Resources for Schools

What is Nitrous Oxide? How do people use it? The effects. Health risks. Staying Safe – Reducing the Risks. Where to go for help and support

What is Ketamine? How can it make someone feel? What are the risks? Physical health problems. Staying safe, reducing risks. Ketamine and the Law, Where to go for help and support.

How to drink moderately, looking out for friends and the importance of planning how to get home safely. Parties, holidays with friends and festivals, and what to do in an emergency

The potential effects of mixing legal and illegal drugs with alcohol

Help and support around alcohol, drugs, gambling and gaming dependence, rape and sexual assault, domestic abuse support and mental health

10 ‘True’ or ‘False’ questions on alcohol for 16+

Answers to the 10 emoji alcohol quiz 16+ questions

Quiz questions and the accompanying answers for 16+

Most 16 – 24 year-olds go out and get drunk most weekends – fact or fiction? Teenagers are drinking more than 10 years ago – true or false? Britain is the binge drinking capital of Europe – right or wrong?

Please try to motivate and engage parents regarding alcohol education. Parents are the prime source of alcohol to underage drinkers in the UK (70%) as well as exerting the most influence on their children’s behaviour and risk taking

Used in the Model lesson plan on cannabis and GGC lesson plan on vaping

Used in the Model lesson plan on cannabis

These cards to explore truths and myths around vaping and assess the knowledge levels of the participants

Use the following ground rules to introduce the topic of vaping.

For the students to assess their knowledge of vaping. This activity will be conducted again at the end of the session to view students’ progress.
Outcome: Pupils reflect on their knowledge progression.

Aim: To assess students’ existing knowledge about vaping and introduce new knowledge to students about what vapes are, what they contain, and the health implications.

Aim: This activity allows students to discuss misconceptions and build knowledge in an exploratory way. It also provides an opportunity for teachers to gauge an initial understanding of the students’ knowledge or misconceptions.

Aim: This activity allows students to discuss misconceptions and build knowledge in an exploratory way. It also provides an opportunity for teachers to gauge an initial understanding of the students’ knowledge or misconceptions.

Aim: This activity aims to reflect the true peer pressure that young people can face and offers an excellent opportunity to talk about risk-taking and planning answers to resist peer pressure.

Aim: The purpose of this discussion is for students to understand that some people vape because it provides a short-term feeling of pleasure. However, students should recognise that there are natural ways to feel good in the long term.

Outcome: Students will understand that the best ways of staying calm are activities that involve connection with others (such as playing with friends), critical thinking and communication (such as playing sports), and mentally stimulating activities (such as reading).

Aim: To help students identify and understand the difference between healthy and unhealthy behaviours, with a focus on how positive choices, like playing sport or eating well, can help them avoid risky behaviours such as vaping.

Outcome: Recognise examples of healthy and unhealthy behaviours, describe how healthy habits support their physical and mental wellbeing, and begin to make informed decisions about their health by discussing realistic and age-appropriate scenarios.

Aim: This activity aims to help students understand that making healthy choices protects both our physical and mental well-being, as well as assists students in building resilience.

Outcome: Students should reflect on their own experiences, hobbies, and interests to understand what makes them feel mentally and physically healthy.

Aim: The purpose of this session is to help students understand that vapes negatively affect the environment, and that this impact is made worse when vapes are not disposed of properly.

Outcome: Students will understand that vapes are made from materials such as plastic, foam, aluminium, and lithium, and that they can become a fire hazard if disposed of incorrectly. Students will be able to describe what a vaper can do to limit their environmental impact.

Aim: This activity aims to help students understand how vapes and other plastic items damage the environment when they are not disposed of properly.

Outcome: Students will learn that items made from plastic, such as vapes, take significantly longer to break down than organic materials. They will also understand that while organic materials decompose harmlessly, plastics and electronic devices release harmful chemicals and microplastics into the environment.
This is a whole-class interactive activity. Students will estimate how long different items take to break down and reflect on the environmental impact.

To be used with the Environmental timeline activity (k)

To be used with the Environmental timeline activity (k) and the Environmental timeline activity cards

(There are parts A and B to be stuck together to form the timeline)

To be used with the Environmental timeline activity (k) and the Environmental timeline activity cards

(There are parts A and B to be stuck together to form the timeline)

Aim: To help students understand how influencers promote products like vapes on social media, how to spot hidden advertisements, and to develop critical thinking around online content. It is important to note that this activity is intended to follow previous lessons or activities that highlight the risk of vaping.

Outcome: Students will be able to define what an influencer is and give examples, recognise the difference between clear advertising, sneaky ads, and genuine personal posts, understand why some influencers promote harmful products, such as vapes, and identify trusted sources of information and influence in their own lives.

Aim: To help students explore and understand the differences between safe, unsafe, legal, and illegal situations related to vaping.

Outcome: Students will demonstrate their understanding by categorising real-life scenarios and explaining their reasoning, deepening their awareness of health risks, peer pressure, and legal issues surrounding vaping.

Aim: To help students recognise safe, unsafe, and uncertain situations involving peers and older individuals, and to develop their ability to make safe choices and seek help when needed.

Outcome: Identify safe situations (green), unsafe (red), or uncertain/risky (amber), understand how grooming and unsafe behaviours can be disguised as friendly or generous actions, use a traffic light framework to discuss feelings, boundaries, and decision-making, know when and how to seek help from a trusted adult.

Aim: To help students understand the harmful effects of vaping and come up with creative ways to raise awareness or make a positive difference.

Outcome: Students demonstrate their understanding of vaping-related harms but conceptualising what might prevent someone from vaping.

12 true of false questions to test your knowledge on cannabis

Test your knowledge of alcohol with this quiz

This selection of activities is important to help students to recap and reflect on what has been learnt in previous lessons.

Everyone needs to know the facts about alcohol, so they can make sensible decisions for themselves now and in the future. But what is the best way to communicate those facts?

Talk about alcohol – fact or fiction activity

Explore whether the likelihood of certain outcomes increases or decreases with the level of drinking/ intoxication and how this might be different for different individuals.

Used in the Recap and reflect lesson plan

Advice on what do do is someone is ill from drinking or in a medical emergency

We’ve put together some tips to help older teenagers and young adults stay safer and in control if they choose to drink alcohol.

It’s 6pm. The 18th birthday party is just starting. Go to the bar, have a drink, but remember to pace yourself with other activities and food.

What happens when someone has a drink?

These resources and methods can be used at any point – to start a session, to assess how much students have learnt or as a special project such as designing a campaign.

Teacher notes for all activities in the Recap and Reflect chapter of the teacher workbook

Alan tells how an evening of drinking alcohol led to a sequence of events that changed his life. At the time, he set out just wanting to have a good time, but after his experience with alcohol, his attitude to drinking has changed significantly.

From the teacher workbook

Facts about drink spiking, with details from AET 2021 survey and TAB survey 2021 on who has experienced it and where.

Drink Spiking – How to prevent it, what are the symptoms? and what to do if your drink is spiked

Please note

By clicking this link, the user is leaving talkaboutalcohol.com and should be cautious, checking content before sharing it with children and young people.

Does alcohol turn you into someone you’d rather not be?

Answer 20 quick questions to find out

In Scotland, what percentage of 13 year-olds have tried alcohol?
In Scotland, how many 15 year-olds will have consumed alcohol in the past  Are young people in Scotland drinking more or less than 10 years ago?

What you need to know about vaping and the effects it could have on your body. Secondary school resources for Cambridge and Peterborough.

Two lawyers discuss how alcohol can affect our ability to give or understand if consent has been given and how this is interpreted by the law.

Walk through a case study with two young lawyers on how the law deals with alcohol and violence, the consequences and effects.

Test your knowledge of alcohol with this quiz

Information film on illegal vapes and how to identify them

Jordan North sets out to decide, once and for all, if it’s time he quit vaping.

Information for teachers and community educators
Talk About Trust founder Helena Conibear in conversation with Professor Christopher Pudney, Professor of Applied Biochemistry at Bath University

Information for young people.

Talk About Trust founder Helena Conibear in conversation with Professor Christopher Pudney, Professor of Applied Biochemistry at Bath University

Discussion with Helena Conibear, Founder of the Talk About Trust and Post Graduate, Rachel Andrews, at Bath University

Discussion with Helena Conibear, Founder of the Talk About Trust and Post Graduate, Rachel Andrews, at Bath University

Dr Patric Saraby talks about the effect of vaping on the mouth and teeth. Vaping can cause a dry mouth, inflamed gums and gum recession.

A dentist explains the effects of smoking on the mouth. Concerns include staining of the teeth and gum disease, a dry mouth and bad breath, receding gums and mouth cancer.

A dentist talks about nicotine pouches on teeth and gums. Nicotine pouches cause lesions in gums and gum recession and a dry mouth. The greater the nicotine in pouches, the more damage to the gums.

Demonstration of THC and Spice Analyser developed by Professor Christopher Pudney and his team at the University of Bath

Awkward Moments is a campaign aimed at 16-19s to help improve their conversations around consent.

These cards to explore truths and myths
around cannabis and assess the knowledge
levels of the participants

Resources to think about different addictions and words/ consequences associated with them

Resources to think about different addictions and words/ consequences associated with them

To be used for pupils to check their knowledge of drugs, what categories various drugs are and their short and long term effects.

To be used for pupils to check their knowledge of drugs, what categories various drugs are and their short and long term effects.

to be used when thinking about those affected by dependency or substance misuse disorder

For thinking about the future – hopes and dreams

The Law and regulations relating to vaping in the UK