Tūturu: Preparing students for a world where alcohol and other drugs exist

Ben Birks-Ang, NZ Drug Foundation

Every young person will decide whether or not to use substances, many will try them, some will have short-term harms, and a few will develop long-term problems. We know that keeping young people engaged in education is a major protective factor, and that substances can be a barrier to attendance and achievement. However, advice and support on how to address substance issues and retain engagement varies greatly and can be conflicting.

Tūturu is a pilot process for developing and trialling ways of supporting schools. An independent evaluation found that Tūturu helped schools shift their approach to alcohol and other drugs from being punitive to being pastoral in ways that promoted student engagement and wellbeing. This project helps schools and health services work together to create solutions and is led by the NZ Drug Foundation, with oversight from the Ministries of Health and Education, Health Promotion Agency, and NZ Police.

We will share both what we learnt and the professional development, review, and curriculum resources that were created in this project to help schools create their whole school approach to wellbeing.