Drink Thing

Alcohol and you

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For schools

For schools

In what ways can schools use the Drink Thing website?

The Drink Thing website has been designed for a variety of contexts and purposes.

School leaders should encourage staff (especially those delivering Health and Physical Education [HPE] curriculum and professional support staff) to familiarise themselves with Drink Thing, and communicate the resource to families and the wider community.

In a proactive scenario, home group teachers may also decide to explore Drink Thing with their home group students.

Links to the Australian Curriculum

Teachers can use Drink Thing to support teaching of the Australian Curriculum, particularly HPE. Relevant HPE content descriptions include the following:

Australian Curriculum: Health and Wellbeing Years 7 and 8

  • Practise and apply strategies to seek help for themselves or others. (ACPPS072)
  • Investigate and select strategies to promote health, safety and wellbeing (ACPPS073)
  • Evaluate health information and communicate their own and others' health concerns (ACPPS076)
  • Plan and use health practices, behaviours and resources to enhance health, safety and wellbeing of their communities (ACPPS077)

Australian Curriculum: Health and Wellbeing Years 9 and 10

  • Plan, rehearse and evaluate options (including CPR and first aid) for managing situations where their own or others' health, safety and wellbeing may be at short or long term risk (ACPPS091)
  • Propose, practise and evaluate responses in situations where external influences may impact on their ability to make healthy and safe choices (ACPPS092)
  • Critically analyse and apply health information from a range of sources to health decisions and situations (ACPPS095)

Links to Department of Education Drug Education and Management Policy and Procedures and the Memorandum of Understanding with Tasmania Police

School leaders can link Drink Thing to system and school policies such as the Department of Education Drug Education and Management in Schools Policy and Drug Education and Management in Schools Procedures, as well as the Memorandum of Understanding between Tasmania Police and Tasmanian Schools and Colleges

Tasmanian youth and alcohol laws

See Tasmania Police - Youth and Alcohol

As a school leader or teacher, how can you tell if a young person may need help?

The following changes in behaviour may indicate that a young person is struggling. They do not necessarily indicate that the young person is using alcohol or other drugs. If the young person is experiencing some of these signs, please talk to them. Ask them if they are ok and if they need help.  Ask them about their alcohol and other drug use.

  • Different behaviour from their usual self-e.g. mood swings, sulking, easily irritated or angry for no obvious reason
  • Not enjoying or wanting to do things that they usually enjoy
  • Changes in appetite or sleep, lack of energy, tired all the time.
  • Isolates self, spends very little time with others.
  • Sudden or unexplained change to a new group of friends.
  • School or work deteriorates, truancy.
  • Experiencing difficulties with their concentration.
  • Seeming unusually stressed, worried, down or crying for no obvious reason.
  • Expressing negative, distressing, bizarre or unusual thoughts.
  • Indications that they may be responsible for valuable items or money that is missing.

You can visit the Get Help page, or consider a referral to the specialist Alcohol and Drug Service, noting the need to respect and maintain confidentiality.

Here are some other websites you may wish to check out:

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