Medium Cost Interventions
11. School & Youth Club Education (Drug Use)
School and youth club-based drug education programmes aim to equip young people with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to make informed choices about substance use.
These programmes are delivered through structured lessons, workshops, and interactive activities in formal (schools) and informal (youth clubs) settings. Core components include age-appropriate drug education, life skills development, harm reduction, safety messaging, peer-led & facilitator-led sessions, integration with PSHE curriculum and youth development frameworks.
Programs are often delivered by charities, local authorities, or commissioned youth services
Program delivery & materials: £5,000-£15,000
Facilitator delivery (per school/year): £2,000-£6,000
Staff training (teachers/youth workers): £500-£2000 per cohort
Evaluation & impact measurement: £1,000-£5,000
Youth club sessions (per club/year): £1,500-£4,000
Total: £5,000-£20,000
National programme cost: £100,000-£500,000.
Programme deisgn & stakeholder engagement: 2-3 months
Training of facilitators & staff: 1-2 months
Pilot delivery in schools/youth clubs: 3-6 months
Full rollout & integration: 6-12 months
Total: 12-18 months
Refresher training & CPD: £1,000-£3000 per school/club
Resource updates: £500-£2,000
Monitoring & evaluation: £1,000-£5,000
Facilitator fees: £2,000-£6,000
Annual Maintenance Cost: £4,000-£12,000
Lifespan: 5-10 years with curriculum integration and funding.
Effectiveness
School and youth club education has shown measurable impact in reducing drug-related harm and improved decision making.
'Drugs, Life, and You' led to increased peer resistence, confidence, and assertiveness among participants.
PreVenture reduced alcohol-related harms over a 7-year follow-up period.
Youth Rise workshops revealed that harm reduction and informed decision-making approaches were more effective than abstinence-only models - young people valued real-world relevance and safety-focused messaging.
Life Skills Education Charity found that early intervention (ages 9-16) helped reduce substance misuse by building decision-making and peer resistence skills.