Children and young people who engage with drugs and alcohol when aged 14 or under are significantly more at risk of developing dependencies and problematic use later in life. But studies show that 1 in 4 pupils under the age of 16 have already reported using drugs.

Join us for this online training session, where we will learn how to engage with the young people we support about substance abuse, and help prevent or minimise harm.

About the session

During this session, we will understand young people’s choices and attitudes towards these substances, and explore the effects they can have on the still-developing body. We’ll learn about prevention and early intervention for children aged 11-15, as well as harm minimalisation and coping strategies for young people aged 16 and over, to enable you to help young people make informed choices.

About the trainer

Your trainer for this session will be Karen Perryman, Manager South-West and Midlands with Talk About Trust. Karen has worked as a secondary school teacher, and for children’s health education charities delivering workshops and training on Physical and Emotional Health and Wellbeing, drugs and alcohol. She brings over 20 years’ experience of enabling conversations around drugs and alcohol, and developing resilience skills.

Tickets are freely available to staff and volunteers from voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations in Somerset, and will be of particular interest to those supporting children and young people in the county.