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Chapter 2: Before the Event

2.1 To set the findings of the review in context it is important to investigate the knowledge and general views of pupils towards the issues covered by Choices for Life prior to the event. This section covers these issues but looks first at the preparation and planning carried out by teachers and pupils before the event as well as the communication and advertising around the event.

Preparation, Planning and Communication

2.2 In preparation for Choices for Life, schools were provided with lesson notes to be used in class before and after the events. There was no consistency in the use of these lesson notes across schools. Not all teachers knew about the lesson notes and not all of those who received lesson notes used them. This was sometimes due to having already covered the topics with pupils or not having enough time. Those who received and used the notes felt that they fitted well with the 5-14 curriculum and were useful.

2.3 Teachers' views on the information provided prior to the event were not consistent across the police force areas. While some teachers felt they had received a lot of background knowledge about the event, others felt they had little or no knowledge about what to expect. There was little mention of advertising prior to the event, although some had seen Choices for Life covered on the television news. That said, the majority of the teachers had either heard of the event through their head teacher or had been to an event before. None of the teachers interviewed had seen posters relating to the event, nor had they been asked to participate in the planning or preparation of the events.

2.4 When asked about the organisation of the Choices for Life events, teachers were extremely positive. It was generally felt that the execution of the events was excellent and there were little or no problems encountered.

That was one thing, I thought it was really slick and safe.
Teacher

2.5 The teachers who had been going to Choices events for a number of years generally felt that the organisation had improved substantially over the years.

Pupils' Expectations of the Event

2.6 Pupils were generally unsure of what to expect from the event, particularly in relation to the structure of the event and to a lesser extent the subject matter. Almost half (45%) of Primary 7 pupils felt they knew at least something about Choices for Life before going to the event, this raised to over half (52%) of those who were attending a Choices for Life event.

Figure 1: Knowledge of Choices for Life before the event

2.7 Before attending an event, most of the pupils thought that Choices for Life was about drugs. However, during the discussions a variety of other subjects were mentioned such as help with making subject choices at secondary school or the type of work/further study to undertake after school. The event was often imagined to be small scale with a few other primary schools present, while the content was often predicted to be a 'boring lecture'.

They seemed to think that it was going to high school and making choices about subjects and things like that
Teacher

I thought it was going to be a wee small rubbish talk, I didn't know there was going to be like bands there and everything.
S1 pupil, male

2.8 In the survey, however, high numbers expected drugs, health, alcohol and smoking to be covered in the Choices for Life events - shown in Table 1. These subjects had also been taught or talked about in class over the weeks preceding the events.

Table 1: Subjects covered in class time and likely to be included in Choices for Life

Base: All (1,714)

2.9 In terms of the format of the event, figure 2 shows the differences between what pupils would have liked to happen at the events, compared with what they expected to happen. Almost two thirds said they would like to watch a video and a concert/play, but fewer thought this was likely to happen. While only a third would like to listen to a talk, seven in ten thought this was likely to happen.

Figure 2: Expectations of Choices for Life

2.10 Although many teachers had been to an event before and knew about the scale and the nature of the event, they often did not correct the pupils' misunderstandings, feeling that this would spoil what they felt would be a surprise. Other teachers were attending for the first time and were also unsure what to expect.

I thought it was going to be like little plays and talks and things like that. I think most of the children thought that as well so it was quite a surprise the first time I went.
Teacher

Pupils' Current Lifestyles and Knowledge of Health Issues

2.11 Both Primary 7 and S1 pupils could give good definitions of "being healthy". Eating five portions of fruit or vegetables a day, exercising and drinking water were mentioned spontaneously. Some examples of the definitions of healthy are:

Having a balanced diet…meat, fish, fruit and vegetables and lots of water
P7 pupil, female

You don't smoke, don't drink, don't take drugs. You go out for walks, runs
P7 pupil, male

2.12 In the survey, questions on pupils' current health behaviours were included. A high proportion of pupils said that they ate fruit, vegetables and drank water at least once a day. Pupils in Primary 7 were also clearly active, with almost nine in ten taking part in sport several times a week. Furthermore, over half took part in sport or physical activity every day outwith school hours. Boys were more likely to do so than girls, as were those from the least deprived areas compared with the most deprived.

Figure 3: Frequency of taking part in sport and physical activity

2.13 When asked what would encourage them to take part in sports and physically active games more often, the most common responses were to have more types of sports/games on offer in the area (65%), if more of their friends took part (55%) and more facilities in the area (52%).

2.14 Pupils also had a good understanding of what it meant to be unhealthy. Smoking, taking drugs (unless prescribed by a doctor) and drinking alcohol were viewed as unhealthy. Some examples of definitions of unhealthy were:

Being unhealthy is eating lots of sweets and fatty foods
P7 pupil, male

Smoking, alcohol, drugs…you don't like the way you are basically
P7 pupil, female

Experience of Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking

2.15 Almost two thirds of primary pupils said they had tried alcohol with their parents' permission and one in ten without their parents' permission. Slightly fewer had tried smoking (8%), while 2% had tried solvents, 1% had tried cannabis and under 1% had tried other drugs such as cocaine, LSD, ecstasy and heroin. Two fifths of Primary 7 pupils said that they expect to drink alcohol without their parents' consent over the next five years ( i.e. before they are 18 years old), but around one in ten expect to try smoking. It is worth noting that within this 9% who think they will try smoking, only a third have tried smoking before.

2.16 The group discussions provided more detail on the context within which these experiences were gained. Pupils who had tried alcohol with their parents' permission said they had done so for a special occasion such as Christmas or New Year. Having a few drinks on special occasions was seen as socially acceptable. Many young people see their parents drinking alcohol and view alcohol as something that almost everyone does when they are older. However, the danger of alcohol as potentially addictive was still acknowledged and drinking every day or binge drinking was considered to be unhealthy.

If you don't drink too much of it, if you're just having it at Christmas, that's fine, but you can get addicted to it.
P7 pupil, male

2.17 Few S1 and Primary 7 pupils admitted to having tried alcohol on their own. Most of the S1 pupils felt they would try alcohol without their parents' permission when they were around 15 or 16 years old, while Primary 7 pupils thought they might wait a bit longer. The views of S1 pupils were influenced by what they had seen and heard about older pupils' behaviour. For example, S3-S4 was commonly viewed by younger pupils as the year group where drinking at the weekends becomes commonplace. There was little surprise among S1 pupils that a recent survey ² showed that half of all 15 year olds said they had been drunk in the previous week.

Basically, everyone will try drink or everyone of 15 will do it so there's nothing people can do to stop them
S1 pupil, female

2.18 There was a general view among pupils that most people start drinking with friends and that peers influence the use of alcohol. Although most had not tried alcohol without their parents consent, pupils' perceptions of their older peers at secondary school led to this belief.

2.19 Pupils knew of the risks associated with smoking, such as cancer, breathing problems and dying younger. Many knew people who smoked including their parents, grandparents, older siblings and friends. Although some pupils had already tried smoking, most did not think it was something they would do in the future. There was also a belief that most people would try smoking but actually taking up the habit was viewed as pointless: a way to spend a lot of money, become unhealthy and to lose interest in sports and other physical activities.

I just think it's normal because everyone does it. Everyone tries smoking.
S1 pupil, female

You know it's going to ruin your life. It says on the packet 'do not smoke' so what's the point.
P7 pupil, male

2.20 Young people thought a person would be more likely to try, or take up smoking if their friends smoked. Additionally, smoking was often viewed as being taken up by people who want to look older or 'hard'.

Some folk are under peer pressure because if you don't want to smoke they're all egging you on, everything like that. You do it because your pals do it and if you don't they're not going to like you cause you never done it.
S1 pupil, male

2.21 All pupils viewed illegal drugs negatively. People who take drugs were thought of as 'losers', 'junkies' and generally as having problems in their lives. Some S1 pupils thought there was a hierarchy of drugs with cannabis viewed as the least harmful and drugs such as heroin and cocaine viewed as more harmful. Others misunderstood the seriousness of some drugs.

You can get hash anywhere but I don't seriously think that's a major drug
S1 pupil, female

I thought the main ones were just heroin and cannabis, and they were really strong, but I didn't think that ecstasy was something serious
P7 pupil, female

2.22 Many of the pupils felt the message about not to take drugs had been "hammered into them" through education in schools and adverts on TV. Few had tried drugs and among those who admitted doing so, it was cannabis that had been smoked. It was very clear that pupils did not think they would take drugs in the future, and did not expect their friends to start either.

2.23 It was also clear that there had been no or very limited exposure to situations where someone may be offered drugs among this age group, therefore being offered drugs by a friend was often viewed as unrealistic. This is backed up in the SALSUS study ³ where in 2004 a third of 13 year olds said they had been offered drugs compared to almost two thirds (63%) of 15 year olds.

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