Supporting school communities with training, programs and information for teachers, parents and students.
School staff and parents can play an important role in protecting young people from drug-related harms.
Teachers, school counsellors and parents are also the primary sources of contact for young people seeking advice or help for drug use issues. We have developed a range of resources to equip teachers, parents and students with accurate information and evidence-based harm prevention strategies.
Explore our:
Our PreVenture facilitator training workshops enable you to implement the Preventure program in your school or local area.
PreVenture is a school-based intervention aimed at reducing adolescent drug and alcohol use in high-risk teenagers. Students with high-risk personality profiles as identified by a screening questionnaire are invited to participate in two 90-minute group workshops. The Preventure program has proven both feasible and effective when delivered by trained school staff. Program materials were developed in Canada by Professor Patricia Conrod but have been culturally adapted for implementation in Australia.
For more information and to register for upcoming workshops in Australia head to the PreVenture webpage on the Positive Choices portal.
OurFutures (formally known as Climate Schools) is a universal, web-based program designed to protect mental health and prevent substance use and related harms among secondary school students.
The course modules are based on realistic cartoon scenarios about teenagers and are designed to impart education about the use of alcohol and other drugs and ways to reduce alcohol and drug-related harms. Through seven randomised controlled trials across NSW, QLD and WA, including 169 schools and over 14,600 students, the Climate Schools programs have been found to be effective in:
As a show of support for the challenges that school staff, parents and young people are facing during this COVID-19 pandemic, we are offering schools FREE access to the Climate Schools program. Teachers can preview the content for free by registering at OurFutures - register school.
For more information visit OurFutures.
We also have new programs currently being trialled in schools. Learn more about Climate Schools Plus, Health4Life and Strong & Deadly Futures.
Positive Choices is an online portal that facilitates access to interactive evidence-based drug education resources for school communities (parents, teachers and students). It provides a central access point for evidence-based information and prevention resources about alcohol, cannabis, psychostimulants, crystal methamphetamine and ecstasy, and allows users to search by drug type, by resource type, such as fact sheets, games or videos, and by age appropriateness. The resources can be used to develop lesson plans which align with the Australian Curriculum.
For more information visit Positive Choices.
Positive Choices delivers three webinars a year for school staff and parents with a focus on drug education and prevention strategies for secondary students.
Access the Positive Choices webinar series playlist on YouTube or via the online portal.
"Drugs and Alcohol: what you need to know" is a series of booklets developed for teachers, parents and students to provide evidence-based information about alcohol and other drugs.
For parents and teachers, the booklets include guidance about how to talk to a young person about illegal drugs, common reasons for drug use, how to help someone who has taken a drug, and information about school-based prevention programs.
The student booklet provides accurate information on ways to prevent related drug-related harms and make informed choices.
School staff can order hard-copy booklets free of charge that can be sent to any school in Australia. For more information visit Positive Choices.
Pure Rush is an educational game that offers a unique, interactive and fun approach to drug education. Players learn about the negative effects of illegal drugs as they navigate through suburban, outback and cityscapes to get to a music festival. Avoiding drugs is the key to success as players race for the best time.
Secondary school teachers will find this game useful in supporting health and physical education lessons, and feedback from students indicates they love playing it. The game was developed by CREMS researchers and educational game designers 2and2 in consultation with young people and funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
For more information and to access the game visit Positive Choices.
Whether to let your teenagers drink alcohol is a vexed issue for many parents.
The Positive Choices parent portal provides evidence-based information and resources to help parents stay informed, communicate effectively, and implement strategies to protect your child from drug related harm.
Positive Choices delivers three webinars a year for school staff and parents with a focus on drug education and prevention strategies for secondary students.
Access the Positive Choices webinar series playlist on YouTube or via the online portal.
"Drugs and Alcohol: what you need to know" is a series of booklets developed for teachers, parents and students to provide evidence-based information about alcohol and other drugs.
The parent booklet has tips on how to talk to a young person about drugs, common reasons for drug use and how to help someone who has taken a drug.
Additional booklets are available for the public.
We have developed factsheets with parents in mind.
Additional factsheets are available for the public.