Teachers, tutors and youth workers are being urged to take advantage of new resources created by a Cumbrian charity aimed at raising awareness of drug and alcohol issues among young people.

Cumbria Alcohol and Drug Advisory Service (CADAS) has created a digital drugs and alcohol awareness session aimed specifically at secondary school pupils. For sixth form and further education students and for apprentices there are three other digital sessions available - on alcohol; smoking and vaping; and drugs.

CADAS works with children and adults in the midst of addiction,those in recovery and with those individuals’ parents, carers and other family members. It also does a huge amount of preventative work by running education and awareness sessions to increase the knowledge of professionals, such as teachers, social workers and the police, about substances that can become addictive and harmful to health.

“We are calling on teachers and youth workers to get in touch with us if they are struggling to create sessions for Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE), Citizenship or Tutorials classes,” said Leigh Williams, chief executive officer for CADAS.

“Normally we deliver our awareness sessions face to face. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic that is not possible at the moment, so we have digitised them and created Power Point presentations that can be delivered by teachers or tutors in schools and colleges as part of remote learning sessions, via Zoom or Teams.”

If teachers, tutors or youth workers would like to get hold of the CADAS digital resources, they should ring 0300 111 4002 or 07745 266555.