AET newsletter for teachers and other professionals

Spring Term, April 2019, Ed 42

We hope you've had a lovely Easter break and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine – for once it waited to rain once the holidays were over!

You have time to organise free PSHE training for your staff on ‘talk about alcohol’ for this term if you’re quick in many regions of the UK, including Scotland (please email your regionally based coordinator whose details are at the bottom of the newsletter).

We’re also thrilled that we still have funds to support schools and settings supporting children with a high percentage of SEN or looked after children with our wonderful sets of games and activities, one to one discussion cards, higher harm pictures and more. Please email Kate if you think you are eligible via kate@alcoholeducationtrust.org .

Awards news

We were delighted to be finalists in the 2019 Education Resources Awards and to have scooped Highly Commended in the secondary resource with ICT category. The award is for our online resources: the interactive student learning zone www.talkaboutalcohol.com and our teacher/parent resources via www.alcoholeducationtrust.org  This follows on from the Highly Commended award made for our ‘Talk about Alcohol’ Teacher Workbook in 2017 from ERA in addition to a number of other awards and Impact Awards including from The Early Intervention Foundation and European Platform for Investing in Children.

www.alcoholeducationtrust.org offers a vast and comprehensive range of resources for teachers, health professionals and parents clearly organised by topic and year group including films, games and lesson plans. You can find information on topics such as units, guidelines, the risks associated with alcohol and the law and sign up for AET’s informative bi-termly teacher and/or parent newsletter. Our Teacher Workbook, parent guide and student guide can also be downloaded for free via the site at https://alcoholeducationtrust.org/teacher-area/download-teacher-workbook/

www.talkaboutalcohol.com is a young-person facing interactive learning zone offering a range of engaging quizzes and games meaning young people can have fun whilst learning about how to stay safe around alcohol. The site includes a range of zones such as The Body Zone and The Challenge Zone and games such as online nightclub ‘Brave the Rave’ and ‘The Chimp Shop’ where youngsters are encouraged to make healthy choices and explore how to stay safe.

We are delighted with the ERA award which recognises the value and reach of our websites with over 100,000 unique users last year.

Crowdfunding Success!

We are absolutely delighted with the result of our Crowdfunding appeal! We exceeded our original target of £20,000 and raised £22,000 through 78 wonderful supporters in just 21 days. This included £10,000 in match funding from Dorset County Council Youth Opportunity Fund. A huge thank you to everyone who supported us - we really appreciate your help!

If you are based in the South West, we’d love you to come to our 10th Anniversary Ball on the 22nd June! A 15 piece band from The Thomas Hardye School will play during the bubbly reception with canapes. You'll be able to enjoy a delicious three course meal set in a beautifully decorated marquee with a Midsummer theme and be entertained by a great cabaret artist, Charlie Bicknell, followed by a disco provided by Wessex FM! Find out more and book your tickets here: https://alcoholeducationtrust.org/midsummer-10th-anniversary-ball-2019/  

Ready now! New activity box of games and resources designed to be used in ‘stand alone’ settings without a formal lesson plan

Due to the increasing use of our games and activities in youth clubs, children’s homes, small groups and on a one to one basis, we have redesigned our games, picture and story led activities and DVD to sit separately from our Teacher Workbook for the first time. They can still be ordered together of course. Containing a range of games from ‘consequences’, to ‘higher harms' discussion cards, 'emoji equations', a DVD of four films and special activities for children with learning difficulties, it is a ‘must have’ for engaging, interactive alcohol education. Priced at just £45 it sits alongside all our free resources available online and in print form. To place your order, email kate@alcoholeducationtrust.org .

We do have grant funding for schools and organisations supporting vulnerable and looked after children as well those with SEN for this resource. To see if you qualify, please email kate@alcoholeducationtrust.org or order online at https://alcoholeducationtrust.org/store/games-and-activities-pack/

Testimonial

We always love hearing what you think about our resources so please do let us know! Here's a lovely testimonial from St John's Academy in Wiltshire.

'We first selected the resources because they had been trialled and evaluated by other schools, by both students and teachers. In addition, the resources were 'quality assured' by the PSHE Association. It is a 'well planned programme' with 'high quality resources' and 'detailed lesson plans' which are easy to follow. The lessons are clearly laid out, allowing for some interchange of materials between year groups and ensuring students are challenged and progress in their understanding and responsibilities.

The teacher support material helped us focus our lesson links much more closely to the school's drugs and alcohol policy and highlighted the need to tighten up our safeguarding practice. For example, for each lesson we included: suggested ground rules, safeguarding contact details and support groups. We benefitted from using it in other areas such as looking how we can make our sign posting better to help safeguard students in our RSE units.

The resources, which include video links, are age specific and for us, this is a real strength of the material. It is 'age specific' and our students have engaged at every level.

The resources are free. We have a limited budget and this has enabled our students to have a high calibre alcohol education, where students are considering the consequences of their actions, the effects of alcohol and developing their confidence to make the right choices.
Many more of our students left classrooms saying 'thank you, I enjoyed that lesson', their enjoyment led to greater achievements.’

AET resources comprise of www.alcoholeducationtrust.org and www.talkaboutalcohol.com, a Teacher Workbook, booklets ‘Alcohol and You’ for 15yrs+ and ‘Talking to Your Kids About Alcohol’ parent and carer guide. 

We also offer teacher CPD workshops and parent information talks.

For further information on any of the above please contact
Helena Conibear, Founder, Director

helena@alcoholeducationtrust.org

Kathryn Arnott-Gent, Parent and Schools Coordinator - N Region  

kathryn@alcoholeducationtrust.org

Brian Gibson, Director for Scotland

brian@alcoholeducationtrust.org

Karen Perryman

karen@alcoholeducationtrust.org 

Kate Hooper, Schools Coordinator

kate@alcoholeducationtrust.org