Substance Misuse Limestone coast LDAT

Step 1: Engaged with individual schools in five key suburbs and promoted the importance of evidence-based AOD education for secondary students.

Step 2: Attended wellbeing meetings in individual schools to promote Climate Schools and its evidence. Furthermore, promoted meaningful learning activities that relate to real life contexts and challenges that are available using Climate Schools.

Step 3: Introduced each school to National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre staff via email to enable payment and subsequent access for Climate Schools.

Step 4: Followed up with each school to assist with start-up and module progress for each year level. Assisted students with designing and delivering parent AOD prevention presentations using teen language.

Step 5: Followed up post Climate Schools to evaluate parent AOD prevention presentations.

Step 6: Evaluated each postcode.

The objectives of this LDAT were to:

1. Work with the outer regional secondary schools’ community in the Limestone Coast to introduce evidence-based school drug education programs. This would support these schools in five regions to take action to address alcohol and other drug-related harms.
2. Support schools to extend the Climate School program messaging to parents by engaging students of the schools in the five regions to design and deliver parent AOD prevention presentations using language appropriate for teenagers.

Impacts

Tension Woods College delivered training and Climate Schools content to its Year 10 students, who then delivered the Climate Schools content to Year 9 students. These activities contributed to their South Australian Certificate of Education (10 points), provided opportunities to share knowledge, provide peer leadership and enabled them to present to the school leadership team on the process and impacts. Student and staff feedback was collated and used to inform content for future implementation via the curriculum, incorporating sustainability. Sixty students (from Years 8, 9 and 10) completed Climate Schools at Millicent High School.

Were there any unintended consequences?

The unintended positive consequences were:

• Inclusion of the Climate Schools program in the Tension Woods College curriculum for 2019
• Student engagement and role modelling – those involved in delivery stepped into their roles in an engaging way
• All Year 10 students in the Limestone Coast area will complete the Year 10 module of Climate Schools.

Strengths in the approach

Co-delivery (shared between teachers and students) aided with making the content engaging for younger students

• Key messages from Climate Schools were reinforced among Year 10 students because they helped to deliver content
• Students developed skills in presenting and facilitating discussion, resulting in confidence, ownership and resilience.

More interactive delivery Future sessions could involve teachers and students as characters in role play scenarios to make delivery more fun, and the roles could be rotated to give different people roles across the lessons. Year 10 students could further reinforce messages by running activities after the role play is delivered.

Timing of delivery Due to the tight timeframes associated with planning an annual curriculum, schools need to be engaged to plan for delivery of Climate Schools towards the end of the school year, to include in the following year. Timing of school graduation and Climate Schools graduation should also be planned ahead and coordinated.

Other challenges Inconsistency regarding delivery due to confidence levels among students – those with less confidence presented in a disjointed way. Gender gap in success of delivery – many of the female students reported that the program resonated with them, however male students were more distracted and didn’t engage as much with content.

Reflections from community

❛ Climate schools is really good. I really like it, good characters and good stories. It’s not dorky.❜

– Year 10 boy, asked whether content was relevant to him

❛ [Climate Schools] provided a leadership opportunity for our students and the fact that it wasn’t ‘one of us’ that delivered has been a real positive.❜

– Principal, Tension Woods College.

❛ The Year 9 girls have loved it and have really engaged with it. As part of the backup activities we asked them to plan a party and on their invites they have made it clear it’s alcohol free. We are going to continue with it, it is so easy to use and prepare for.❜

– Teacher, Millicent High School

Lead Organisation

Formerly: City of Mount Gambier

Currently: Limestone Coast Local Government Association

Partners

• Department of Education Limestone Coast Secondary Schools
• South Australia Police Manager of Crime Prevention
• Department of Education, Community Partnerships, Engagement and Collaboration Team