Impacts & Awards

Independent evaluation of impact, effectiveness and fidelity

The Talk About Alcohol programme is evidenced to significantly raise the age of onset of drinking through the delivery of 4 lessons in Year 8 and 2 top up lessons in Year 9 (NFER 2013).

This effect gets significantly stronger as teenagers get older (NFER 2015).

It is equally effective for ethnic minorities (NFER 2013)

It is effective in areas of multiple deprivation where alcohol-related harms for under 18s are highest in England (2016 UCL Institute of Education).

Want to learn more about what we do?

Our Talk About Alcohol programme and its ease of implementation by teachers was studied by UCL Institute of Behaviour Change and the findings were published in 2023.

The Authors James Nolan and Professor Leslie Gutman concluded, "Key enablers included increased knowledge from training and resources, increased confidence and effective resource design. Barriers included social pressure on students and further training on complex issues related to alcohol use such as consent. Delivery was influenced by a range of positive enablers which can inform other school-based alcohol interventions. Strategies for optimisation include follow-up training sessions, notifications of new updates to the programme resources, training highlighting past successes for teachers and further action planning for students".

Best practice programme

The Talk About Alcohol programme is selected as best practice by European Platform for investment in Children Promising Practice and Early Intervention Foundation.