, Strategic Lead for Young People and Substance Use NCC, and produced by young people attending the E2E life-skills based learning programme. The young people took part in a substance use awareness raising session, which gave them factual information and harm reduction information on substance use. Different art mediums, including mod-rock and silk screen printing, were then utilised to allow the young people to explore and express their attitudes and feelings towards substance use.
U&S Pilot Projects with Children and Young People:
The NCC and Nottinghamshire DAAT Team Partnership has commissioned the Personal and Social Development Initiative (PSDI) team to develop an interactive drama based workshop for children and young people to raise their awareness of the U&S policy, with a focus on keeping them safe. The pilot workshops which are planned to target vulnerable groups will take place in a number of different settings. The idea is that the pilots will inspire children and young people's interest. From this it is hoped that the children and young people may want to produce their own version of the policy to raise the awareness of other children and young people. To support the children and young people's pilots, managers and staff are also being identified to take part. They will receive consultation and training around the key themes and content of the U&S policy, so that they are able to support any of the issues which children and young people may raise as a result of the drama based workshops.
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Sunday 20 May 2012
