How Schools & Professionals Can Help

We are preparing our students to live in a world where alcohol and other drugs exist.

The good news is that what is already working well for other wellbeing areas can work for alcohol and other drugs too.

We know that these things make a difference:

Having a positive school environment, where students feel like they belong and that their wellbeing is important.
Having a lot of opportunities to engage in outside of class activities throughout the year.
Having opportunities to develop skills in critical thinking, especially about what the social norms in their community are.
Identifying students with slipping attendance or achievement, and getting them support as early as possible.

How we respond to a student’s substance use has more of an impact on their education than the use itself. The earlier we provide support and re-engage students in learning and extracurricular activities, the better their chances of success at school.

Tūturu is a systems change project that helps New Zealand schools take meaningful actions to improve the wellbeing of their students and develop critical thinking. Schools and services work together to create a progressive pathway for learning and a progressive pathway for support. This builds into a whole school approach that prepares students for a world where alcohol and other drugs exist.

Tūturu is about collaborative change and we are working with secondary schools and services across New Zealand to develop helpful resources for schools by schools. This project is overseen by the Ministries of Health and Education, the Health Promotion Agency, and the NZ Police.

Visit our Tūturu website to see the resources and more information.

Understanding young people is fundamental to giving relevant advice and support.

Too often, young people are seen as a homogeneous group based on their age, gender, sex, or ethnicity. This approach does not take into account who they are, who they identify with, or what really matters to them.

During a life-stage when identity development and "fitting in" is a central theme, messages must be current and relevant. The latest approach uses young people’s affiliation and identification with 'peer crowds' (groups that represent shared values, styles, preferences and behaviours), to produce targeted social marketing campaigns and other interventions that resonate with young New Zealanders.

We are supporting the National Steering Group, who oversaw these co-design projects last year:

Helping young people connect with their families through moments of fun, play, and food: This project involved young people and families co-designing a tool that can help rebuild relationships and connections through having fun cooking together.
Creating a targeted grassroots movement: to improve the wellbeing of young people from the peer crowd most impacted by alcohol
Designing virtual reality experiences: help for people working with young people to engage and support young people better by seeing life through their eyes
Developing a national wellbeing action brand: this will inspire young people to be all they can be. It promotes wellbeing actions they can do for themselves, delivers consistent messages, and makes it easier to get help.

We work with Werry Workforce and Matua Raki to develop resources for health and support professionals. Here are a few:

Brief Advice Cards
Our very popular youth AoD Brief Advice Cards can be given to young people who are using substances at the “brief advice” stage of a session. Colourful and easy to digest, these discreet, non-judgmental reference cards give teens the real deal on the effects of drugs and alcohol. Discuss these together with them to identify health promoting actions they can take. Information includes how the drug may make you feel, what the comedown is like, when and how to seek help, and how to be safer.

Order free on our resources page.

Substances overview poster
This A2 poster contains information about common substances, what they do to the body, common short term effects, and key harm minimisation tips.

You can order the poster free from our resources page.

Bridging the gap
Alcohol and other drugs can impact a young person’s development. This comprehensive guide is for youth and primary care workers, to increase their knowledge and confidence in addressing AoD issues in young people.
Download here.

Substances and Choices Scale ABC approach
This project is led by Werry Workforce and the above resources are designed to complement it. The Substances and Choices Scale ABC approach is a simple and effective way for GPs and other practitioners to screen youth for problematic AoD use and then provide brief, personally-relevant advice or interventions.

This includes a step-by-step guide, and a desktop poster. A video shows the process in action.

Find out more here, including video and assessment information.